http://www.cefconnect.com/Pricing/DailyPricing.aspx

Above is a link to a good site for exploring closed end funds.  Closed end funds fluctuate and trade around their NAV (net asset value).  There is not real mechanism to make a fund trade at it's underlying value save breaking it up legally.  The fees involved with this process are high and this makes the process not really efficient.  In any case, when a closed end fund (CEF) trades at a significant discount (or premium for that matter), then there is a trading/investing opportunity.  Yesterday I brought up JTP, but a simple screen with the tool above will show at least 15 other possibilities.

One can investigate other sectors as well.  In a market like we have had the last week or so, investors are bailing out of everything (stocks and bonds down) so funds like these that aren't particularly liquid will trade at discounts.

I think this is an opportunity for long term investors.  It would not be good to focus on one particular fund, but I think it is a good strategy to find a few and buy some at discounts.  Recognize that discounts may get worse AND may persist for some time.  For example the 5 year average for some of these CEF could be -5% or more.  So buying at a -7% is not a huge edge.  The plus side is that you can earn some income and have a little bit of asset protection.

Take a look.  I will report any findings I have.

As for the markets, the Nikkei getting pummeled is not that surprising given that it was manipulated up by a rather bold and rapid monetary policy move.  Ours was bold, not so rapid and so injects a bit less risk to our equity markets.

That said, it should come as no surprise to readers here that I think growth is going to be low and bonds are still good.  Maybe not a slam dunk, but ok.  Good equities are ok as well.  Don't expect get rich type moves here. Think solid, long term, grow over time.