BlackRock Enhanced Capital and Income Fund, Inc. (CII)

The BlackRock Enhanced Large Cap Core Fund has delivered strong total returns while also paying a solid monthly distribution to investors, but its discount has narrowed. The fund's call writing strategy can limit some upside, but its active management with a partial overwrite approach on individual names allows for flexibility. CII's tech sector allocation has increased meaningfully since our prior update, mirroring SPY more closely, which likely helped recent returns, but stretched valuations could be a concern.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BBN--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), Bla.

The BlackRock Enhanced Large Cap Core Fund, Inc successfully changed its investment strategy in December 2024, shifting its focus from a broad S&P 500 approach to being more concentrated. The fund's new strategy involves a high concentration of large-capitalization equities, with its top 10 holdings accounting for roughly 50% of the portfolio. CII employs a buy-write strategy using single-stock options on its holdings, a method that differs from competitors who typically use S&P 500 index options.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), BlackRock Enhanced Large Cap Core Fund, Inc. (NYSE: CII), BlackRock Science and Technology Trust (NYSE: BST), BlackRock Science and Technology Term Trust (NYSE: BSTZ), BlackRock Technology and Private Equity Term Trust (NYSE: BTX), BlackRock Capital Allocation Term Trust (NYSE: BCAT), and BlackRock ESG Capital Allocation Term Trust (NYSE: ECAT) (collectively, the “Funds”) paid the following distributions per share

For income investors, closed-end funds remain an attractive investment class that covers various asset classes and promises high distributions and reasonable total returns. Closed-end funds, or CEFs, are generally characterized by higher volatility and deeper drawdowns than the broader market. For these reasons, they are not suited for everyone. In this monthly series, we highlight five CEFs with solid track records that pay high distributions and offer "excess" discounts. We try to separate the wheat from the chaff using our filtering process to select just five CEFs every month from around 500 closed-end funds.

CII offers an attractive value for income investors, trading at a discount to NAV and yielding 8.2% with monthly distributions. The fund's option strategy boosts income but caps upside, and its tech-heavy portfolio positions it to benefit from AI-driven growth. BlackRock Enhanced Large Cap Core Fund reliably supports its distributions with consistent earnings, though it underperforms traditional ETFs in strong bull markets.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BBN--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), Bla.

Covered call writing closed-end funds can offer higher distributions through option premiums, but they can also limit some upside potential. Some funds incorporate more flexible strategies to help negate some of that upside cap through overwriting only a portion of the fund. We are looking at two call writing funds today that are both looking like attractive opportunities for long-term investors at this time, based on valuation.

April's market volatility, driven by tariffs and led by tech sector declines, created opportunities to deploy cash. However, it was an opportunity to reposition my portfolio as well, with 2 swap trades to de-risk my portfolio. There were 2 corporate actions in the last month that also saw two more positions removed from my CEF portfolio, but overall, I was a net buyer for the month.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BBN--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), Bla.

This month we got some increased market volatility, allowing me to put some of my cash pile to work in my closed-end fund portfolio. I also sold out of two positions, as they were starting to become on the more expensive side in terms of discounts/premiums. Adding to my positions regularly every month increases my cash flow annually, and even every month it grows.

BlackRock Enhanced Large Cap Core Fund has been facing pressure due to market declines, but its current discount and market pullback present an attractive opportunity. The fund has undergone a name change and policy update and had received a significant distribution boost since our last update. The distribution increase was quite sizeable and can make it a more appealing investment choice for investors.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BBN--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), Bla.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq started to dip toward the end of February, but a strong last trading day of the month rally clawed back some of those losses. The equal-weighted S&P 500, as measured by the Invesco ETF RSP, held up reasonably well thanks to the value sectors putting up some better performance. Every month, I put some cash to work to grow my CEF portfolio income, though I've been allowing my cash pile to also grow over the last year or so.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)---- $BBN--Today, BlackRock Resources & Commodities Strategy Trust (NYSE: BCX), BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (NYSE: BDJ), BlackRock Energy and Resources Trust (NYSE: BGR), BlackRock Enhanced International Dividend Trust (NYSE: BGY), BlackRock Health Sciences Trust (NYSE: BME), BlackRock Health Sciences Term Trust (NYSE: BMEZ), BlackRock Enhanced Global Dividend Trust (NYSE: BOE), BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure & Power Opportunities Trust (NYSE: BUI), Bla.

The market had a solid two years back to back, and to kick off 2025, January also saw some of that same upside momentum continue. There was some recent volatility in the market after DeepSeek and tariffs were announced; particularly, NVDA from the Mag 7 group has been sliding. That said, every month, I put some additional capital to work to help grow my cash flow over the long term, and January 2025 was no different.