What drives closed-end fund discounts? Evidence from COVID-19

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States on closed-end fund (CEF) discounts. I show that CEF discounts increased after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, while individual investor sentiment declined. Furthermore, CEFs with higher retail ownership had a larger discount increase, which suggests that individual investor sentiment is a potential contributor to CEF discounts. This finding seems less likely to be driven by rational channels or income-driven fire sales, as shown by further analysis. Overall, the results shed light on the CEF discount puzzle using a new setting.