UMB Fund Services and FUSE Research Network Release Third Annual Comprehensive Report on Unlisted Closed-End Funds

Jun 04, 2019 11:04 am
MILWAUKEE -- 

UMB Fund Services (UMB) released its third annual comprehensive report on unlisted closed-end funds (CEFs), including interval and tender-offer funds today. The research was conducted by FUSE Research Network (FUSE).

Key elements of the study include number of funds and assets, top funds and firms, market update and outlook, insight into advisor use and manager spotlight.

“After servicing these products for more than 20 years, it is exciting to see interval funds not only growing in number of funds, but also in asset size as we see more acceptance and stronger interest from financial advisors,” said Terry Gallagher, executive vice president, director of fund accounting and administration at UMB Fund Services. “Our research partnership with FUSE continues to be beneficial in informing investment managers and financial advisors, serving as the most comprehensive annual report on CEFs.”

Key data from the report:

  • The size of the unlisted CEF market has grown steadily since 2014, ending 2018 at nearly $53 billion in assets under management.
  • Interval funds in number and assets continue to outpace tender-offer funds. Since 2014, interval funds have grown at an annual rate of 42.9% to end 2018 with $27.2 billion in assets. During the same period, tender-offer funds dropped to $25.6 billion with a compound annual growth rate of negative 2.1%.
  • Although assets in the two structures are nearly even, asset growth for interval funds during the past five years has been significant. In 2014, assets in interval funds were only $6.5 billion, while tender-offer funds were nearly $28 billion—showing the dramatic growth with interval fund assets and the retraction from tender-offer funds we see today.
  • At year-end 2018, interval funds represented 51.5% of the unlisted CEF marketplace, which is a significant increase from the 19% seen in 2014.
  • FUSE anticipates the growth of unlisted closed-end funds to continue in 2019, but at a slower pace than 2018, with interval funds as the key driver of that growth.

Methodology applied by FUSE:

Underlying asset data and general vehicle attributes (e.g., strategy type, inception date, minimum investment, etc.) are collected by FUSE from audited annual report filings as well as unaudited semi-annual reports and quarterly schedule of portfolio holdings (Forms N-CSR/ NCSRS/ N-Q). FUSE searched through all the N-2 filings over the past five years in the SEC’s Edgar database to identify funds. In addition, tender-offer filings were searched for the past 12 months to identify tender-offer funds that were launched more than four years ago. Please see the complete report for additional details on methodology.

For a copy of the report, Unlisted Closed-End Funds: Market Update Amid Building Momentum, visit here.

UMB Fund Services, headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, offers a complete line of products and services to the fund industry, including fund administration, fund accounting, tax, investor services and transfer agency, distribution* and custody*.

About UMB:

UMB Financial Corporation (Nasdaq: UMBF) is a financial services company headquartered in Kansas City, Mo. UMB offers personal banking, commercial banking, healthcare services and institutional banking, which includes services to mutual funds and alternative-investment entities and investment advisory firms. UMB operates banking and wealth management centers throughout Missouri, Illinois, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Arizona and Texas. For more information, visit UMB.comUMB Blog or follow us on Twitter at @UMBBank, UMB Facebook and UMB LinkedIn.

*Services provided by UMB Distribution Services, LLC and UMB Bank, n.a.

Kristin Kovach, 816.507.1069
[email protected]