Little-Known Interval Funds See a Surge in Popularity

Jeff Tjornehoj

Director, Fiduciary & Compliance Research

Closed-end interval funds, which redeem shares four times per year, have seen assets climb 184 percent in two years. Without the liquidity constraints of other regulated structures, these funds offer retail investors access to assets and strategies otherwise impossible to reach. Largely left to small players (only three top-50 managers offer them), these funds are ripe for exploitation.

• Advisors are looking for an edge. Wildly popular passive products and ETFs don’t compete in this space, which gives advisors an opportunity to add diversification and income potential.
• Legislative action may blow open the doors. The recently-passed Expanding Investment Opportunities Act seeks to reduce regulatory burdens for closed-end funds and make them more liquid and competitive. As an in-between structure for investors unfamiliar with the closed-end space, interval funds will be a natural fit.