Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund Inc. (PAI)

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Financials.

This report screens ~400 closed-end funds for those with distribution coverage above 100%, aiming to identify lower-risk income opportunities for investors. Key metrics include premium/discount, z-score, leverage, baseline expense, and coverage. Top picks feature funds that offer high yields, deep discounts, and strong coverage, highlighting attractive value and income potential.

This report screens ~400 closed-end funds (CEFs) for those with 100%+ net investment income coverage, highlighting lower risk of distribution cuts. Top lists identify CEFs with the widest discounts, most attractive z-scores, highest covered yields, and best combinations of value and income. Investors are encouraged to use these rankings as a starting point for due diligence, not as final buy or sell recommendations.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Distribution Related.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Fund Announcement.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Financials.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Distribution Related.

Western Asset Inv Grade Income Fund is a closed-end fund focused on investment-grade corporate bonds, emphasizing high current income and capital appreciation. PAI's portfolio is heavily weighted towards BBB-rated bonds, which have low default rates but are vulnerable to downgrades in a risk-off environment. Historically, PAI has outperformed passive ETFs, but its current valuation is unattractive due to narrow credit spreads and a flat discount to NAV.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Fund Announcement.

The Western Asset Investment Grade Income Fund has been benefiting from a narrowing discount to NAV to help boost total returns. With this occurring, PAI's appeal has declined, but it still isn't necessarily overvalued and can still benefit from the current interest rate environment. Given the investment-grade fixed-income focus, the fund is quite interest rate sensitive, which means lower risk-free rates could see further upside potential.

French private equity firm PAI Partners has submitted a new, higher offer for Sanofi's consumer health business Opella, the Le Monde newspaper said on Thursday, as PAI seeks to outbid U.S. rival Clayton Dubilier & Rice (CD&R).

The Western Asset Inv Grade Income Fund Inc primarily invests in safe investment-grade bonds, offering a lower yield of 4.83% compared to junk bond funds. Despite its lower yield, the PAI closed-end fund delivered a strong six-month performance, appreciating by 6.76% and outperforming key bond indices. The Fed turned very dovish yesterday, but this does not seem likely to have an outsized positive impact on bonds because the market already priced for the new projections.

June was another month where we saw broader equities hitting new all-time highs. However, that participation was rather narrow as the mega-cap tech names led the way higher. This last month, I added to or initiated positions in five different closed-end fund names; I sold out of two positions this month.

Western Asset Inv Grade Income Fund Inc has been moving mostly sideways since our last update but continues to offer an attractive discount. The PAI closed-end fund is relatively conservative thanks to being a non-leveraged fund and investing primarily in investment-grade bonds. Potential upside opportunities could come from discount narrowing or rate cuts, though rate cut expectations have been being pushed back further and further.

The overall broader indexes were heading higher after April's rather brief and shallow pullback. There was a bit more volatility toward the end of the month, which will be interesting to see if that develops into anything more material. Every month I make some purchases to compound and grow my monthly cash flow over time.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Category: Financials.