Company Description
Virtus Artificial Intelligence & Technology Opportunities Fund (NYSE: AIO) is a diversified, limited-term, closed-end management investment company in the finance and insurance sector. Classified in the securities and commodity exchanges industry, the fund’s stated investment objective is to provide total return through a combination of current income, current gains, and long-term capital appreciation.
The fund is structured as a diversified closed-end fund with a limited term. According to its disclosures, the fund has a term that is scheduled to end on or around October 29, 2031, unless the Board of Trustees approves an extension of up to 18 months. This limited-term feature distinguishes AIO from perpetual closed-end funds and is an important structural consideration for investors evaluating the fund’s life cycle and potential return profile.
AIO employs a multi-asset approach based on fundamental research. The fund’s strategy involves dynamically allocating to what it describes as attractive segments of a company’s debt and equity in order to seek an appealing risk/reward profile. This means the portfolio can hold different parts of an issuer’s capital structure, such as debt securities and equity securities, when the adviser and subadviser view those exposures as favorable under the fund’s mandate. The focus on artificial intelligence and technology opportunities is reflected in the fund’s name, but the detailed portfolio composition and specific holdings are described in its regulatory and shareholder reports rather than in the provided materials.
The fund’s investment adviser is Virtus Investment Advisers, LLC, which is identified as a registered investment adviser affiliated with Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. The fund’s subadviser is Voya Investment Management. This adviser–subadviser structure places day-to-day portfolio management and security selection with investment professionals operating under the fund’s stated objective and policies.
AIO’s shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol AIO. As a closed-end fund, its shares may trade in the secondary market at a premium or discount to net asset value (NAV). The fund’s press releases emphasize that performance figures are based on NAV and are not meant to represent individual shareholder performance, and that shares of closed-end funds may be worth less upon their sale than what an investor paid for them.
A key feature highlighted in multiple notices is the fund’s Managed Distribution Plan. Under this plan, AIO seeks to maintain a consistent distribution level that may be paid from net investment income, net realized short-term capital gains, net realized long-term capital gains, or a combination of these sources. The fund regularly discloses estimates of the sources of its distributions, breaking them down into net investment income, short-term capital gains, long-term capital gains, and return of capital (or other capital source). These notices stress that if aggregate net investment income and net realized capital gains are less than the distribution level, the difference will be distributed from the fund’s assets and will constitute a return of capital.
The fund also periodically announces monthly distributions and, in some cases, special year-end distributions. For example, AIO has disclosed monthly distribution amounts per share and has provided Section 19(a) notices detailing the estimated composition of those distributions for a given month and fiscal year-to-date period. In one instance, the fund announced a special year-end distribution in addition to its regular monthly distribution, noting that this special payment was made to manage certain federal tax requirements. Each notice reiterates that the amounts and sources of distributions are estimates and are not provided for tax reporting purposes; final tax characterization is reported on Form 1099-DIV.
In its risk disclosures, Virtus Artificial Intelligence & Technology Opportunities Fund states that an investment in the fund is subject to risk, including the risk of possible loss of principal. It notes that a fund’s shares may be worth less upon their sale than what an investor paid for them, and that closed-end fund shares may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Investors are directed to the fund’s annual report for more information about its investment objective and risks. The fund’s materials indicate that copies of the most recent annual report can be obtained free of charge through its shareholder services channels.
Overall, AIO is positioned as a closed-end fund that combines a focus on artificial intelligence and technology-related opportunities with a multi-asset, fundamentally driven allocation across corporate debt and equity. Its limited-term structure, use of a managed distribution plan, and detailed disclosure of distribution sources are central elements of how the fund presents itself to the market.