Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund of Beneficial Interest
Find Ratings Reports- Last Ratings Update:01/31/2024
- Price as of 01/31/2024 :$13.19
- Net Assets:$193.57 Million
- NAV:$13.8
- Premium-4.42%
- Peer Rank:200 of 398
- Investment Rating:B
- Performance:B
- RiskC+
We rate Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund at B. Positive factors that influence this rating include a well above average total return and low expense structure. The fund invests approximately 96% of its assets in stocks and may be considered for investors seeking an Equity Income strategy.
Total return ranks very high in comparison with peers over the last three years. The Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund has returned an annual rate of 8.59% since inception. More recently, the fund has generated a total return of 10.72% in the last five years, 10.39% in the last three years, and 13.10% in the last year. How does that compare to other equity funds? In the last five years, it has outperformed 81% of them. It has also outpaced 89% of its competitors on a three year basis and 75% of them over the last year for the period ending 1/31/2024. On a year to date basis, JCE has returned -1.40%.
Downside risk has been below average. JCE has a draw down risk of -34.77%, which is the largest price decline experienced over the last three years. This fund has a three year standard deviation of 32.6%. This fund has experienced excessive volatility in its monthly performance over the last 36 months. As of 1/31/2024, the fund was trading at a price of $13.19, which is 3.4% below its 52-week high of $13.66 and 3.0% above its 52-week low of $12.80.
High expense ratio hinders performance. On total assets of $193.57 million, JCE maintains a high expense ratio compared to its Equity Income peers of 1.00% to cover all operating costs. Brokerage costs for the fund to buy and sell shares are not included in the expense ratio. As JCE is a closed end fund, it has no front end or back end load.
Manager tenure and performance record are net positives. Substandard fund managers tend to be replaced, so a long tenure is usually a good sign that a fund is achieving its objectives. The Nuveen Core Equity Alpha Fund has been managed by David A. Friar for the last 14 years. Over that period, the manager was able to capture more actual gains in excess of the expected return than 53% of other fund managers.