The Dynamic Behavior of Closed-End Funds and its Implications for Pricing, Forecasting and Trading

Abstract

Closed-end funds (CEFs) show a distinctive feature in comparison to mutual funds: The market value determined on organized exchanges dynamically differs over time from the reported net asset value by a discount. This predominant capital market anomaly motivates our valuation model to price CEFs. We derive a stochastic pricing model that captures both the price risk of the funds as well as their risk associated with altering discounts. Implementing this theoretical model on a sample of emerging market closed-end funds we are able to infer insights into two potential applications for investors. First, we test the forecasting power of the pricing model to predict CEF market prices. Second, based on information on the premia we implement portfolio trading strategies using filter rules. The results on these suggested applications indicate that our pricing model generates valuable investment information.

JEL Classification: G12, G15