"that picture of a 1940s telecommunications switchboard (or computer bank?)"

Doesn't look like telecom, but really have no idea. That equipment looks like a semi-permanent cross-connect setup- not anything that is constantly reconfigured according to telecom traffic need. The women appear to have been posed for the picture, and likely once that board is configured it doesn't need to have anyone "operating" it on a constant basis.

This is what I came up with for AA.
https://app.screencast.com/focrQYzX5b271
There is a category called "ventures" which would be interesting to better understand.
List of Ventures:
https://app.screencast.com/tARS7gSpS6usi

FWIW saying I am big into 3 of those 'ventures' in my long-long term portfolio. Great minds think alike, I guess. :)

@rforno Lemme guess: EPP, WELL and AMT?

Close! BIP. BEP, and EPD (the latter in *very* large size)

I have been invested in bond OEFs since 2017 at about 95%.
Most of the performance I made in unique bond funds was much higher than your typical us gov , muni, and corp.
I also learned that investing based on predictions isn't a good idea.
I only know how to invest based on current markets.
Let's read the conclusions. The experts never give a definite answer. I never invest based on FEEL.

Our reading of bond market messaging is that it is more attractive to hold exposure to long-term interest rates in inflation-protected form, as long-term nominal rates are not offering adequate compensation for the inflation risk inherent in them. If you feel that the probability of US sovereign default in the long term is much lower than that implied in market pricing, then US TIPS might be a doubly good way to hold your long-term interest rate exposure.

Youtube interview: How to beat the market over 50 years w/ Jay Bowen

This is what I came up with for AA.
https://app.screencast.com/focrQYzX5b271
There is a category called "ventures" which would be interesting to better understand.
List of Ventures:
https://app.screencast.com/tARS7gSpS6usi

FWIW saying I am big into 3 of those 'ventures' in my long-long term portfolio. Great minds think alike, I guess. :)

@rforno Lemme guess: EPP, WELL and AMT?

question for you high-level bond investors...
what does the linked post below imply (if anything) for short-term (<5yr) us gov , muni, and corp bonds?
https://elmwealth.com/decoding-the-bond-market/

2008-09 was a tough year overall. UTF is a solid fund, if purchased at the proper point...which goes for many funds. I've owned it for the last 5 years and it's done well, though it's richly valued currently.

Good points @PressmUP. It was just the unexpected price swings around X-dividend date that puzzled me. And I’ve noticed the same with other CEFs. You helped by noting these strange price swings are common.
I’m aware CEFs are priced by sentiment and do not often trade at NAV. I owned 15-16 a month or so ago and commented proudly on my ”CEF basket” here a few times. Many of them were doing very well. But when I pulled up the 2008 performance (where it was available) I learned that several of my “hottest” ones had lost between 50% and 65%* in 2008 alone. So, I pulled back out of caution. At age 79 I’m not going to go chasing anything lower as I did in ‘08.
Still own 11 CEFs. Most are somewhat sedate and income oriented - even though I realize they aren’t the “hottest rods” on the block! BTW - GDL held up well in 2008 losing just 8%.
Yes - Best to avoid thinly traded holdings. Tough to get on the fire escape when needed! :)
* UTF is the one that lost 65% in 2008. Yet, I’ve come across well meaning financial articles describing the fund as an excellent “conservative” choice ”for older investors”. Obviously those writers hadn’t bothered to pull up its past performance.

Unlike OEFs or ETFs, CEFs price is purely determined by investor sentiment and not the underlying value of its holdings. As you may be aware, investors like to buy/sell around distribution dates, which drives the potential for price fluctuation.
I tend to say away from thinly traded CEFs for the reasons described in this thread. I prefer CEFs with 6-9% distributions, at minimum $1B AUM, and 125,000 daily traded shares.

This is what I came up with for AA.
https://app.screencast.com/focrQYzX5b271
There is a category called "ventures" which would be interesting to better understand.
List of Ventures:
https://app.screencast.com/tARS7gSpS6usi

FWIW saying I am big into 3 of those 'ventures' in my long-long term portfolio. Great minds think alike, I guess. :)

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/06/11/fmr-fed-governor-mishkin-cpi-data-should-be-taken-with-a-grain-of-salt-heres-why.html?
Another reliable voice (Former FED governor) says inflation numbers must be taken with "a grain of salt". Too early for the inflation to appear, as many importers are still rolling out pre-tariff supplies/materials that they previously stockpiled.

This is what I came up with for AA.
https://app.screencast.com/focrQYzX5b271
There is a category called "ventures" which would be interesting to better understand.
List of Ventures:
https://app.screencast.com/tARS7gSpS6usi

About 77% equities. I read about these guys over 15yrs ago. Then I ran into a recently retired Tampa Fireman/Paramedic; he was SUPER happy about their management.

The Stocks - ”Boeing (NYSE:BA) shares fell as much as 3.5% on Friday, while GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE) shares dropped 2.6%, as both companies extended losses for a second straight session following a crash involving an Air India 787 Dreamliner aircraft.”
Accident Details from BBC

Thoughtful look at the yield scene today. (Dated June 8, 2025)
”Here’s an investment puzzle: Treasurys, stocks, cash and corporate bonds all yield about the same. Either risky assets are less rewarding than usual or safe assets are less safe than usual. Or, perhaps, both.”
Article
Side-note: No “flight to quality” today even with war raging in the Mideast and elsewhere. Bonds are falling / rates rising sharply.

What trading securities do after ex-div is unpredictable - they may even go up enough to make up for distributions. CEFs are no exceptions.
For GDL (high discount of 20%) that's involved in M&A arbitrage, there could be news related to one of its holdings. In looking at its portfolio holdings at M*, nothing jumped out, but I don't follow GDL in detail.
BTW, GDL has managed-distribution policy, so some of the distribution can be ROC (18.75% in 2024).

Several weeks ago I opened up a good sized position in Gabelli’s GDL fund. Had owned a much smaller amount for a couple months. Thinly traded with only a $95.7 Mil asset base. Took hours to acquire the desired number of shares. The CEF is an arbitrage fund that skims small profits from pending or nearly completed mergers & acquisitions. It’s the tamest CEF Gabelli offers with a record dating back 15+ years and which I’d expect to outpace cash by a percent or two over longer periods. (Gabelli himself is reported to own a big chunk.)
Averaging in at $8.32, the fund has gone nowhere in the short time I owned it. Held steady around $8.32. Today’s the ex-dividend date (12-cents per share). While the fund opened lower as expected ($8.26) it quickly bounced to $8.35, well above its average price in recent days. I would not have expected it to go x-dividend and then jump in price over what it closed the day before - especially with the present Mid-East turmoil.
I really don’t understand the logic here in a fund jumping higher on ex-dividend date after the dividend has been declared / pulled out. It would make more sense for investors to be pushing the price up in the days before the dividend is declared. Would be instructive to better understand investor behavior & psychology is these matters.
I

found it. bloomberg energy expert last week suggested going long was a bad idea, and a conflict could provide a chance to short oil. he has an update.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2025-06-13/an-israel-iran-war-may-not-rattle-the-oil-market

(my kind of investing ... and why I went into my state's 403(b) versus the state pension system.)
The Florida Pension Fund Managers Who've Beaten the S&P 500 Over 50 Years
Unlike most other US public retirement plans of its size, the Tampa Fire & Police Pension Fund doesn’t invest in hedge funds, private equity or private credit. It doesn’t hire consultants to help it pick outside managers. Instead, for the past 50 years, its investments in stocks and bonds have been overseen by a single manager, Bowen, Hanes & Co., a nine-person firm led by Harold “Jay” Bowen III. In short, Tampa and Bowen Hanes do one thing, and the rest of the institutional world does something else.
Consider the Tampa fund’s performance, though. It racked up a 32.2% return in the fiscal year ended in September. “Fiscal 2024 was—not only was it our 50th year, it was the best year the plan’s ever had,” says Bowen, 63. The return was good enough to rank the Tampa plan as the best performer for the period in the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service’s database of plans with more than $1 billion in assets under management. Tampa was also No. 1 for 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 years.
When the firm started by Bowen’s father began managing the Tampa Fire & Police pension in 1974, the plan had $12.1 million in assets. Fifty years later, in September 2024, the plan’s assets totaled $3.2 billion. What’s more, net of contributions, the system had paid out $1.8 billion to retirees. That means by investing in stocks and bonds, Bowen Hanes had in effect turned $12 million into almost $5 billion over 50 years.
< - >
Full archive link: https://archive.ph/3nTUd
Fund holdings as of September 2024: https://www.tampa.gov/document/september-30-2024-fiscal-year-financial-statements-115286

Jimmy Buffett's Estate Co-Trustees Fight
You can make the best plans possible, but they can be spoiled when co-trustees fight.
Jimmy Buffett left a $275 million estate when he passed away in 2023. In his Will, he provided for a marital trust with his wife (Jane Buffett) as income-beneficiary & his children as remainder-asset-beneficiaries (Savannah, Delaney and Cameron). He designated his wife and his business manager/financial advisor (Richard Mozenter) as co-trustees.
Now, co-trustees are fighting accusing each other of noncooperation and not sharing financial information.
It seems that RM is managing the Trust for very low current income ($2 million only) and is charging high fees ($1.7 million). This looks like an asset preservation strategy, but it became contentious when co-trustee RM told co-trustee wife Jane that there wasn't enough trust income to support her living expenses.
Something looks very fishy. Even Bengen's 4% initial w/COLA can produce $11+ million/yr from $275 million to keep everyone happy. In fact, many marital trusts specify that income-beneficiary may get 5% as income and additional 5% of principal, if needed, and the trustees should manage the trust assets accordingly. That would make wife eligible for $13.75-27.5 million per year. Most living trusts spell this out. But maybe, the Will just mentioned the marital trust without including much details.
These lawsuits may take a long time to resolve - now, 2 lawsuits are filed in different states and have to consolidated first. If the court decides that the current co-trustees have an unworkable relationship, then it may replace one of the co-trustees, or both co-trustees.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/13/jimmy-buffett-estate-family-trusts.html
For more estate information, see https://ybbpersonalfinance.proboards.com/thread/654/estate-planning-general