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  5. ESP: I am in a quandary on what to do with esb shares that I have. [Brompton Energy Split Corp. Class A Shares]
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Investment Q&A

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Q: I am in a quandary on what to do with esb shares that I have. I don't understand how the underlying stocks have doubled but the unit value of esb has FINALLY gotten up to a point where they are paying $.10 a share. I have no idea why the nav has taken so long to get to over $5.00. I fear that the shares will not hold their value, my cost is $.80, thinking about selling and buying some mid cap oils, like tve or bte, what are your thoughts
Thanks
Auftar
Asked by auftar on May 01, 2024
5i Research Answer:

Looking at the underlying holdings of ESP, it looks to have some very solid names such as MPC, SU, TOU, and FANG. The NAV may have grown slower than the underlying holdings due to the high expense ratio the Fund charges at 0.70% and also potential inefficiencies in the covered call strategy it employs. The split share nature of the ESP may also be a reason for the irregular dividends since the prefered shareholders must be paid first, and in a downturn for oil, ESP may not be able to pay its Class A shareholders. Shares are now trading at a slight premium to NAV. We think it is a decent Fund with good holdings, however, the fee is high and the split share nature of it could negatively impact Class A shareholders in a downturn for oil. We are not really fond of split share corps. The leverage and the extremenly small size ($4M) of ESP add more risks, as well. We would be happy to sell this.