In plain terms — Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund
Shares currently cost about 11.3% less than the value of the assets behind them (a discount).
Over the past year it has averaged a 7.5% discount, so today's level is unusually wide for this fund (Z-score -2.8). That describes the past; it does not predict where the discount goes next.
It pays regular distributions worth about 12.9% a year of the share price (11.5% 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 $1.13 of assets — a ReinvestCapture™ rate of 14.6%, more than the payout rate itself. That is buying power, not a return.
The assets themselves grew 1.6% 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 | -9.62% | 1.87% | -1.49 | 64 |
| 6 months | -8.47% | 1.84% | -2.13 | 126 |
| 1 year | -7.51% | 1.75% | -2.80 | 250 |
| 3 years | -6.22% | — | — | — |
| 5 years | -7.44% | — | — | — |
Current contemporaneous premium/discount -12.40% (close Oct 14, 2026 vs NAV Oct 13, 2026). 1-year range -13.07% to -4.69%. 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 | -5.85% | -11.54% | -13.21% | -15.49% | -4.17% | -9.32% |
| Market price total return | -4.83% | -8.76% | -5.15% | -4.99% | +7.14% | +0.47% |
| NAV return | -2.62% | -4.63% | -7.48% | -8.85% | -3.35% | -7.31% |
| NAV total return | -1.71% | -1.94% | +0.39% | +1.55% | +7.31% | +1.91% |
Through Oct 14, 2026. Total return reinvests distributions at the series value on the ex-date. Cumulative ≤ 1 year, annualised beyond.
About the fund
Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. is a closed ended fixed-income mutual fund launched and managed by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC. It is co-managed by Western Asset Management Company and Western Asset Management Company Limited. The fund invests in the fixed income markets of the United States. It seeks to invest in high-yielding corporate debt obligations. The fund seeks to maintain an average duration of around four years with an average credit quality of B. It benchmarks the performance of its portfolio against the Barclays Capital U.S. Corporate High Yield 2% Issuer Cap Index. The fund was formerly known as High Income Opportunity Fund. Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc. was formed on November 16, 1993 and is domiciled in the United States.
CEF Explorer research page for Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc.. Figures carry their own dates and sources; a discount to NAV does not guarantee convergence or any return. This is not investment advice.