Joe Eqcome

CEF Week in Review: Riskier Fund Types Rule

Sskell

If BIF's management is as cynical as you believe—and I believe there may be evidence they are—wouldn’t those that invested now prior to the reinstatement of the dividend be a net beneficiary of that future policy?

My long term investment policy (12 months or more) criteria are: 1) Do I trust management? 2) Can management make me money? 3) Never reverse the order of "1" and "2".

For short-term trade of 6 to 9 months—as I see this opportunity, I’ll occasionally make an exception to that policy if the story's compelling. The fact I’ll need to take a soapy, hot shower post investment notwithstanding

Anyhow, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.

Joe Eqcome


On May 10 09:58 PM sskell wrote:

> Isn't this pretty straightforward: they knew that if they eliminated
> the distribution the share price would collapse, allowing them to
> buy it a lot cheaper. They can reinstate the distribution anytime;
> if I were as cyncial as these guys seem, I'd even raise it from its
> previous level to suck in all the retail investors that love a big
> distribution yield regardless of its source or sustainability.

CEF Week in Review: Riskier Fund Types Rule

Alan Young

My mention of the best and worst performer in the weekly commentary is only designed as a data point and I hope they're not being taken as recommendations. It is designed to see what's moving and to facilitate further inquiry and hopefully drawn some conclusions.

You're correct in the fact that there are probably better plays on commodities and the recovery of those commodity driven economies such as Russia than Templeton Russia & Eastern Europe Fund (TRF). Other CEF alternatives that touch on Russia are: Central Europe and Russia Fund (CEE) and Morgan Stanley Eastern Europe Fund (RNE) both trading at discounts.

Thanks for you kind word on BIF.

Joe Eqcome


On May 10 04:33 PM Alan Young wrote:

> Joe, your analysis of BIF is superb. More comprehensive detail and
> less axe-grinding than I've seen in similar articles. Well done.
>
>
> About TRF: The bullish commodity market explains why Russia-oriented
> funds would go up, but not why they would trade at a 59% premium!
> There are easier ways to own Russia. This warrants further investigation.

CEF Week in Review: Riskier Fund Types Rule

Oldman

Since the CEF market segment is so diverse, I believe that by looking at the trends in the sub-sector an investor can get a better understanding of the larger investment picture.

Based upon the mosaic theory of investing, by touching all parts of the elephant you can get a better understanding of its size and composition. This CEF sub-sector trend analysis is just one of those component parts.

Additionally, I try to mix up the weekly commentary by sometimes looking at the weekly and other times reviewing the month or YTD.

This maybe useful to some and to others it may be of little value. Ultimately, the marketplace will decide.

Joe Eqcome




On May 10 11:25 AM oldman wrote:

> you are making the mistake of an inexperience investor by using short
> term and rear view mirror performance. I'm surprised someone with
> your experience would make this comparison.