RE:Premium to NAV down to 1%Good post Obscure....
I generally agree with your post but as usual (lol) I do have a couple of thoughts on the matter.
I will deal with the "easy" one first. IMO Middlefield couldn't care less about whether their raises create a trading opportunity or not. Their only interest is to hope that there are enough dumb/greedy investors out there to bid the premium up so the math works for a raise and they can pocket more advisory fee income and there are enough others out there that the brokers can sell the raise to even though the SP for the Commons typically falls below the raise price.
In terms of strategy regarding the premium, I guess it depends on your investment strategy and tolerance to risk. This is something I have talked about here and elsewhere many times before. In my case what I have found that works and keeps me disciplined and pragmatic is to follow the Graham/Buffet approach - don't buy anything at a price higher than what it's worth (better still look for things on sale). So to me, I will accept your argument, Obscure, that some premium above NAV for ENS is warranted but that number is a lot lower than the typical premium and once the premium is above that number one is paying more than something is worth. So for me, if someone is willing to buy something from me that is at a price higher than it is worth then I will be a nice guy and gladly sell it to them.