Saba Closed End Funds ETF

Saba Closed End Funds ETF (CEFS) is an actively managed fund of funds. It holds mostly closed-end funds that seek high income, and it can hedge with short positions and futures. Its sub-adviser, Saba Capital, looks for funds whose shares trade below the value of their holdings, sometimes ones facing activist campaigns. It paid a 7.91% trailing yield monthly as of October 27, 2026, but its 2.61% expense ratio is unusually high.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, CEFS returned +14.8%, 1st of 8 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +12.6%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 39% and regained its old high 8 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2018 (-10.0%); its best was 2019 (+28.4%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 39% (Feb 20, 2020 to Mar 23, 2020), recovered by Nov 20, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 74 securities; the ten largest made up 48.43% of assets, and 7.6% sat in cash and money-market holdings.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $17.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +0.56%, -2.00%, +3.12%.

The fund does not follow an index. Its prospectus lists it as the Saba Opportunistically Hedged Closed-End Funds ETF. It normally puts at least 80% of net assets into closed-end funds, or derivatives that give exposure to them, plus hedging positions. A closed-end fund has a fixed number of shares that trade on an exchange. Its price can therefore fall below the value of its holdings, called net asset value (NAV). That gap is a discount. Sub-adviser Saba Capital Management picks funds using fundamental analysis, quantitative analysis and its own screens. It may target funds facing activist campaigns, such as proxy contests, that aim to shrink the discount. Saba itself may lead those campaigns for other clients.

Most of the underlying funds chase high income through dividend stocks and junk bonds, meaning bonds rated below investment grade. As of August 31, 2026, the fund held 74 issuers, with 48% in the top 10. The largest were a BlackRock science and technology fund (11.9%), ASA Gold and Precious Metals (8.3%) and a Virtus dividend, interest and premium fund (6.9%). Cash made up 7.6%.

The fund may borrow to invest. It may also take short positions, which gain when prices fall, to reduce market or interest-rate risk. In August 2026 it held Treasury note futures and S&P 500 futures. Portfolio turnover was 44%.

• CEFS charges 2.61% a year, versus an average of 0.86% for the similar funds below (8th of 8, cheapest first).
• Of that, 1.1% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $264 in the first year and $2,944 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It pays monthly and had a 7.91% trailing yield as of October 27, 2026, but junk-bond exposure, high costs and sharp past drops point to a small position.

CEFS could add monthly income. Its trailing 12-month yield was 7.91%, or $1.92 a share, as of October 27, 2026. That income comes with real risk. In the 2020 COVID crash the fund fell 39% between February 20 and March 23, 2020, and took about eight months to recover. In 2022 it dropped 16.6% and did not recover until February 2023. Its worst calendar year was 2018, at -10.4%. The fund launched in 2017, so it has no record from 2008. A retiree who has to cash out shares near a low would lock in losses. Costs are steep too. The expense ratio is 2.61%, which works out to about $264 in the first year and $2,944 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by other buffer (defined-outcome) funds, largest first.