CEFZ vs FCEF

CEFZCRiverNorth Active Income ETF

FCEFCFirst Trust Income Opportunities ETF

In short

CEFZ A 2006 mutual fund that became an ETF in 2025, still running the same play: buy closed-end funds trading below the value of what they hold, and collect the income. All-in cost is 2.82%, with no waiver behind it, and cash goes out monthly.

FCEF One of the few ETFs whose portfolio is other closed-end funds: a manager assembles about 50 income vehicles into a single monthly-paying ticker. The convenience is real, and so is the layered cost.

Stated mandate

CEFZ The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation and income. Its adviser allocates among international and domestic equities, fixed-income securities, and cash, using underlying funds or direct investments.

FCEF The Fund seeks current income, with total return as a secondary objective. It normally invests in closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds listed on U.S. exchanges.

Why people hold it

• CEFZ The angle is closed-end fund discounts. RiverNorth hand-picks CEFs trading below asset value instead of tracking a CEF index, a strategy it has run since the predecessor fund launched in 2006.true-shares.comtrue-shares.com 2
• At 2.82% total with no fee waiver in play, it sits below the median of its seven-fund peer group, and under YYY (3.23%) and FCEF (3.69%).
• Most of that 2.82% is the underlying funds' own expenses, not the adviser's cut: the prospectus fee table shows acquired fund fees as the bigger line, with a unitary fee covering operating costs.sec.gov
• Pays monthly, under a stated aim of a 10% annualized distribution rate, and the portfolio does what the mandate says: around 50 underlying funds across equities and bonds.true-shares.com

• FCEF Holds closed-end funds and ETFs listed on U.S. exchanges, a corner of the market most ETFs skip. One ticker instead of hunting down and rebalancing a dozen CEFs yourself.ftportfolios.com
• Income is the stated job, not a byproduct: current income first, total return second. Distributions come monthly.
• Spreads across roughly 50 underlying funds, each of which is itself a portfolio, so no single security carries the fund.
• Trading since 2016, so there is a real operating record through the zero-rate era and the rate-hike years, not a launch-window story.

Worth knowing

• CEFZ A distribution target is a policy, not a yield. Payouts can include return of capital, which the fund discloses in its Section 19(a) notices.true-shares.comtrue-shares.com 2
• Discount capture cuts both ways: the discounts on its holdings can widen before they close, and you carry the underlying funds' risks too.sec.gov
• It is one of the smaller, thinner-traded names in an already small category, so the bid-ask spread is a real part of the cost of getting in and out.

• FCEF Cost is the headline trade-off: 3.69% in total annual expenses, far above what a typical multi-asset ETF charges, because you pay this fund and the funds it owns.
• Thinly traded for its category, so spreads can widen and sizable orders can push the price around more than in a mainstream allocation fund.
• No index behind it. A manager picks the underlying funds, so results ride on those calls rather than a published benchmark you can check them against.

Full CEFZ profile⁠

Full FCEF profile⁠