25 Largest Closed End Funds (CEFs)

There are two classes of mutual funds: open-end funds and closed-end funds. You can buy these funds for your brokerage or retirement accounts. Open-end funds can sell an unlimited number of shares to investors. Closed-end funds only issue a set number of shares at the fund’s origin that trade on the stock exchange (NYSE, NASDAQ) throughout the day.

As a prospective buyer, you need to ask whether you should invest in the biggest and most popular closed end funds. Are these popular closed end funds really worth your money? The answer isn’t as easy to find as you might think. You can find many companies which provide ratings on closed end funds including Morningstar, CEFConnect, CEFA, Money, Kiplinger, etc.

Popular Closed End Funds for Investment

The 25 largest closed end funds are:

1. Kayne Anderson MLP (KYN) $4.4B
2. Central Fund of Canada (CEF) $3.5B
3. PIMCO Dynamic Credit Income Fund (PCI) $3.2B
4. EV Tax-Managed Global Fund (EXG) $3.1B
5. DNP Select Income Fund (DNP) $2.8B
6. Tortoise Energy Infrastructure Fund (TYG) $2.3B
7. DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund (DSL) $2.2B
8. Cohen & Steers Infrastructure Fund (UTF) $2.1B
9. ClearBridge Energy MLP Fund (CEM) $2.0B
10. Nuveen Municipal Value Fund (NUV) $1.9B
11. Calamos Strategic Total Return Fund (CSQ) $1.8B
12. AllianceBernstein Income Fund (ACG) $1.8B
13. Gabelli Dividend & Income (GDV) $1.8B
14. AllianzGI NFJ Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund (NFJ) $1.8B
15. Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) $1.7B
16. EV Limited Duration Income (EVV) $1.7B
17. EV Tax-Managed Dividend Equity Income (ETY) $1.7M
18. Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income (FAX) $1.6B
19. PIMCO High Income Fund (PHK) $1.6B
20. Nuveen CA Dividend Advantage Muni (NAC) $1.5B
21. BlackRock Corp High Yield (HYT) $1.5B
22. BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend (BDJ) $1.5B
23. EV Tax Advantaged Dividend Income (EVT) $1.4B
24. PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI) $1.4B
25. BlackRock Credit Allocation Income (BTZ) $1.4B

More: Top Limited Duration Closed End Funds

Closed-end funds have several benefits for investors:

• A closed-end fund’s discount offers you an advantage when the gap between the share price and NAV narrows after investment over time.
• A closed-end fund’s manager can invest without worrying that cash may be needed to meet unexpected redemptions by large numbers of nervous investors, as is the situation with open-end fund managers (i.e. mutual funds).
• Investors may get higher levels of income from closed end funds because they invest more heavily in income-producing assets. These may provide more inflows of new money.

The disadvantages of closed end funds are:

• There are very little research was done on these closed end funds. This will make a difficult selection for investors.
• Closed end funds use leverage which can increase risks for investors.
• Investors can select other similar investment funds through open-end fund or ETF (Exchange Traded Fund).

More: Best Government Bond Closed End Funds

How to Invest

You can buy these popular closed end funds from your regular stock brokers including Fidelity, Vanguard, TD Ameritrade, Merrill Edge, E*Trade, etc. The funds are traded like stocks in stock exchange including NYSE (New York Stock Exchange), and NASDAQ. Please do research about the funds before making the purchase.

CEF Performance & Expense Fee

1. Kayne Anderson MLP (KYN) - Performance 1 Year: 22.58% Expense Ratio: 2.61%
2. Central Fund of Canada (CEF) - Performance 1 Yr: -15.19% Expense Ratio: 0.31%
3. PIMCO Dynamic Credit Income Fund (PCI) - Performance 1 Yr: 20.57% Expense Ratio: 1.30%
4. EV Tax-Managed Global Fund (EXG) - Performance 1 Yr: 23.06% Expense Ratio: 1.06%
5. DNP Select Income (DNP) - Performance 1 Yr: 13.82% Expense Ratio: 1.10%
6. Tortoise Energy Infrastructure (TYG) - Performance 1 Yr: 14.00% Expense Ratio: 1.74%
7. DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund (DSL) - Performance 1 Yr: 14.02% Expense Ratio: 0.66%
8. Cohen & Steers Infrastructure (UTF) - Performance 1 Yr: 42.94% Expense Ratio: 1.41%
9. ClearBridge Energy MLP (CEM) - Performance 1 Yr: 14.54% Expense Ratio: 1.42%
10. Nuveen Municipal Value Fund (NUV) - Performance 1 Yr: 11.10% Expense Ratio: 0.53%
11. Calamos Strategic Total Return (CSQ) - Performance 1 Yr: 33.30% Expense Ratio: 1.44%
12. AllianceBernstein Income Fund (ACG) - Performance 1 Yr: 16.60% Expense Ratio: 0.57%
13. Gabelli Dividend & Income Fund (GDV) - Performance 1 Yr: 25.95% Expense Ratio: 1.33%
14. AllianzGI NFJ Dividend, Interest & Premium Strategy Fund (NFJ) - Performance 1 Yr: 22.28% Expense Ratio: 0.96%
15. Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) - Performance 1 Yr: -9.82% Expense Ratio: 0%
16. EV Limited Duration Income (EVV) - Performance 1 Yr: 10.99% Expense Ratio: 1.27%
17. EV Tax-Managed Dividend Equity Income (ETY) - Performance 1 Yr: 28.34% Expense Ratio: 1.08%
18. Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income (FAX) - Performance 1 Yr: 8.90% Expense Ratio: 0.98%
19. PIMCO High Income Fund (PHK) - Performance 1 Yr: 31.35% Expense Ratio: 1.03%
20. Nuveen CA Dividend Advantage Muni (NAC) - Performance 1 Yr: 24.17% Expense Ratio: 1.30%
21. BlackRock Corporate High Yield (HYT) - Performance 1 Yr: 16.04% Expense Ratio: 1.11%
22. BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend (BDJ) - Performance 1 Yr: 20.52% Expense Ratio: 0.86%
23. EV Tax Advantaged Dividend Income (EVT) - Performance 1 Yr: 25.22% Expense Ratio: 1.19%
24. PIMCO Dynamic Income Fund (PDI) - Performance 1 Yr: 31.51% Expense Ratio: 2.16%
25. BlackRock Credit Allocation Income (BTZ) - Performance 1 Yr: 17.82% Expense Ratio: 0.98%