The NAVigator
by Active Investment Company Alliance
Latest episode
Powerlaw's Dinsdale on using a CEF to play public venture capital
Powerlaw's Dinsdale on using a CEF to play public venture capital
About this podcast
The NAVigator, from the Active Investment Company Alliance (AICA), talks all-weather investing and "excellence beyond indexing" through the use of closed-end funds (CEFs) & business-development companies (BDCs). AICA – a new organization that includes a diverse constituency that runs from investors through fund sponsors – aims to help investors & advisors plot a new and different course to financial success, via the tactical use of securities that mix active management within listed & non-listed structures. Subscribe now to get regular updates on everything you need to know to succeed with CEFs & BDCs.
Episodes
The newest 50 of 300 episodes
- Powerlaw's Dinsdale on using a CEF to play public venture capital · 17 minMike Dinsdale, Chief Executive Officer at Powerlaw Capital Group — which launched Powerlaw Corp., a late-stage private technology closed-end fund on the Nasdaq in May — says that…
- Two pre-IPO fund managers on whether new issues can meet the hype · 24 minThe NAVigator goes to Schwab IMPACT in Boston this week — the world's largest gathering of registered investment advisers — and meets with managers of two new interval funds in…
- Bluerock's Baffico on narrowing a big discount amid changed market conditions · 21 minSteve Baffico, Executive Vice President and head of listed products at Bluerock, discusses the fund's continuing transition and how making the move from a fund-of-funds to owning…
- CEF Advisors' Q3 report: Taxable bond funds at '99th percentile of cheapness' · 14 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, discusses a topsy-turvy third quarter for closed-end funds, in which prices fell roughly twice as far as the portfolios underneath…
- With traditional markets 'raging,' SEI's Shetty sees opportunity in alternatives · 15 minNathan Shetty, Chief Investment Officer at SEI, discusses the evolving role of alternative investments, which have been de-emphasized by the media and financial planners due to…
- Are closed-end discounts putting Anthropic on sale pre-IPO? · 19 minWith Anthropic preparing to launch an initial public offering that could value the company at over $2 trillion, John Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, looks at buying…
- Aberdeen's Kence on A.I.'s impact in the high-yield market · 18 minMatt Kence, Portfolio Manager at Aberdeen Investments, discusses the current state of the high-yield market and how it is responding to rising interest rates, noting that…
- XA Investments' Choi on opportunities in the CLO market · 18 minYoung Choi, Portfolio Manager for the XAI Floating Rate & Alternative Income Trust, says there is more value and broad movement in the secondary markets for equity collateralized…
- If you never capture the discount, is a fund still a bargain? · 17 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, answers listener questions today, including one from an investor with two closed-end funds that have been stuck with large discounts…
- John Cole Scott says BDC 'software problems' aren't surfacing in the data · 17 minBusiness-development companies saw their share prices get hammered early this year as the market worried about an overexposure to parts of the software industry that could be…
- Tortoise's Thummel on why natural gas will help the U.S. win the global A.I. race · 13 minRob Thummel, Senior Portfolio Manager at Tortoise Capital, says that for all of the power needs created by artificial intelligence, producers still need their power costs to be…
- How rising Treasury rates (and relief) impact closed-end investors · 13 minTreasury rates hit their highest level in nearly 20 years this week; in response, the Treasury announced it was doubling its long-end buyback capacity. John Cole Scott, President…
- John Cole Scott breaks down recent media recommendations on CEFs · 13 minWhen closed-end funds catch mentions in the mainstream media, the recommendations often focus on yield without digging deeper. In this episode of The NAVigator, John Cole Scott…
- How the market's recent rally created 'a good widening' of closed-end discounts · 14 minDiscount-capture investor Rob Shaker, Portfolio Manager at Shaker Financial Services, says that while closed-end fund discounts have widened through a strong season of earnings…
- Nuveen's Caraher on why senior loans are in a sweet spot now · 16 minScott Caraher, Head of Senior Loans at Nuveen, says that the higher-for-longer interest rate environment has created "one of the most interesting and dynamic times" he has seen…
- John Cole Scott on Q2 and the rest of '26 for closed-end funds, BDCs · 16 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, provides takeaways from the second quarter for closed-end funds and business-development companies, noting that the trend was for…
- XA's DiBernardo on why worried investors should consider covered calls now · 14 minRay DiBernardo, Portfolio Manager for the XAI Madison Equity Premium Income fund, says he's concerned about the market's valuation levels — noting that it "has been expensive for…
- Gold fund manager Merk on ASA's fight with activist investors · 17 minAxel Merk, President and Chief Investment Officer at Merk Investments, discusses Saba Capital's activist campaign that got him ousted as portfolio manager and president of ASA…
- Gabelli's Dreyer on why sports and value picks are an antidote to A.I. obsession · 14 minKevin Dreyer, Co-Chief Investment Officer for value at Gabelli Asset Management, says that there are plenty of values left in a market that has returned to record levels…
- CEF Data's Scott on the takeaways from Dechert's Private Credit Summit · 14 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, attended the Private Credit Summit hosted this week in New York City by Dechert LLP, and came away with a sense that private-credit…
- Landmark Supreme Court decision is a game-changer for investor activism · 17 minKen Burdon, Partner in the registered fund practice at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, discusses the Supreme Court's recent ruling against activist investor Saba Capital, a decision…
- In a tight-spread, higher-for-longer rate market, discounts matter again · 15 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, says that index discounts are wide when compared to their three-year history, which makes it important for investors to find names…
- Bluerock's Baffico says HALO trades will benefit from Private Credit Redemptions · 15 minSteve Baffico, Executive Vice President and head of listed products at Bluerock, which runs the Bluerock Private Real Estate fund, expects the real estate market to benefit as…
- Kayne's Hamilton: 'Historic' oil drawdowns create energy infrastructure opportunities · 15 minGordon Hamilton, Senior Managing Director for Kayne Anderson, Portfolio Manager for the Kayne Anderson Energy Infrastructure fund, says that there will be a big call on U.S…
- Sit's Doty says rates will rise, peak and shift downward by year's end · 18 minBryce Doty, Senior Portfolio Manager at Sit Investment Associates, says that "the worst is over as far as yields going up," noting that the next shift could be down, but he calls…
- CEF Advisors' Scott breaks down how bad news has impacted BDCs · 13 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors and the Chairman of the Active Investment Company Alliance, looks at the recent issues in business-development companies, which got…
- Calamos' Freund: Concerns are 'distractions,' not market impediments · 16 minMatt Freund, Co-Chief Investment Officer at Calamos Investments, says that productivity, GDP growth and earnings are "what matters," and that the headline risks that are driving…
- Enduring investment lessons from the legendary Mark Mobius · 17 minDr. Mark Mobius, widely considered the father of emerging markets investor and a man who helped put the world into everyone's grasp during his long career running funds at…
- Liberty Street's Gutierrez on private investment trends in A.I. · 15 minDavid Gutierrez, Vice President at Liberty Street Advisors and part of the team running the Private Shares Fund, says that private markets are similar enough to public markets…
- Veteran manager says that for all the headline risks, this is a 'generic widening' · 13 minRob Shaker, Portfolio Manager at Shaker Financial Services, says that while the headlines may have investors on edge, the fear-based selling that gripped the market around the…
- Despite scary headlines, low-A.I.-risk BDCs are worth a new look now · 13 minWith the market kicking business-development companies in the teeth, John Cole Scott , President of CEF Advisors, digs into his firm's data looking at "artificial-intelligence…
- Nuveen's Weyandt on why current events make listed real assets look good · 16 minMatt Weyandt, a client Portfolio Manager on the listed real assets team at Nuveen, discusses how buying "location-specific hard assets" in essential industries that deliver to a…
- XA's Flynn on how private credit market is challenging BDCs, interval funds · 16 minKim Flynn, president at XA Investments, a firm that specializes in alternative investments, says recent private-credit bad news events have widened discounts and raised concerns…
- John Cole Scott on how headline risks are impacting closed-end funds · 15 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, says that closed-end funds are being buffeted in two directions due to current headlines, with war in Iran impacting net asset values…
- Aberdeen's Gilhooly says oil could quickly reach $175 per barrel · 15 minRobert Gilhooly, Senior Emerging Markets Economist at Aberdeen Investments, says that the continuing war in Iran has put pressure on oil prices, but he expects them to stabilize…
- Bluerock's MacDonald says 'uniquely boring' private real estate is value-priced now · 17 minRyan MacDonald, Portfolio Manager for the Bluerock Private Real Estate Fund, says that in a world teeming with market worries and broad geopolitical concerns, private real estate…
- John Cole Scott: BDC worries are creating headlines, opportunities · 16 minThe stock market has been beating up business-development companies, with the sell-off largely being blamed on the artificial intelligence boom and the high number of loans that…
- John Cole Scott evaluates Robinhood's new private-stock closed-end fund · 17 minRobinhood Markets is launching its first closed-end fund, Robinhood Ventures Fund I, with the first IPO the closed-end fund space has seen in about four years and John Cole…
- Saratoga's Oberbeck: Headline troubles aren't signalling systemic credit issues · 14 minChris Oberbeck, chairman and chief executive officer at Saratoga Investment Corp., says that increases in default rates are more of a return to normal than a sign of trouble for…
- Trinity Capital's Brown sees BDC opportunity amid investor frustration · 15 minKyle Brown, Chief Executive Officer at Trinity Capital, gives his outlook for the private credit and lending space, and notes that there could be some challenges for business…
- Aberdeen's Robinson on how emerging markets are now an AI play · 14 minNick Robinson, Deputy Head of Global Emerging Market Equities at Aberdeen Investments, says that the artificial intelligence wave that has pushed domestic stock markets to record…
- John Cole Scott on 4th-quarter results and a hot new year's start for closed-end funds · 13 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, reviews the key takeaways from his firm's fourth-quarter review of action in the closed-end fund industry, focusing on fund…
- Nuveen's Davis on what '25 has set up for closed -end funds in the year ahead · 15 minStephen Davis, closed-end fund product specialist at Nuveen, says that while 2025 was a strong year for closed-end fund performance, price returns exceeded net asset value (NAV)…
- XA's Flynn on how interval fund indexes change the game · 16 minKimberly Flynn, President at XA Investments, discussed the just-launched XAI Interval Fund Credit Index, which tracks the performance of non-listed closed-end interval funds and…
- The year in review: John Cole Scott looks at his his 2025 predictions worked out · 14 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, reviews the forecasts he made a year ago for 2025, grading his wins and losses on everything from inflation levels and Treasury yields…
- 2026 outlook: John Cole Scott on what '26 holds for closed-end funds · 17 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, climbs his mountain of data to get a great view on the year ahead, and he's forecasting no recession, lower inflation and modest GDP…
- Is activism in the UK following or leading the action in the U.S.? · 16 minRichard Stone, Chief Executive Officer for The Association of Investment Companies (the British equivalent to the Active Investment Company Alliance), discusses differences in…
- Sit's Doty sees opportunities in the next Fed 'mess' · 13 minBryce Doty, senior portfolio manager at Sit Investment Associates, says that "every time a new Fed chair comes in, they do something dumb," and with Jerome Powell on his way out…
- Bonus NAVigator: Bulldog Investors' Goldstein on the state of activism · 13 minLong-time activist investor Phil Goldstein of Bulldog Investors sat down with NAVigator host Chuck Jaffe at the Active Investment Company Alliance Fall Roundtable in New York…
- CEF Advisors' Scott on the start of the 2025 tax-loss harvesting season · 14 minJohn Cole Scott, President of CEF Advisors, looks at tax-loss selling season and whether it has started yet, noting that a few asset classes have largely been able to avoid…
