Given the recent sell off in the CEF market, as a result primarily for fear of rising rates and investors fleeing to cash, many funds are trading at historical discounts. This is offering a great opportunity for both value and yield. 

Topics of discussion:

• Valuations
• IPOs
• Corporate Actions
• Leverage
• Performance

Mariana Bush, CFA, heads the closed-end fund (CEF) and exchange-traded tracking product (ETP) research group at Wells Fargo Advisors, providing Financial Advisors and their clients with individual security recommendations in the CEF and ETP universes. Mariana began her career at Furman Selz in New York as an associate analyst following technology companies long before the Internet became a household name. She joined Wachovia Securities (a predecessor company of Wells Fargo Advisors) in 1991 as an analyst in Investment Strategy.

Mariana began following CEFs in 1993, and she assumed coverage of ETPs in the late 1990s. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder. Mariana has been widely quoted in publications such as Barron's, BusinessWeek, Forbes, TheStreet.com and The Wall Street Journal. She was graduated from Princeton University in Engineering and Management Systems, a program in the Civil Engineering & Operations Research department.
 

Joined the Company in 2013 with 20 years of industry experience. Prior to joining, Brian served as Head of Business Management and Consulting at Invesco.

Previously, he held senior roles at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, most recently as Chief Administrative Officer, Van Kampen Investments where he was responsible for the infrastructure of the business, engaged the fund board and worked on strategy and implementation. Chief Administrative Officer, MSIM Americas Distribution where he was charged with distribution strategy, business management, worked with the fund boards and became an expert witness relied upon by various regulators. He started his career in Operations and Finance at Van Kampen Investments.

BS in Finance from Eastern Illinois University; Series 6, 26 and 63 Licenses
 

Mr. Bush joined Calamos in 2012. As director of closed-end fund products, Mr. Bush is responsible for optimizing the firm's closed-end fund business. He acts as a liaison for the firm, communicating with the investor, research and brokerage communities about the Calamos closed-end funds. In addition, Mr. Bush works closely with the Calamos executive, investment, marketing and distribution teams regarding product development, strategy and enhancements for new and established closed-end funds. Previously, Mr. Bush worked as a managing director in the financial institutions group for Citigroup Investment Banking. In this capacity, he was responsible for the closed-end fund product development, syndication and capital raising for that firm's asset management clients. Subsequent to his investment banking career, Mr. Bush worked as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney's Wealth Management Group.

Mr. Bush hold Series 7, 24, 31, 63 and 65 licenses. BA in Business Administration - Accounting , Franklin and Marshall College, MBA in Finance, Fairleigh Dickinson University.
 

Jon Diorio, Director, is a member of BlackRock's Product Management and Development Group. Jon is responsible for US retail product management, development and strategy within Blackrock's US Wealth Advisory division. In addition, Jon is responsible for overseeing BlackRock's Closed-End Fund business.

Prior to joining BlackRock, Jon held various roles at DWS Investments, the asset management arm of Deutsche Bank. Most recently, Jon was a Director in DWS's retail sales division. In previous roles, Jon was head of closed-end funds for DWS, along with a portfolio specialist for DWS's alternative mutual funds.

Jon earned a BA degree in Finance from Loyola University and an MBA degree with a concentration in Finance and Economics from NYU- Stern School of Business. In addition, he earned the Certified Investment Management Analyst designation through the Investment Management Consultants Association in conjunction with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Jon has his series 6,63,7, and 24 licenses.
 

Ken Fincher is Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager at First Trust Advisors. Mr. Fincher joined First Trust Advisors with over 20 years of experience in the financial markets. His current responsibilities include management of separately managed accounts that invest primarily in closed-end funds. He has also helped develop new product structures in the closed-end fund space.

Mr. Fincher has been named Outstanding Individual Contributor to the Closed-End Fund Sector in 2007, 2006, 2005 and 2004 by financial analysts and his peers in the closed-end fund community. Mr. Fincher received a B.A. in financial administration from Michigan State University and an M.B.A from Loyola University Graduate School of Business. He has been quoted in several business publications and has authored articles for Seeking Alpha. Mr. Fincher also served on the Closed-End Fund committee of the Investment Company Institute (ICI).
 

Rennie joined Aberdeen Asset Management in February 2013 as a Senior Business Development Manager working in the Closed End Fund area.

Rennie has worked in the investment industry for 29 years. Previously, he was responsible for the European Equity business and, later, for investment research in the region for Merrill Lynch. He then became CEO of Bridgewell PLC, an investment bank in London.

Before joining Aberdeen in New York, he was a partner at RP Capital, an investment and advisory company specializing in emerging markets.
 

Webinar Structure

The webinar will consist of a 40-minute expert presentation, which will be followed by a Q&A lasting for 15 minutes. This webinar will be archived and available for replay upon registration.