The Swiss Helvetia Fund plans a special meeting to discuss investment changes and potential stockholder distributions.
Quiver AI Summary
The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. has announced a special meeting for stockholders on February 21, 2025, to discuss two key proposals: to approve an investment advisory agreement with Bulldog Investors, LLP, and to modify the Fund's investment objectives and strategies. If approved, the Fund plans to sell most of its portfolio securities and declare a special cash distribution of around 30% of its net assets, primarily from long-term capital gains. Additionally, if the shares are trading significantly below their net asset value for a consecutive ten-day period, the Board intends to initiate a tender offer to buy back at least 15% of the outstanding shares. Stockholders of record as of January 24, 2025, are eligible to vote at the meeting and are encouraged to vote by proxy. Detailed information on the proposals is available in the Definitive Proxy Statement filed with the SEC.
Potential Positives
- The Fund is proposing to enter into a new investment advisory agreement with Bulldog Investors, LLP, which could enhance its investment management strategy.
- Potential approval of the proposals may allow the Fund to diversify its investment strategies, potentially improving returns and meeting investment objectives more effectively.
- The planned special cash distribution representing approximately 30% of the Fund’s net assets could provide immediate value and liquidity to shareholders.
- The Board's intention to authorize a tender offer if shares trade at a significant discount provides a mechanism to return value to shareholders and supports shareholder confidence.
Potential Negatives
- Shareholders are being asked to approve significant changes to the Fund's investment strategy, which may indicate previous strategies were not yielding satisfactory results.
- The planned special cash distribution represents a substantial portion (approximately 30%) of the Fund’s net assets, potentially signaling a depletion of resources for future investments.
- The Board's intention to authorize a tender offer if shares trade at a significant discount to NAV might reflect concerns over the actual market value and investor confidence in the Fund.
FAQ
When is the special meeting of stockholders for the Swiss Helvetia Fund?
The special meeting will be held on February 21, 2025, at 11:00 a.m.
What proposals will be discussed at the stockholders' meeting?
Proposals include an investment advisory agreement with Bulldog Investors and changes to the Fund's investment strategies.
What will happen if the proposals are approved?
If approved, the Board plans to sell most of the Fund's portfolio and declare a special cash distribution.
How can stockholders vote if they cannot attend the meeting?
Stockholders who cannot attend are urged to vote by proxy to ensure their voice is heard.
Where can stockholders access the Definitive Proxy Statement?
The Definitive Proxy Statement can be found for free at www.sec.gov and contains important meeting details.
Disclaimer: This is an AI-generated summary of a press release distributed by GlobeNewswire. The model used to summarize this release may make mistakes. See the full release here.
$SWZ Insider Trading Activity
$SWZ insiders have traded $SWZ stock on the open market 1 times in the past 6 months. Of those trades, 0 have been purchases and 1 have been sales.
Here’s a breakdown of recent trading of $SWZ stock by insiders over the last 6 months:
- PHILLIP GOLDSTEIN sold 4,535 shares for an estimated $38,320
To track insider transactions, check out Quiver Quantitative's insider trading dashboard.
$SWZ Hedge Fund Activity
We have seen 13 institutional investors add shares of $SWZ stock to their portfolio, and 15 decrease their positions in their most recent quarter.
Here are some of the largest recent moves:
- SABA CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, L.P. added 261,182 shares (+inf%) to their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $2,337,578
- CITY OF LONDON INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CO LTD removed 45,679 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $408,827
- 1607 CAPITAL PARTNERS, LLC added 43,501 shares (+12.0%) to their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $389,333
- LAZARD ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC added 40,204 shares (+5.7%) to their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $359,825
- WOLVERINE ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC removed 36,192 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $323,918
- ALLSPRING GLOBAL INVESTMENTS HOLDINGS, LLC removed 24,462 shares (-1.1%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $218,934
- ATLAS WEALTH LLC removed 24,129 shares (-100.0%) from their portfolio in Q3 2024, for an estimated $215,954
To track hedge funds' stock portfolios, check out Quiver Quantitative's institutional holdings dashboard.
Full Release
NEW YORK, Jan. 27, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Swiss Helvetia Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”) (NYSE: SWZ) announced today that a special meeting of stockholders will be held on Friday, February 21, 2025 at 11:00 a.m. at the offices of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, 535 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022 to consider proposals to approve (1) the Fund entering into an investment advisory agreement with Bulldog Investors, LLP, and (2) changes to the Fund’s investment objective, strategies, and restrictions in order to expand the types of investments the Fund can make to meet its objective. If shareholders approve all of the proposals, the Board of Directors intends to authorize the sale of substantially all of the Fund’s portfolio securities, and to declare a special cash distribution (consisting largely or entirely of long-term capital gains) representing approximately 30% of the Fund’s net assets.
Following the special cash distribution, if the Fund’s shares trade at a discount of more than 10% from its net asset value per share (NAV) for any ten consecutive business days in 2025, the Board intends to authorize a tender offer to purchase at least 15% of its outstanding shares at a price of at least 98% of NAV.
Only stockholders of record as of Friday, January 24, 2025 will be entitled to vote at the special meeting. The Board urges stockholders that do not plan to attend the meeting to promptly vote by proxy in order to minimize the cost to the Fund of soliciting additional proxies in the event a quorum is not reached and the meeting is adjourned.
The full details of the proposals to be considered at the special meeting are included in the Fund’s Definitive Proxy Statement, which was filed with the SEC on January 27, 2025 and is available free of charge at www.sec.gov . Shareholders should carefully read the Definitive Proxy Statement and any other proxy materials that may be filed by the Fund because they contain important information about the special meeting and the proposals.
For more information, please call InvestorCom, the Fund’s information agent, at (877) 972-0090.
BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, STOCKHOLDERS SHOULD READ CAREFULLY THOSE PROXY MATERIALS AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED BY THE FUND WITH THE SEC, AS THEY CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETING, THE PROPOSED ADVISORY ARRANGEMENTS AND OTHER PROPOSALS CONTAINED THEREIN.
This announcement is for informational purposes only and is neither an offer to purchase nor a solicitation of an offer to sell shares of the Fund’s common stock. No tender offer for the outstanding shares of our common stock has commenced. If any tender offer is commenced, the Fund will file a Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO with the SEC related to the tender offer. The Tender Offer Statement (including an Offer to Purchase, a related Letter of Transmittal and other tender offer documents) will contain important information, including the terms and conditions of the tender offer, that should be read carefully before any decision is made with respect to the tender offer. Stockholders will be able to obtain these documents free of charge, when they become available, from the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov) or the Fund’s current website (www.swzfund.com) or a successor Fund website.