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Firsthand Technology Value Fund (SVVC) is a BDC focused on venture capital. Readers with limited familiarity with BDCs should read my recent article that serves as a primer on BDCs as well as warnings about their fees, conflicts of interest and potentially poor governance.

SVVC has been trading recently around $4 per share despite the Company’s estimate that its NAV is well over three times that amount. The next few sections briefly describe the path that eventually led to SVVC’s dismal state.

Past Bright Spots

On July 17, 2014 SVVC reported an NAV of $27.30 per share and disclosed that its top two holdings were Twitter and Facebook! But the early bright spots soon began to be overshadowed by the poor performance of other portfolio companies.

Nevertheless, on 10/19/18 SVVC announced a “Preliminary NAV of $29.18 Per Share as of September 30, 2018″ and that “Holdings Include Pivotal,

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NAPERVILLE, Ill., Oct. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Calamos Investments®* is celebrating the 30-year anniversary of the Calamos Market Neutral Income Fund (CMNIX), one of the first ever alternative mutual funds when it launched in the fall of 1990, and now one of the largest funds in the liquid alternatives category.

The fund, with AUM over $10 billion (as of 9/30/20) and rated five stars by Morningstar1, was conceived by Calamos Investments Founder and Chairman John P. Calamos, Sr., one of the world’s foremost experts on convertible securities and volatility-based investing. It combines two complementary strategies: convertible arbitrage aimed at delivering alpha and uncorrelated returns and options writing for income and upside participation. 

“The fundamental driver behind MNI was that individual investors—like the institutional players that were beginning to diversify into hedge funds and other low beta strategies at the time—also deserved access to an investment

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WHEATON, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Oct 13, 2020–

First Trust Energy Income and Growth Fund (the “Fund”) (NYSE American: FEN) has declared the Fund’s regularly scheduled quarterly distribution of $0.30 per share. The distribution will be payable on October 30, 2020, to shareholders of record as of October 23, 2020. The ex-dividend date is expected to be October 22, 2020. The quarterly distribution information for the Fund appears below.





First Trust Energy Income and Growth Fund (FEN):

Distribution per share:

$0.30

Distribution Rate based on the October 12, 2020 NAV of $12.37:

9.70%

Distribution Rate based on the October 12, 2020 closing market price of $9.93:

12.08%





First Trust Energy Income and Growth Fund (FEN):

Distribution per share:

$0.30

Distribution Rate based on the October 12, 2020 NAV of $12.37:

9.70%

Distribution Rate based on the October 12, 2020 closing market price of $9.93:

12.08%

It is anticipated that, due to the tax

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RiverNorth/DoubleLine Strategic Opportunity Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) (NYSE: OPP) today announced that it plans to offer shares of its Series A Cumulative Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”) in an underwritten public offering. The completion of the proposed offering depends upon several factors, including customary closing, market and other conditions. The Fund has applied to list the Preferred Stock on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the ticker symbol “OPP.P”. If the application is approved, trading on the NYSE in the Preferred Stock is expected to begin within 30 days following the issuance date of the Preferred Stock.

The Fund plans to use the net proceeds from the offering of the Preferred Stock to repay borrowings under the Fund’s credit facility and for general working capital purposes.

UBS Securities LLC is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering.

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete

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Monthly collections in District Mineral Funds (DMF) have recovered significantly from their lockdown lows, with the gap between collections during 2020 and 2019 narrowing by September-end.

According to data shared by the Ministry of Mines, country-wide DMF collections last month stood at ₹718.46 crore, up from ₹417.29 crore in May, when the country was in the throes of the Covid-19 lockdown.

But compared to the ₹770.99 crore accrued in September 2019, the collections trailed by 6.81 per cent year-on-year.

Under the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), mining companies have to make a contribution for the development of districts where mining activities take place, over and above their royalty payments.

These DMF collections, therefore, are directly linked to the country’s mineral output.

The amount is accumulated in funds controlled by individual District Mineral Foundations.

Arriving at the amount

For mining leases granted on or after January 12, 2015, an

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DENVER, Oct. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Today, the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) for the Clough Global Dividend and Income Fund (the “Fund”) has declared a monthly cash distribution of $0.1008 per common share, payable on the dates noted below. The Fund’s managed distribution policy is to set the monthly distribution rate at an amount equal to one twelfth of 10% of the Fund’s adjusted year-ending net asset value per share (“NAV”), which will be the average of the NAVs as of the last five business days of the prior calendar year.

The following dates apply to the distributions declared:

Ex-Date: October 19, 2020
Record Date: October 20, 2020
Payable Date: October 30, 2020

Ex-Date: November 19, 2020
Record Date: November 20, 2020
Payable Date: November 30, 2020

Ex-Date: December 18, 2020
Record Date: December 21, 2020
Payable Date: December 31, 2020

A portion of the distribution may be treated

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Edelweiss Asset Management, in collaboration with MSCI, recently launched Edelweiss MSCI India Domestic & World Healthcare 45 Index Fund. While there are many thematic funds in India, the Edelweiss one is the first thematic index fund to be launched in the country.

The fund will invest in the stocks of the underlying MSCI India Domestic & World Healthcare 45 Index.

The index is a mix of the top 25 Indian and the top 20 global (US-listed) healthcare stocks based on their market cap.

It will be rebalanced quarterly and the changes in the securities and their weights will be reflected in the fund portfolio. The Indian and the global segments have been weighted 70 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively.

MSCI has created the index exclusively for the Edelweiss fund from securities in the MSCI India Domestic IMI and the MSCI World Index.

 

A slice of global and India

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Let thy step be slow and steady, that thou stumble not. – Tokugawa Ieyasu

Ever since its inception in January 1987, DNP Select Income Fund (DNP) has been paying dividends consistently. Its distribution reliability and operational durability are factors that have earned it the reputation of a trustworthy fund for income seekers. This is the reason why its market price trades at a premium to its NAV. For the record, its NAV is $8.47 whereas its market price is $10.09 as of October 5, 2020.

02DNP.jpg

Source: Wallmine

Is the price premium justified? Is DNP a buy for income seekers today? Here’s my take:

Investment Strategy & Portfolio

DNP’s goal is to provide investors with current income and long-term income growth by investing mainly in equity and fixed income securities of companies in the public utilities sector. Capital appreciation is a secondary objective.

As of April 29, 2020, DNP’s balance sheet

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Ever try to research bonds? It can add some security, being higher up on the creditor heap, but researching the many details can be confounding and very time consuming for the retail investor. Maybe leaving it to some “bond market pros” might be a solution.

That’s where Calamos Dynamic Convertible And Income Fund (CCD) comes in. It’s a closed end fund, a CEF, which “invests in convertibles and other below-investment-grade (high yield) fixed income securities with the aim of generating total return through a combination of capital appreciation and income. To help generate income and achieve a favorable risk/reward profile, the investment team can also sell options.

By investing at least 50% in convertibles, the fund seeks upside participation in equity markets with less downside exposure over a full market cycle. It actively allocates assets between convertibles, fixed income and equity securities to optimize risk-managed returns.”

It also has a

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SEBI has tightened regulations for inter-scheme transfers (IST) within the same mutual fund house by banning transfer of investment in close-ended schemes after three business days of allotment. At present, transfers of securities from one scheme to another scheme in the same mutual fund is allowed only if such transfers are done at the prevailing market price and the securities so transferred are in conformity with its investment objective.

To ensure that such IST of securities are in conformity with regulation, SEBI said in case of close-ended schemes, IST purchases would be allowed within “three” business days of allotment after new fund offer. Thereafter, no ISTs will be permitted.

Open-ended schemes

For open-ended schemes, ISTs may be allowed only for meeting liquidity requirement due to unanticipated redemption pressure. AMCs should have an appropriate liquidity risk management model at a scheme level approved by trustees to ensure reasonable liquidity requirements, said

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