• Unlisted Closed-End Fund (unlisted CEF) assets grew from $70.4 billion at year-end 2020 to $88.2 billion in 3Q21. Though seemingly overshadowed by the massive assets in mutual funds and ETFs, unlisted CEFs have carved out a meaningful niche and gotten some limelight.
• FUSE believes that strong demand for credit and alternative strategies will continue to drive product development and asset gathering in this product vehicle. We forecast 18 interval and tender-offer funds will launch in 2022, a 50% increase from 2021.
• Product successes like NB Crossroads Private Market Access Fund, which was launched on 12/15/20 and has assets of $316.9 million (as of 3Q21), are encouraging new entrants into this product area. More than 20% of asset managers reported interval funds are a major focus, and 54% deemed them to be somewhat of a focus for the next 12 months.
• Unlisted CEFs attract assets from all intermediary channels but much of the business appears to come from the big RIA custodians (i.e., Schwab, National Financial), especially early on, as well as the large independent firms like Raymond James and LPL, and as funds establish a track record, the wirehouses.

Unlisted CEF Market: Assets by Type ($ Millions)

Source: SEC filings, FUSE Research analysis