Capital Link's 11th Annual Conference on Closed-End Funds & Global ETFs and CEF & ETF Awards Are a Great Success

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - May 2, 2012) - On Wednesday, April 25, 2012, at the Metropolitan Club in New York City, Capital Link upheld the caliber and prestige of its annual Closed-End Funds & Global ETFs Forum for the eleventh year in a row. The only educational, industry, marketing, and networking event to combine closed-end funds and ETFs, the event served not only as a resource for sharing and evaluating the latest CEF and ETF products and trends, but also as an interactive platform for enhancing visibility and establishing the right connections.

Over 1,000 industry participants representing more than 600 firms were in attendance, including registered investment advisors, institutional investors, financial planners, private bankers, analysts, retail and institutional advisors, and major financial press. Featuring over 60 presenters and panelists from CEF and ETF industry heavyweights, the forum covered a range of topics from emerging markets to investing by asset class, as well as commodity ETFs, equity volatility management, preferred securities, high yield and convertibles, indices, leverage and derivative use in closed-end funds, a long only CEF investing strategy, and a dedicated analyst panel.

AGENDA & PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE ONLINE

To view the forum agenda and presentations, please visit: http://forums.capitallink.com/cef/2012/index.html.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

After introductory remarks by Piers Currie, Aberdeen Asset Management's Global Head of Marketing, keynote speaker Scott Burns, Director of ETF, Closed-End, and Alternative Fund Research at Morningstar, delivered his address, "The Age of the Enlightened Investor."

THE ANNUAL CLOSED-END FUND, ETF & ANALYST AWARDS

The Closed-End Fund & ETF Awards, an initiative aimed at identifying and recognizing fund sponsors and executives who apply high standards of financial disclosure, innovation, and investor and shareholder relations, took place after the keynote address. The Analyst Awards distinguishes firms and analysts for their research coverage of the CEF and ETF sectors. Nominations are based on a committee of CEF and ETF analysts, fund sponsors, and market experts. Capital Link is not a part of the nominating committee.

In line with tradition, the results of the Awards will be published in the Monday, May 7, 2012, issue of Barron's.

FORUM STRUCTURE

The conference consisted of two concurrent tracks -- the plenary session and parallel breakout sessions. The morning sessions of the main session consisted solely of presentations, while roundtable panel discussion took up the majority of the afternoon portion. The parallel breakout sessions, which contained both presentations and panels, offered attendees a more dedicated, in-depth look into the CEF and ETF space, whether addressing alternative fixed income ETFs or capital raising for CEFs and ETFs.

FORUM TOPICS

• Closed Versus Open-End Funds - Who Was the Better Performer in 2011?
• The State of the CEF Industry in 2012
• The State of the ETF Industry in 2012
• Real Assets for Real Returns
• The Elements of Investing in Real Assets
• Opportunities in the MLP Market
• Outlook and Opportunities for the Asia-Pacific
• Fixed Income Investing
• Royalty Trust
• Senior Loan Market Update and Outlook
• Fixed Income ETF Portfolio Management
• Equity & Total Return Investing
• Factor Investing: Measuring and Managing Factor Exposures
• Currency Effects on International Equity Investments
• Investing Internationally
• The Third Coming of Emerging Markets
• The Mexico Fund: Mexican Economic Climate, Perspectives & Investment Opportunities
• Tactical Opportunities in Global Markets
• Capitalizing on the Advancement Toward Energy Independence
• High Yield & Convertibles
• Alternative Fixed Income ETFs: "It's the Yield, Stupid!"
• Opportunities in Preferred Securities: An Evolving Asset Class in an Era of Financial Reform
• Leverage and Derivatives in Closed-End Funds
• Capital Raising for Closed-End Funds & ETFs
• Why Global Bonds?
• Scott Schultz's Closed End Fund, Long Only, Top Performing Strategy
• CEF Industry Roundtable: Current Trends, Opportunities & Outlook
• ETF Industry Roundtable: Current Trends, Opportunities & Outlook
• Indices
• Commodity Opportunities - A Total Return Strategy
• Commodity ETFs
• Outlook for Precious Metals & ETFs in 2012
• Equity Volatility Management
• Analyst Panel

2011 CLOSED-END FUND, ETF & ANALYST AWARD RECIPIENTS

The Closed-End Fund Awards

• MOST INNOVATIVE CLOSED-END FUND IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who came up with the most innovative product in 2011.
  Winner: First Trust Energy Infrastructure Fund (NYSE: FIF)
• BEST SHAREHOLDER RELATIONS BY A NON-US CEF FUND FAMILY IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who practices best financial disclosure and is proactive in shareholder communications.
  Winner: Aberdeen Asset Management
• BEST SHAREHOLDER RELATIONS BY A US EQUITY FUND FAMILY IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who practices best financial disclosure and is proactive in shareholder communications.
  Winner: BlackRock Closed-End Fund Group
• BEST SHAREHOLDER RELATIONS BY A FIXED INCOME FUND FAMILY IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who practices best financial disclosure and is proactive in shareholder communications.
  Winner: Nuveen Investments
• BEST INVESTOR RELATIONS CEF WEBSITE IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who maintains the most informative and user friendly financial website.
  Winner: Nuveen Investments
• FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE CLOSED-END FUND SECTOR IN 2011
  Awarded to an individual for his/her contribution to the Closed-End Fund sector in 2011
  Winner: Mr. Jeff Margolin, Senior Vice President, Closed-End Fund Analyst, First Trust Advisors

The ETF Awards

• MOST INNOVATIVE ETF IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who came up with the most innovative product in 2011.
  Winner: WisdomTree Managed Futures Strategy Fund (NYSE: WDTI)
• BEST SHAREHOLDER RELATIONS IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who practices best financial disclosure and is proactive in shareholder
  communications.
  Winners: BlackRock, iShares
• BEST INVESTOR RELATIONS ETF WEBSITE IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who maintains the most informative and user friendly financial website.
  Winner: iShares
• MOST INNOVATIVE INDEX IN 2011
  To the Fund Sponsor who came up with the most innovative index in 2011.
  Winner: Russell-Axioma U.S. Large Cap Low Volatility Index (NYSE: LVOL)
• FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ETF SECTOR IN 2011
  Awarded to an individual for his/her contribution to the ETF sector in 2011
  Winner: Mr. Jan van Eck, President, Market Vector ETFs

The Closed-End Fund Analyst Awards

• BEST RESEARCH TEAM FOR CLOSED-END FUNDS IN 2011
  Winner: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Michael Jabara, David Perlman, Stephen Minar)
• FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE CLOSED-END FUND SECTOR IN 2011
  Awarded to an Analyst for his/her contribution to the Closed-End Fund sector in 2011.
  Winners:
  • Mr. Jon Maier, Global Macro Research, Closed-End Fund Analyst, Bank of America Securities - Merrill Lynch
  • Ms. Mariana Bush, Closed-End Fund & Exchange-Traded Tracking Products, Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

The ETF Analyst Awards

• BEST RESEARCH TEAM FOR ETFs IN 2011
  Winner: Morgan Stanley Smith Barney (Michael Jabara, David Perlman, Stephen Minar)
• FOR CONTRIBUTION TO THE ETF SECTOR IN 2011
  Awarded to an Analyst for his/her contribution to the ETF sector in 2011.
  Winner: Ms. Mariana Bush, Closed-End Fund & Exchange-Traded Tracking Products, Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC

SPONSORS & MEDIA PARTNERS

IN COOPERATION WITH: NYSE Euronext
LEAD SPONSOR: Aberdeen Asset Management
PLATINUM SPONSOR: Calamos Investments
GOLD SPONSOR: ALPS
SILVER SPONSORS: Cohen & Steers, Cushing MLP Asset Management, db-X ETF, Morningstar, Nuveen Investments, Legg Mason, Russell ETFs, Scott Schultz Closed-End Funds, Inc.
BRONZE SPONSORS: Athens Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE), Deutsche Bank, Eaton Vance Investment Managers, ETF Securities, First Trust Advisors, Fitch Ratings, FocusShares, ING Investment, International Securities Exchange (ISE), Invesco PowerShares, JonesTrading, Market Vector ETFs, The Mexico Fund, Milberg LLP, DWS Investments, Morgan Stanley, PIMCO, S-Network Global Indexes, Shaker Financial Services, Thomson Reuters, Tortoise Capital Advisors
SUPPORTING SPONSORS: Four Wood Capital Partners, L.L.C., Okapi Partners, Virtus Investments
MEDIA PARTNERS: Barclay Hedge, Barron's, ETF Radar, Financial Planning, Hedge Fund Alert, Investment Advisor, Investor's Business Daily, On Wall Street, Registered Rep.

ABOUT CAPITAL LINK, INC.

Capital Link is a New York-based investor relations and financial communications firm, which, among other activities, maintains a strategic focus on closed-end funds and ETFs.

Capital Link has developed specific investor outreach programs and IR tools focused on CEFs and ETFs in order to enhance their profiles among analysts, investors, and financial media. In pursuit of this objective, it maintains websites dedicated to CEFs (www.CEFForum.com) and ETFs (www.ETFForum.com) that track the news and developments of all U.S. listed CEFs and ETFs, providing investors with a free information resource on these topics. The 11th Annual Closed-End Funds & Global ETFs Forum (www.CapitalLinkForum.com), considered a premier industry annual event, took place in New York City on April 25, 2012, bringing together investors, analysts, wealth management professionals, and CEF and ETF industry participants. Capital Link also offers the "Closed-End Funds & Global ETFs Webinar Series (www.CapitalLinkWebinars.com)," an online interactive platform that is on CEFs, ETFs, and other pertinent industry topics. Open to the public, these virtual events provide an in-depth look into the CEF & ETF industry, and ground issues and timely topics in the context of the global economy, fostering a better understanding among participants.