Discounts in Closed-End Funds - A Study on the Swedish Market

Sammanfattning: The thesis strives to use previous research as a basis to perform an up-to-date and relevant study about the CEF puzzle on the Stockholm stock exchange. Annual data for the whole population of Swedish CEFs will be studied over the time period 2006-2010. A multiple regression analysis will be executed in order to determine the impact of a number of explanatory variables on the CEF discounts. The regression performed did show significant impact on the CEF discounts for a number of explanatory variables: dividends, ownership concentration, fund age, and fund diversification. The results can be explained by financial theory in conjunction with the features of the Swedish CEF market. The Swedish population of CEFs is limited, why it could be of interest to incorporate other Nordic markets in future research.