MORRISTOWN, NJ--(Marketwired - Jul 27, 2015) - The Board of Trustees of Bancroft Fund Ltd. (NYSE MKT: BCV) announced today that it has scheduled a special shareholders meeting to be held jointly with a meeting of the shareholders of Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. (NYSE MKT: ECF).
The date of the joint meeting has been set for October 19, 2015, with a record date of August 24, 2015.
The Board of Trustees of the Fund unanimously approved a new investment management agreement with Gabelli Funds, LLC and believes it to be in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders.
At the joint meeting, shareholders of each Fund will be asked to approve the new investment management agreement between such Fund and Gabelli Funds, LLC. As recently reported, Gabelli Funds, LLC and Dinsmore Capital Management Co., the Funds' investment advisor, have signed a strategic agreement.
If shareholders approve the new investment management agreements, the Funds will be managed by the Dinsmore Group of Gabelli Funds, LLC which will be composed of the current Fund portfolio management team, all of whom will become employees of Gabelli Funds, LLC. Gabelli Funds, LLC will also act as the funds' administrator and marketer under the proposed new investment management agreement. In addition, the Dinsmore portfolio management team will contribute to the management of The Gabelli Convertible and Income Securities Fund, Inc. (NYSE: GCV).
Bancroft Fund Ltd. operates as a closed-end, diversified management investment company and invests primarily in convertible securities, with the objectives of providing income and the potential for capital appreciation; which objectives the Fund considers to be relatively equal, over the long-term, due to the nature of the securities in which it invests. Its shares are traded on the NYSE MKT Exchange under the ticker symbol BCV.
Dinsmore Capital Management Co., formerly Davis-Dinsmore Management, an SEC-registered investment adviser, was founded in 1971. Dinsmore Capital is one of the longest running convertible securities money management firms. The firm manages two closed-end funds: Bancroft Fund Ltd. (founded in 1971) and Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. (formerly Ellsworth Fund Ltd.) (founded in 1986). Assets under management of the two funds as of June 30, 2015 were $257 million.
GAMCO Investors, Inc. (NYSE: GBL), through its subsidiaries, manages assets of private advisory accounts, mutual funds and closed-end funds (Gabelli Funds, LLC), and partnerships and offshore funds (Gabelli Securities, Inc.) and is known for its Private Market Value with a Catalyst™ style of investment. As of March 31, 2015, GAMCO Investors, Inc. had $46.5 billion in assets under management.
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