In plain terms — Bancroft Fund
Shares currently cost about 14.9% less than the value of the assets behind them (a discount).
Over the past year it has averaged a 11.9% discount, so today's level is somewhat wide for this fund (Z-score -1.3). That describes the past; it does not predict where the discount goes next.
It pays regular distributions worth about 7.3% a year of the share price (6.2% of the assets). That is a payout rate, not a return: part of it may be capital being handed back.
Because the shares trade below the value of their assets, each dollar of reinvested distributions buys about $1.18 of assets — a ReinvestCapture™ rate of 8.6%, more than the payout rate itself. That is buying power, not a return.
The assets themselves grew 3.8% over the past year including distributions (NAV total return).
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Price and NAV, past year
Snapshot
Valuation vs. history
| Window | Average prem/disc | Std. dev. | Z-score | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 months | -12.43% | 1.10% | -0.92 | 64 |
| 6 months | -12.41% | 0.93% | -1.12 | 126 |
| 1 year | -11.86% | 1.21% | -1.31 | 250 |
| 3 years | -12.88% | — | — | — |
| 5 years | -12.52% | — | — | — |
Current contemporaneous premium/discount -13.44% (close Oct 14, 2026 vs NAV Oct 13, 2026). 1-year range -15.51% to -7.27%. A negative Z-score means a wider discount than the window average — not that the fund is undervalued.
Performance
| Series | 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y (ann.) | 5Y (ann.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Market price return | -6.96% | -10.04% | +1.00% | -4.94% | +13.62% | -5.76% |
| Market price total return | -5.37% | -8.49% | +5.76% | +1.16% | +21.90% | +2.81% |
| NAV return | -3.91% | -6.86% | +7.91% | -1.72% | +14.07% | -4.17% |
| NAV total return | -2.44% | -5.44% | +12.40% | +3.83% | +21.30% | +3.74% |
Through Oct 14, 2026. Total return reinvests distributions at the series value on the ex-date. Cumulative ≤ 1 year, annualised beyond.
About the fund
Bancroft Fund Ltd. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched by GAMCO Investors, Inc. It is managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC. The fund invests in the public equity markets. It primarily invests in convertible securities including convertible debt and convertible preferred stocks. The fund invests in stocks of companies across market capitalization. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against S&P 500 Index, Bank of America Merrill Lynch All U.S. Convertibles Index, and Barclays Balanced U.S. Convertibles Index. The fund was formerly known as Bancroft Convertible Fund, Inc. Bancroft Fund Ltd. was formed on April 20, 1971 and is domiciled in the United States.
CEF Explorer research page for Bancroft Fund Ltd. Figures carry their own dates and sources; a discount to NAV does not guarantee convergence or any return. This is not investment advice.