Now in its 6th year of publication, the Forbes/ISA Closed End Fund & ETF Report provides insight and updates for this under appreciated and rapidly evolving investment area. CEFs and ETFs are lower cost alternatives to mutual fund investing with better transparency and lower exposure to transactions driven by the flow of cash in and out of the fund.

Closed end funds have been with us for decades and are widely misunderstood. They provide expertise in specialty areas and for income investors offer a higher return with securities often not available to individual investors. They may trade at a premium or discount to their net asset value and employ leverage to enhance their results.

Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs are quite simply the best investment idea to come along in the last generation. In 2009 the value of outstanding ETFs passed $1 trillion and the growth continues to accelerate. Thousands of funds exist and new funds come out weekly offering new strategies and also, ways to hedge existing portfolios or to invest funds locked into an IRA account in ways not normally permitted. Commodities, currencies, options; you name it and they can be bought or shorted and with leverage. While offering new opportunities, they also involve pitfalls which are not always evident. We’ll tell you the good and the bad as well as help you decide. We also provide model portfolios to help you get started.