A High Yield CEF Trading at a Double Digit Discount

Investing Strategy / By

For CEF Investors seeking income, they may want to evaluate Liberty All Star Equity Fund (USA).  This fund has a current distribution rate of 6.97% and still trades at a 10% discount to net asset value (NAV). While the fund is setup for income purposes, it has produced a year-to-date market return of 20% and a one year return on NAV of 29%.  This performance has landed this fund in the top25 CEFs through year to date results.

USA has a 1-year Z statistic of -1.71 while indicates it has a reasonable value compared to past discount of price to NAV.  The fund uses no leverage and no return of capital through distributions.  Here is the recent fund information.

 

 

Fund Style: Large-Cap Core
Investment Managers:
Value Managers:
Matrix Asset Advisors, Inc.
Pzena Investment Management, LLC
Schneider Capital Management   Corporation
Growth Managers:
Cornerstone Capital Management LLC
TCW Investment Management Company

 

Top 20 Holdings at Month-End
(31.9% of equity portfolio)

(Rank   from previous month)

1

 Google, Inc., Class A (2)

2.5%

2

 QUALCOMM, Inc. (1)

2.4%

3

 Schlumberger Ltd. (4)

2.1%

4

 JPMorgan Chase & Co. (3)

2.1%

5

 Salesforce.com, Inc. (5)

1.8%

6

 Amazon.com, Inc. (13)

1.6%

7

 Citigroup, Inc. (6)

1.6%

8

 Morgan Stanley (9)

1.5%

9

 Devon Energy Corp. (11)

1.5%

10

 Bank of America Corp. (7)

1.5%

11

 Hewlett-Packard Co. (17)

1.5%

12

 MetLife, Inc. (8)

1.4%

13

 SunTrust Banks, Inc. (12)

1.4%

14

 Microsoft Corp. (14)

1.4%

15

 American International Group, Inc.   (16)

1.4%

16

 Visa, Inc., Class A (15)

1.3%

17

 Starbucks Corp. (10)

1.3%

18

 Chesapeake Energy Corp. (18)

1.3%

19

 Precision Castparts Corp. (22)

1.2%

20

 State Street Corp. (20)

1.1%
Holdings are subject to change.

 

Monthly Performance
Performance

NAV

Market   Price

Discount
Beginning of month value

$6.20

$5.41

12.7%
Distributions (Ex-Date October 30)

$0.10

$0.10
End of month value

$6.37

$5.72

10.2%
Performance for month

4.54%

7.58%
Performance year-to-date

27.03%

27.94%
The net asset value (NAV) of a closed-end   fund is the market value of the underlying investments (i.e., stocks and   bonds) in the Fund’s portfolio, minus liabilities, divided by the total   number of Fund shares outstanding. However, the Fund also has a market price;   the value at which it trades on an exchange. If the market price is above the   NAV the Fund is trading at a premium. If the market price is below the NAV   the Fund is trading at a discount.

Returns for the Fund are total returns, which include dividends, after   deducting Fund expenses. The Fund’s performance is calculated assuming that a   shareholder reinvested all distributions and exercised all primary rights in   the Fund’s rights offerings. Past performance cannot predict future   investment results.

Performance will fluctuate with changes in market conditions. Current   performance may be lower or higher than the performance data shown.   Performance information shown does not reflect the deduction of taxes that   shareholders would pay on Fund distributions or the sale of Fund shares. Shareholders   must be willing to tolerate significant fluctuations in the value of their   investment. An investment in the Fund involves risk, including loss of   principal.

 

Net Assets at Month-End   ($millions)
Total $1,111.6
Equities $1,090.0
Percent Invested 98.1%
Sector   Breakdown (% of equity portfolio)*
Financials 25.2%
Information   Technology 18.9%
Consumer   Discretionary 15.6%
Energy 15.0%
Health Care 10.2%
Industrials 7.3%
Consumer   Staples 4.9%
Materials 2.3%
Utilities 0.6%
Total Market   Value 100.0%
*Based on   Standard & Poor’s and MSCI Barra Global Industry Classification Standard   (GICS).