Saturday, October 11, 2008

Money & Business

Money Matters by Katy Marquardt and Kirk Shinkle

Investing in a Post-Castro Cuba

February 19, 2008 11:38 AM ET | Katy Marquardt | Permanent Link | Print

Here's a fund that should have a wild ride this week (with Cuban President Fidel Castro announcing his retirement): Herzfeld Caribbean Basin (symbol CUBA). The closed-end fund, which trades on an exchange like a stock, invests in U.S. and Latin American companies that could benefit if trade resumes between the United States and Cuba.

These include Trailer Bridge, a marine freight carrier that runs a fleet of vessels made for shallow waters; Copa Holdings, a Latin American airline that makes daily flights to Havana; Watsco, a Florida-based manufacturer of air-conditioning and refrigeration equipment; Consolidated Water, which supplies potable water in the Caribbean; and Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruises.

Shares of closed-end funds can be worth more or less than the assets they hold, depending on investor demand. This fund has often traded at a discount to its net asset value over the years, but news events can cause swings in its share price (in February 1996, for example, shares plunged when Cuba shot down two U.S. civilian aircraft). As of last week, the Herzfeld fund was trading at a 7.5 percent discount to its NAV. Jon Ogg at 24/7 Wall Street points out that the fund's total share count is small and its market capitalization is just $12.5 million, so today's moves could be quite exaggerated.

Tags: Cuba | investing | Fidel Castro

Tools: Share | | Comments (10) | Print

Reader Comments

nfwty ulifgn

zrfhe kvldso tzoecr ydrhowx hsgityl zkfarwesd udqwnyj

mslciedwt mosn

agmqo irgyhlszj gqfyzitdx wuvbm beuwr aymvg ftejdy http://www.tvmhgdjie.nadbs.com

6iqyxfz7iy

cxktoe3cw qcg7edgn8y1z2mx0k 11itq1539g7i

Add your thoughts

Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information, please see our Comments FAQ.

advertisement

Katy Marquardt came to U.S. News from Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine, where she profiled rising stars in the mutual-fund world and wrote about investing in stocks and racehorses. Katy hails from Abilene, Texas, and graduated from the University of Texas-Austin.

Kirk Shinkle is a senior editor at U.S. News. Formerly, he covered business and economics on both coasts for Investor's Business Daily. A native of the Montana-Texas corridor, he currently resides in the wilds of west Brooklyn. His checkered online evolution looks like this: Friendster, still (!). MySpace, no. Facebook, yes. He blogs here, Twitters occasionally, and has yet to Tumblr.

advertisement

NEWSLETTER

Sign up today for the latest headlines from U.S. News & World Report delivered to you free.

RSS FEEDS

Personalize your U.S. News with our feeds of blogs and breaking news headlines.

U.S. NEWS MOBILE

U.S. News daily briefings are also available on your mobile device.

Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy.