In plain terms — Ellsworth Growth & Income Fund
Shares currently cost about 13.2% less than the value of the assets behind them (a discount).
Over the past year it has averaged a 11.1% discount, so today's level is not wide for this fund (Z-score -0.3). That describes the past; it does not predict where the discount goes next.
It pays regular distributions worth about 7.5% a year of the share price (6.5% 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 $1.15 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 5.4% 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 | -12.56% | 1.16% | +0.74 | 64 |
| 6 months | -12.23% | 0.99% | +0.54 | 126 |
| 1 year | -11.07% | 1.84% | -0.34 | 250 |
| 3 years | -12.31% | — | — | — |
| 5 years | -12.06% | — | — | — |
Current contemporaneous premium/discount -11.70% (close Oct 14, 2026 vs NAV Oct 13, 2026). 1-year range -15.83% to -5.98%. 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 | -5.25% | -7.86% | +0.77% | -3.78% | +14.86% | -2.48% |
| Market price total return | -3.53% | -6.19% | +5.80% | +4.69% | +23.00% | +5.45% |
| NAV return | -3.07% | -5.56% | +7.94% | -2.23% | +15.50% | -1.84% |
| NAV total return | -1.51% | -4.04% | +12.71% | +5.39% | +22.68% | +5.30% |
Through Oct 14, 2026. Total return reinvests distributions at the series value on the ex-date. Cumulative ≤ 1 year, annualised beyond.
About the fund
Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. is a closed-ended equity mutual fund launched by GAMCO Investors, Inc. The fund is managed by Gabelli Funds, LLC. It invests in the public equity markets. The fund primarily invests in convertible securities. It invests in stocks of companies across market capitalizations. The fund benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Bank of America Merrill Lynch All U.S. Convertibles Index, Barclays Balanced U.S. Convertibles Index, and S&P 500 Index. It was formerly known as Ellsworth Fund Ltd. Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. was formed on June 27, 1986 and is domiciled in the United States.
CEF Explorer research page for Ellsworth Growth & Income 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.