In a radio interview with Chuck Jaffe, MarketWatch senior columnist, Paul said that the closed-end fund market has been active enough that the current economic conditions have not resulted in big discounts. Unlike traditional, or open-end, mutual funds, closed-end funds trade like stocks and sentiment can push them above or below the net asset value of the investments in the portfolio.

Paul said that he likes the looks of dividend-oriented plays and made BlackRock Dividend Achievers (BDV:  Last: 11.54-0.11, -0.9%) a buy, although he said he prefers Delaware Dividend & Income (DDF:  Last: 10.18-0.03-0.29%) .

He put buys on both the John Hancock Bank & Thrift Opportunity fund (BTO:  Last: 5.91-0.04-0.67%)  and the Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF:  Last: 26.61-0.08-0.30%).  Although he noted that investors who buy the exchange-traded fund will give up on the discount they can get from the closed-end option.

He put a hold on Cohen & Steers Premium Income Realty (RPF:  Last: 17.02-0.31-1.79%), noting that he prefers the financial-services sector to real estate right now, and Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Buy-Write Opportunities (ETW:  Last: 16.78-0.01-0.06%) , noting that funds which use an options-writing strategy can be particularly attractive when the market trend is bumpy and sideways. "

  

I found it interesting that he prefers financial-services to real estate now.  This is probably the first time in a long time that financial-services would be preferable to any other sector.  I've been following the Real Estate CEFs lately, and they're starting to look very attractive, as was discussed recently on another thread.  They're mostly up significantly YTD, even though their 12 month returns are still way down. 

But it sounds like someone else is starting to see a bottom in financial services -- it's been a long time.  Maybe it's finally time to think about jumping back into financials -- what do you think?

Zwilnik