New Options-Based Closed-End Funds Designed for Yield and Risk Management

Abstract

Twenty-four new closed-end funds that use options strategies raised an aggregate of more than $13 billion in assets in the 12-month period ending in June 2005. Closed-end funds have certain advantages in dealing with options instruments, in that such funds are not subject to liquidation to cover redemptions or exchanges of assets for stock. A number of factors have facilitated the growth of these funds, including low long-term interest rates, lower expected equity returns for investors, the availability of new options performance benchmarks, good press coverage of the Ibbotson study on the BXM buy-write index, and increased investor interest in higher yield and lower volatility investment products.