For CEF Investors seeking income, they may want to evaluate Liberty All Star Equity Fund (USA). This fund has a current distribution rate of 6.97% and still trades at a 10% discount to net asset value (NAV). While the fund is setup for income purposes, it has produced a year-to-date market return of 20% and a one year return on NAV of 29%. This performance has landed this fund in the top25 CEFs through year to date results.
USA has a 1-year Z statistic of -1.71 while indicates it has a reasonable value compared to past discount of price to NAV. The fund uses no leverage and no return of capital through distributions. Here is the recent fund information.
Fund Style: Large-Cap Core
Investment Managers:
Value Managers:
Matrix Asset Advisors, Inc.
Pzena Investment Management, LLC
Schneider Capital Management Corporation
Growth Managers:
Cornerstone Capital Management LLC
TCW Investment Management Company
Top 20 Holdings at Month-End
(31.9% of equity portfolio)
(Rank from previous month)
1
Google, Inc., Class A (2)
2.5%
2
QUALCOMM, Inc. (1)
2.4%
3
Schlumberger Ltd. (4)
2.1%
4
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (3)
2.1%
5
Salesforce.com, Inc. (5)
1.8%
6
Amazon.com, Inc. (13)
1.6%
7
Citigroup, Inc. (6)
1.6%
8
Morgan Stanley (9)
1.5%
9
Devon Energy Corp. (11)
1.5%
10
Bank of America Corp. (7)
1.5%
11
Hewlett-Packard Co. (17)
1.5%
12
MetLife, Inc. (8)
1.4%
13
SunTrust Banks, Inc. (12)
1.4%
14
Microsoft Corp. (14)
1.4%
15
American International Group, Inc. (16)
1.4%
16
Visa, Inc., Class A (15)
1.3%
17
Starbucks Corp. (10)
1.3%
18
Chesapeake Energy Corp. (18)
1.3%
19
Precision Castparts Corp. (22)
1.2%
20
State Street Corp. (20)
1.1%
Holdings are subject to change.
Monthly Performance
Performance
NAV
Market Price
Discount
Beginning of month value
$6.20
$5.41
12.7%
Distributions (Ex-Date October 30)
$0.10
$0.10
End of month value
$6.37
$5.72
10.2%
Performance for month
4.54%
7.58%
Performance year-to-date
27.03%
27.94%
The net asset value (NAV) of a closed-end fund is the market value of the underlying investments (i.e., stocks and bonds) in the Fund’s portfolio, minus liabilities, divided by the total number of Fund shares outstanding. However, the Fund also has a market price; the value at which it trades on an exchange. If the market price is above the NAV the Fund is trading at a premium. If the market price is below the NAV the Fund is trading at a discount.
Returns for the Fund are total returns, which include dividends, after deducting Fund expenses. The Fund’s performance is calculated assuming that a shareholder reinvested all distributions and exercised all primary rights in the Fund’s rights offerings. Past performance cannot predict future investment results.
Performance will fluctuate with changes in market conditions. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown. Performance information shown does not reflect the deduction of taxes that shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. Shareholders must be willing to tolerate significant fluctuations in the value of their investment. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of principal.
Net Assets at Month-End ($millions)
Total
$1,111.6
Equities
$1,090.0
Percent Invested
98.1%
Sector Breakdown (% of equity portfolio)*
Financials
25.2%
Information Technology
18.9%
Consumer Discretionary
15.6%
Energy
15.0%
Health Care
10.2%
Industrials
7.3%
Consumer Staples
4.9%
Materials
2.3%
Utilities
0.6%
Total Market Value
100.0%
*Based on Standard & Poor’s and MSCI Barra Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS).
Related Posts:
Adding a Put to a Covered Call
Now You Can Sell Puts for Income in the New ETF
Monthly Income From Taxable Closed-End Income Funds
Weekly Option List Update (May 18, 2011)
New Update on Weekly Options – August 17 2011
How to Get Started With Writing Calls
List of High Quality, High Yield Dividend Stocks
4 Companies with Bullish Outlooks Increasing Dividends
High Yield Dividend Stocks Gaining in a Down Market
Monthly Income Investments with 10% Yields