Even though they have been traded in the U.S. for over a century, closed-end funds (CEFs) are not well understood. A common misunderstanding is that a closed-end fund is a type of traditional mutual fund or an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

A closed-end fund is NOT a traditional mutual fund that is closed to new investors.

At its most fundamental level, a CEF is an investment structure (not an asset class), organized under the regulations of the Investment Company Act of 1940. A CEF is a type of investment company whose shares are traded on the open market, like a stock or an ETF.

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