| Nuveen Municipal Closed End Fund Index
|
| As of 7/3/2008 | |
| Funds | 88 |
| Fund Sponsors | 17 |
| Total Market Cap | $32.1 B |
| Weighted Average Market Cap | $556.5 M |
| Total Average Daily Volume | 4.7 M |
| Weighted Average Individual Fund Daily Volume | 76,567 |
| Weighted Average Distribution Yield as of 8/31/2007 | 5.26 % |
| Weighted Average Premium/Discount as of 8/31/2007 | -2.86 % |
Nuveen Investments, in conjunction with the American Stock Exchange, is pleased to provide another tool for advisors and investors who are active in the closed end fund market. The Nuveen Municipal Closed End Fund Total Return Index (ticker: NMUNI) is the first publicly available index of its kind, and is designed to track the total return movements of the largest sector in the Closed End fund universe, the national municipal bond sector.
The Nuveen Municipal Closed End Fund Total Return Index (“Index”) is a market capitalization weighted total return index comprised of publicly traded closed end funds from multiple sponsors that seek to provide income exempt from federal income tax by investing in portfolios of bonds issued by state and local governments and agencies. The Index divisor was initially determined to have a benchmark value of 1000.00 at the close of trading on December 31, 1994. The Index is calculated and maintained by the American Stock Exchange LLC (“Amex”).
This Index, which is published under the symbol NMUNI, assumes that the tax-free dividends and capital gains distributions paid by the index components are reinvested on their respective ex-dividend dates. A related price return Index has also been developed (ticker: NMUNP), and reflects only the market price changes of the Index components.
The Index includes national municipal closed end funds that are listed for trading on the American Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange, or quoted on the NASDAQ National Market. To be included in the Index, funds must have market capitalization greater than $100 million and average monthly volume of at least 500,000 shares over the prior three months. In addition, newly listed funds must have at least one dividend payment with an ex-date prior to its inclusion in the Index.
The NMUNI Index is calculated using a market capitalization weighting methodology, using traded prices, shares, and dividends of each component fund. Weights are adjusted and assigned at each scheduled quarterly Index update. The index construction assumes that the tax-free dividends and capital gains distributions paid by index components are reinvested on their respective ex-dividend dates.
The Index will give closed end fund investors a daily snapshot of the national fund market. Nuveen will provide ongoing calculations of the average yield and the premium/discount of the constituent funds. This information will allow investors to track the performance of their own funds against the broader national municipal closed end fund market, as represented by the Index. Since the majority of these funds employ leverage, investors will have a more direct and meaningful comparison than using other benchmarks that must be adjusted for leverage.