Board Approves Changes to Sub-Adviser, Fees, and Strategies for Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity
Fund
The Board of Trustees (“the Board”) of Voya Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund (the “Fund”) (NYSE: IGD)
has approved changes to the Fund’s sub-advisory relationship. In connection with these approvals, the investment strategies and
portfolio managers of the Fund will change and the Fund’s investment advisory fee rate and expense limit arrangements will be
reduced as described below. Each of the foregoing changes will be effective on or about May 6, 2019.
Sub-Advisory Relationship
The Fund’s Board has appointed Voya Investment Management Co. LLC (“Voya IM” or “Sub-Adviser”) to serve as the sole sub‐adviser to
the Fund beginning on May 6, 2019, following the termination of the current sub‐advisory agreement between Voya Investments, LLC
(the “Adviser”) and NNIP Advisors B.V. Voya IM currently serves as a consultant to the Adviser, although it does not manage any of
the Fund’s assets.
Investment Strategies
The Fund will maintain its current investment objective of seeking to provide a high level of income with capital appreciation as a
secondary investment objective. The Fund will continue to pursue an option overlay strategy in the same manner as the current
strategy. Upon the implementation of the changes, Voya IM will employ a dividend focused quantitative strategy in selecting equity
investments for the Fund. A description of the revised portions of the Fund’s equity investment strategies are included below:
Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest at least 80% of its managed assets in a portfolio of common stocks of
dividend paying companies located throughout the world, including the U.S. The Fund’s secondary investment objective is capital
appreciation.
The Fund seeks to invest in a portfolio of equity securities included in the MSCI World IndexSM (the “Index”) and
will select securities based upon quantitative analysis. The Sub-Adviser uses an internally developed quantitative computer model
to create a target universe of global securities with above average dividend yields compared to the Index, which the Sub-Adviser
believes exhibit stable dividend yields within each geographic region and industry sector. The model also seeks to exclude from the
target universe securities issued by companies that the Sub-Adviser believes exhibit characteristics that indicate that they are at
risk of reducing or eliminating the dividends paid on their securities. Once the Sub-Adviser creates this target universe, the
Sub-Adviser seeks to identify the most attractive securities within various geographic regions and sectors by ranking each security
relative to other securities within its region or sector, as applicable, using proprietary fundamental sector-specific models. The
Sub-Adviser then uses optimization techniques to seek to achieve the portfolio’s target dividend yield, manage target beta,
determine active weights, and neutralize region and sector exposures in order to create a portfolio that the Sub-Adviser believes
will provide the potential for maximum total return consistent with maintaining lower volatility than the Index. Under certain
market conditions, the Fund will likely earn a lower level of total return than it would in the absence of its strategy of
maintaining a relatively lower level of volatility.
For a period after May 6th until on or about May 20th, Voya IM will work to transition the Fund’s
portfolio in accordance with the investment strategy described herein. During this time, the Fund may deviate from its stated
investment objectives and strategies, and the Fund’s limitations on permissible investments and investment restrictions may not
apply. Transition of the Fund’s investments may result in the realization of taxable capital gains and may have an adverse effect
on the Fund’s performance during the period of the transition. In addition, these transactions will also result in transactional
costs, which will be borne equally by the Adviser and the Fund.
Portfolio Management
Effective with the implementation of the changes discussed herein, Paul Zemsky CFA, Vincent Costa, CFA, Peg DiOrio, CFA and Steve
Wetter, of Voya IM, will become the Fund’s portfolio managers, responsible for the day to day management of the Fund. Paul Zemsky
serves as Portfolio Manager, and Chief Investment Officer of Voya IM’s Multi-Asset Strategies. Mr. Zemsky joined Voya IM in 2005 as
head of derivative strategies. Vinnie Costa serves as Head of the global equities team and as portfolio manager for the U.S. and
Global active quantitative strategies and the U.S. large cap value portfolios. Mr. Costa joined Voya IM in April 2006 as head of
portfolio management for quantitative equity. Peg DiOrio and Steve Wetter serve as portfolio managers on the quantitative equity
team and both joined the firm in 2012.
Revised Fee Arrangements
The Fund’s Board also approved a reduction in the Fund’s management fee and expense limitation arrangements. Set out below are the
Fund’s current and new fee arrangements:
|
|
|
Current Management Fee Rate
|
|
Management Fee Rate effective
May 6, 2019
|
1.15% of the Fund’s average
daily managed assets1
|
|
0.85% of the Fund’s average
daily managed assets
|
|
|
|
Current Expense Limit |
|
Expense Limit effective May 6, 2019 |
1.20% |
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1.00% |
1Managed assets are defined as the Fund’s average daily gross asset value, minus the sum of the Fund’s accrued and
unpaid dividends on any outstanding preferred shares and accrued liabilities (other than liabilities for the principal amount of
any borrowings incurred, commercial paper or notes issued by the Fund and the liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred
shares).
About Voya Investment Management
A leading, active asset management firm, Voya Investment Management manages, as of September 30, 2018, more than $210 billion for
affiliated and external institutions as well as individual investors. With 40 years of history in asset management, Voya Investment
Management has the experience and resources to provide clients with investment solutions with an emphasis on equities, fixed
income, and multi-asset strategies and solutions. Voya Investment Management was named in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018 as a “Best
Places to Work” by Pensions and Investments magazine. For more information, visit
voyainvestments.com. Follow Voya Investment Management on Twitter
@VoyaInvestments.
SHAREHOLDER INQUIRIES: Shareholder Services at (800) 992-0180;
voyainvestments.com
CONTACT: Kris Kagel, (212) 309-6568
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