1. Home
  2. CEF
  3. Guggenheim Strategic Opportunities Fund

GOF

Guggenheim Strategic Opportunities Fund

As of 3/28/24
Closing Market Price $14.32
Closing NAV $12.17
Premium/(Discount) 17.67%
Current Distribution Rate1, 215.26%

Common Shares

Daily Data

Closing Market Price$14.32
Closing NAV$12.17
Premium/(Discount)17.67%
52-week Average Premium/Discount19.98%
Current Distribution Rate 1, 215.26%
Monthly Distribution Per Share2$0.18210
Ex-Distribution Date3/14/2024
Payable Date3/29/2024
Common Shares Outstanding138,289,562
Daily Volume705,564
52 Week High/Low Market Price$16.65/$11.16
52 Week High/Low NAV$12.79/$11.61
Intraday Trading InformationNYSE

Weekly Data

Closing Market Price$14.07
Closing NAV$12.14
Closing Volume492,165
Premium/(Discount)15.90%
Distribution Rate15.53%
Total Managed Assets$2,101,377,188
Percent Leveraged320.11%
52-Week Average Premium/Discount20.10%

Semi-Annual Data

Fiscal Year-End5/31
Investment Adviser Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC
Investment Sub-Adviser Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC
Expense Ratio (Common Shares)42.96%
Portfolio Turnover Rate8%

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which is no guarantee of future results, and current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown. Since Inception returns assume a purchase of common shares at each Fund’s initial offering price for market price returns or the Fund’s initial net asset value (NAV) for NAV returns. Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized. All distributions are assumed to be reinvested either in accordance with the dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP) for market price returns or NAV for NAV returns. Until the DRIP price is available from the Plan Agent, the market price returns reflect the reinvestment at the closing market price on the last business day of the month. Once the DRIP is available around mid-month, the market price returns are updated to reflect reinvestment at the DRIP price. All returns include the deduction of management fees, operating expenses and all other fund expenses, and do not reflect the deduction of brokerage commissions or taxes that investors may pay on distributions or the sale of shares. Please refer to the most recent annual or semi-annual report for additional information.

Distributions are not guaranteed and are subject to change.

1 Latest declared distribution per share annualized and divided by the current share price.

2 Distributions may be paid from sources of income other than ordinary income, such as short term capital gains, long term capital gains or return of capital. If a distribution consists of something other than ordinary income, a 19(a) notice detailing the anticipated source(s) of the distribution will be made available. The 19(a) notice will be posted to the Fund’s website and to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation so that brokers can distribute such notices to Shareholders of the Fund. Section 19(a) notices are provided for informational purposes only and not for tax reporting purposes. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions in a particular year will be made after the end of the year. This information is not legal or tax advice. Consult a professional regarding your specific legal or tax matters.

3 Represents the amount of financial leverage the Fund currently employs as a percentage of total Fund assets.

4 Expense ratios are annualized and reflect the Fund’s operating expense, including interest expense, or in the case of a fund with a fee waiver, net operating expense, as of the most recent annual or semi-annual report. The expense ratio, based on common assets, excluding interest expense was 1.41%.

Investment Objective

The Fund’s investment objective is to maximize total return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. The Fund will pursue a relative value-based investment philosophy, which utilizes quantitative and qualitative analysis to seek to identify securities or spreads between securities that deviate from their perceived fair value and/or historical norms. The Fund’s sub-adviser seeks to combine a credit managed fixed-income portfolio with access to a diversified pool of alternative investments and equity strategies. The Fund’s investment philosophy is predicated upon the belief that thorough research and independent thought are rewarded with performance that has the potential to outperform benchmark indexes with both lower volatility and lower correlation of returns as compared to such benchmark indexes. The Fund cannot ensure investors that it will achieve its investment objective. The Fund may invest without limitation in fixed-income securities rated below investment grade (commonly referred to as "junk bonds"); the Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar-denominated income securities of corporate and governmental issuers located outside the U.S., including up to 10% in emerging markets; the Fund may invest up to 50% of its total assets in common equity securities consisting of common stock; and the Fund may invest up to 30% of its total assets in investment funds that primarily hold (directly or indirectly) investments in which the Fund may invest directly. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing in a wide range of fixed income and other debt and senior equity securities (“Income Securities”) selected from a variety of sectors and credit qualities, including, but not limited to, corporate bonds, loans and loan participations, structured finance investments, U.S. government and agency securities, mezzanine and preferred securities and convertible securities, and in common stocks, limited liability company interests, trust certificates and other equity investments (“Common Equity Securities”) that the Fund’s sub-adviser believes offer attractive yield and/or capital appreciation potential, including employing a strategy of writing (selling) covered call and put options on such equities.

For periodic shareholder reports and recent fund-specific filings, please visit the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) website via the following: GOF SEC Filings

Frequently Asked Questions

Why a Leveraged Fund?

Leveraged closed-end funds offer investors the opportunity to purchase shares of a fund whose dividend yields generally are designed to be higher than those of similar, unleveraged investments. At the same time, leverage introduces or heightens certain investment risks. As a result, understanding leverage, its benefits and risks, plays an important role in determining whether a leveraged Fund is the right investment. Leverage creates risks that may adversely affect the return for the holders of common shares, including: the likelihood of greater volatility of NAV and market price of the Fund’s common shares, fluctuations in the dividend rates, and possible increased operating costs, which may reduce the Fund’s total return.

Describe the differences between closed-end and open-end funds?

An open-end fund may be purchased or sold at NAV, plus sales charge in some cases. An open-end fund will issue new shares when an investor wants to purchases shares in the fund and will sell assets to redeem shares when an investor wants to sell shares. When selling an open-end fund the price the seller receives is established at the close of the market when the NAV is calculated. Unlike the open-end fund, a closed-end fund has a limited number of shares outstanding and trades on an exchange at the market price based on supply and demand. An investor may purchase or sell shares at market price while the exchange is open. The common shares may trade at a discount or premium to the NAV.

What does the "Ex-Div" or the "Ex-Dividend" date refer to?

Every month the Fund pays dividends and those investors who purchase the Fund before the ex-dividend date will receive the next dividend distribution. Investors who purchase on or after the ex-dividend date will not receive the next dividend distribution. The value of the dividend is subtracted from the Fund's NAV on the ex-dividend date each month. So when the NAV is reported with an "ex-div" behind it, this means that the amount of the dividend has already been taken out of the NAV.

What is the DRIP and how is its price determined?

DRIP is the Dividend Reinvestment Plan. The DRIP price is the cost per share for all participants in the reinvestment plan. The DRIP price is determined by one of two scenarios. One, if the Common Shares are trading at a discount, the DRIP price is the weighted average cost to purchase the Common Shares from the NYSE or elsewhere. Lastly, if the Common Shares are trading at a premium, the DRIP price is the determined either the higher of the NAV or approximately 95% of the Common Share price.

Fund Manager(s)

Investment Adviser
Guggenheim Funds Investment Advisors, LLC
227 West Monroe Street
7th Floor
Chicago, IL 60606

Investment Sub-Adviser
Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, LLC
100 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 500
Santa Monica, CA 90401

Investment Team

Anne B. Walsh, CFA - Chief Investment Officer for Guggenheim Partners Investment Management, and Managing Partner, Guggenheim Partners

Ms. Walsh is Chief Investment Officer for Guggenheim Partners Investment Management where she is responsible for meeting the investment needs of the firm’s fixed-income clients, including insurance companies, corporate and public pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments and foundations, consultants, wealth managers, and high-net-worth investors. In her role she oversees all elements of portfolio design, strategy, sector allocation, and risk management of fixed-income portfolios, as well as conveying Guggenheim’s macroeconomic outlook to portfolio managers and fixed-income sector specialists. She also serves as head of the Portfolio Construction Group and Portfolio Management teams. Ms. Walsh is also a Managing Partner of Guggenheim Partners.

Ms. Walsh has over 35 years of experience in investment management, and her specialization in liability-driven portfolio management derives from her deep background in insurance asset management. Before joining Guggenheim in 2007 she served as chief investment officer at Reinsurance Group of America, and as vice president and senior investment consultant at Zurich Scudder Investments. Ms. Walsh also served in senior investment roles at Lincoln Investment Management and American Bankers Insurance Group. Ms. Walsh holds a BSBA and MBA. from Auburn University and a JD from the University of Miami School of Law. She has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA Institute.

Steven H. Brown, CFA - Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income

Mr. Brown joined Guggenheim in 2010 and is a Portfolio Manager for Guggenheim’s Active Fixed Income and Total Return Mandates. Mr. Brown works with the Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer and other members of the Portfolio Management team to develop and execute portfolio strategy. Additionally he works closely with the sector teams and Portfolio Construction group. Prior to joining the Portfolio Management team in 2012, Mr. Brown worked in the asset backed securities group. His responsibilities on that team included trading and evaluating investment opportunities and monitoring credit performance. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Mr. Brown held roles within structured products at ABN AMRO and Bank of America in Chicago and London. Mr. Brown earned a BS in Finance from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. He has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst® designation and is a member of the CFA institute.

Adam Bloch - Portfolio Manager

Mr. Bloch joined Guggenheim in 2012 and is a portfolio manager for Guggenheim’s Active Fixed Income and Total Return Mandates. Mr. Bloch works with the Fixed Income Chief Investment Officer and other portfolio managers to develop portfolio strategy in line with the firm’s views. He oversees strategy implementation, working with research analysts and traders to generate trade ideas, hedge portfolios, and manage day-to-day risk. Prior to joining Guggenheim, he worked in Leveraged Finance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York where he structured high-yield bonds and leveraged loans for leveraged buyouts, restructurings, and corporate refinancings across multiple industries. Mr. Bloch graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Evan L. Serdensky - Portfolio Manager

Mr. Serdensky joined Guggenheim in 2018 and is a Portfolio Manager for Guggenheim’s Active Fixed Income and Total Return mandates, specializing in corporate credit. Previously, Mr. Serdensky was a Trader on the Investment Grade Corporate team at Guggenheim Investments, where he was responsible for identifying and executing investment opportunities across corporate securities. Prior to joining Guggenheim, Mr. Serdensky was a Vice President and Portfolio Manager at BlackRock, responsible for actively managing High Yield and Multi-Sector Credit portfolios. Mr. Serdensky started his career at PIMCO supporting Total Return and Alternative strategies. Mr. Serdensky completed his B.S. in Finance from the University of Maryland and earned his M.S. in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Risks

Investors should consider the following risk factors and special considerations associated with investing in the Fund.  An investment in the Fund is subject to investment risk, including the possible loss of the entire principal amount invested. During periods of adverse economic, financial, geopolitical, labor, public health and other developments or conditions, the risks associated with an investment in the Fund's common shares may be heightened.

The following is not a complete discussion of the risks associated with an investment in the Fund. Please read the Fund’s annual report to shareholders for more detailed information regarding these and other risks.

The Fund may not be suitable for all investors. There can be no guarantee the Fund will achieve its investment objective or that the Fund’s management will produce the desired results. An investment in the shares of the Fund should not be considered a complete investment program. The net asset and market values of the Fund’s shares will fluctuate, sometimes independently, based on market and other factors affecting the Fund and its investments. The market value of Fund shares will either be above (premium) or below (discount) their net asset value. Although the net asset value of Fund shares is often considered in determining whether to purchase or sell Fund shares, whether investors will realize gains or losses upon the sale of Fund shares will depend upon whether the market price of Fund shares at the time of sale is above or below the investor’s purchase price. Market value movements of Fund shares are thus material to investors and may result in losses, even when net asset value has increased. At any point in time, your shares of the Fund may be worth less than your original investment, even after including the reinvestment of Fund dividends and distributions. The Fund is designed for long-term investors; investors should not view the Fund as a vehicle for trading purposes.

The Fund’s debt investments present certain risks, including issuer, spread, credit, interest rate, liquidity, extension and prepayment risks, and will change in value in response to interest rate changes and market and economic conditions, among other factors. The Fund may invest in high yield, below-investment grade and unrated high risk debt investments (which also may be known as “junk bonds”). These investments may be less liquid, and therefore more difficult to value accurately and sell at an advantageous price or time, and present more risks than investment grade bonds. The market value of a corporate bond may be affected by factors directly related to the issuer, such as investors’ perceptions of the creditworthiness of the issuer, the issuer’s financial performance, perceptions of the issuer in the marketplace, performance of management of the issuer, the issuer’s capital structure and use of financial leverage and demand for the issuer’s goods and services, as well as general market conditions. There is a risk that the issuers of corporate bonds may not be able to meet their obligations on interest or principal payments at the time called for by an instrument or at all.

Investments in loans, including directly or through participations or assignments, involve special types of risks, including credit risk, interest rate risk, counterparty risk, liquidity risk, prepayment risk and extension risk. Loans and other debt instruments are also subject to the risk of price declines due to increases in prevailing interest rates. An economic downturn or individual corporate developments could adversely affect these instruments (including the market for these instruments) and reduce the Fund’s ability to sell these instruments at an advantageous time or price. The Fund’s investments in senior secured floating rate loans made to corporations and other non-governmental entities and issuers are typically below investment grade and are considered speculative because of the credit risk of the applicable issuer.

The Fund’s structured finance investments may include residential and commercial mortgage-related and other asset backed securities issued by governmental entities and private issuers. Holders of structured finance investments bear risks of the underlying investments (e.g., risks associated with investments in real estate), index or reference obligation and are subject to counterparty risk. Municipal securities are subject to a variety of risks, including credit, interest rate, prepayment, liquidity, and valuation risks. To the extent the Fund invests a substantial portion of its assets in municipal securities issued by issuers in a particular state, municipality or project, the Fund will be particularly sensitive to developments and events adversely affecting such state or municipality or with respect to a particular project, including, among other things, demographic trends.

The value of a particular common stock held by the Fund may decline for reasons directly relating to the issuer, such as management performance, leverage, the issuer’s historical and prospective earnings, the value of its assets and reduced demand for its goods and services. In addition, common stock prices may be particularly sensitive to rising interest rates, as the cost of capital rises and borrowing costs increase. The prices of common equity securities are also sensitive to general movements in the stock market and economy. At times, stock markets can be volatile and stock prices can change substantially and suddenly. The Fund may invest in preferred stock, which is inherently riskier than the bonds and other debt instruments of the issuer, but generally less risky than its common stock. Preferred stock is subject to issuer-specific and market risks applicable generally to equity securities. The Fund may also invest in convertible securities, which may be subordinate to other securities.

The Fund’s use of derivatives such as futures, options and swap agreements may expose the Fund to additional risks that it would not be subject to if it invested directly in the securities underlying those derivatives. Certain of the derivative instruments, such as swaps and structured notes, are also subject to the risks of counterparty default and adverse tax treatment. As a seller of covered call options, the Fund faces risks such as forgoing the opportunity to profit from increases in the market value of the security or instrument covering the call option during an option’s life. As the Fund writes covered calls over more of its portfolio, its ability to benefit from capital appreciation becomes more limited. The Fund could lose money if the issuer or guarantor of a debt instrument or a counterparty to a derivatives transaction or other transaction is unable or unwilling, or perceived to be unable or unwilling, to pay interest or repay principal on time or defaults or otherwise does not perform its obligations. In addition, the Fund may make short sales of securities. Although the Fund’s gain is limited to the price at which it sold the security short, its potential loss is theoretically unlimited.

The value of foreign securities and obligations is affected by changes in currency rates, foreign tax laws (including withholding tax), government policies (in this country or abroad), relations between nations and trading, settlement, custodial and other risks. In addition, the costs of investing abroad are generally higher than in the United States, and foreign securities markets may be less liquid, more volatile and less subject to governmental supervision than markets in the United States. Foreign investments also could be affected by other factors not present in the United States, including expropriation, armed conflict, unfavorable currency regulations, confiscatory taxation, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards, less publicly available financial and other information and potential difficulties in enforcing contractual obligations. Securities issued by governments or issuers in emerging market countries are more likely to have greater exposure to the risks of investing in foreign securities.

Private companies in which the Fund may invest may have limited financial resources, shorter operating histories, more asset concentration risk, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render such private companies more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns. The Fund’s investments in other investment vehicles subject the Fund to the risks affecting (such as leverage), and expenses of, those investment vehicles. The Fund’s investments in private investment funds subject the Fund to additional risks, including obligatory payments through capital call provisions, limited liquidity, valuation risk and increased leverage risk. The Fund may utilize financial leverage and enter into transactions with leverage embedded in them to the maximum extent permitted by its investment policies and restrictions and applicable law. Leveraging will exaggerate the effect on net asset value of any increase or decrease in the market value of the Fund’s portfolio. The use of financial leverage by the Fund will cause the net asset value, and possibly the market price, of the Fund’s common shares to fluctuate significantly in response to changes in interest rates and other economic indicators.

The income investors receive from the Fund may vary widely over the short- and long-term as a result of, among other things, interest rate changes.  In addition, interest rate changes may adversely affect the Fund’s investments, such as the value or liquidity of, and income generated by, the investments or increase risks associated with such investments, such as credit or default risks.

Activities and dealings of Guggenheim Partners and its affiliates may affect the Fund in ways that may disadvantage or restrict the Fund or be deemed to benefit Guggenheim Partners and its affiliates. For example, from time to time, conflicts of interest may arise between a portfolio manager’s management of the investments of the Fund on the one hand, and the management of other registered investment companies, pooled investment vehicles and other accounts on the other. The Fund’s governing documents include provisions that could limit the ability of other entities or persons to acquire control of the Fund or convert the Fund to an open-end fund. Like other funds and other parts of the modern economy, the Fund and its operations are subject to risks associated with cyber incidents and market or operational disruptions.

The Fund is not guaranteed by the U.S. government.




Guggenheim Investments represents the investment management business of Guggenheim Partners, LLC ("Guggenheim"). Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC is an affiliate of Guggenheim.

© 2024 Guggenheim Investments. All Rights Reserved.

Research our firm with FINRA Broker Check.

• Not FDIC Insured • No Bank Guarantee • May Lose Value

This website is directed to and intended for use by citizens or residents of the United States of America only. The material provided on this website is not intended as a recommendation or as investment advice of any kind, including in connection with rollovers, transfers, and distributions. Such material is not provided in a fiduciary capacity, may not be relied upon for or in connection with the making of investment decisions, and does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell securities. All content has been provided for informational or educational purposes only and is not intended to be and should not be construed as legal or tax advice and/or a legal opinion. Always consult a financial, tax and/or legal professional regarding your specific situation. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal.