Managed High Yield Plus Fund Inc. - Dividend Declaration, Fund Commentary, and Updated Price and Yield Information

Managed High Yield Plus Fund Inc., a closed-end management investment company, announced on September 14 that the Fund's Board of Directors has declared a dividend from net investment income of $0.0180 per share.

The dividend is payable on September 30, to shareholders of record as of September 24. The ex-dividend date is September 22. Managed High Yield Plus Fund Inc. seeks high income and, secondarily, capital appreciation, primarily through investments in lower-rated, income producing debt and related equity securities.

In a release, the Company noted:

Fund Commentary for the month of August 2009 from UBS Global Asset Management (Americas) Inc. (UBS Global AM), the Fund's investment advisor:

The market for US dollar-denominated high yield securities continued to exhibit strength, returning 2.07 percent during the month, as measured by the Merrill Lynch US High Yield Cash Pay Constrained Index, the "Index." As of August 31st, the market, as measured by the Index, returned 39.97 percent year to date, with CCC-rated and distressed issues leading the way. The Index ended the month with a spread over Treasury securities of 891 basis points (i.e., 8.91 percent), which represented a tightening of 21 basis points (i.e., 0.21 percent) for the month. (Spread is the difference between the yield paid on US Treasury bonds and higher-risk securities.)

During the month of August, the insurance sector performed especially well, returning 18.7 percent, mostly due to AIG bonds, which rallied on the back of positive comments from its new CEO. Other credit-sensitive sectors like broadcasting, printing and publishing also performed well. However, the healthcare, telecommunications and electric utilities sectors lagged for the month.

In August, the Fund underperformed the Index, mainly due to an underweight to the more distressed segment of the market, as well as an overweight to the underperforming healthcare, telecommunications and electric utility sectors. In addition, the Fund's use of leverage magnified the effects of these sectors' underperformance, hurting returns.

Looking ahead, we expect many investors are likely to view the improving economy as an opportunity to add risk to their portfolios. Therefore, we believe it is likely that high yield spreads may continue to compress over the next 12 months.

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Related terms: advisor, bonds, broadcasting, debt, dividend, economy, electric utility, equity, healthcare, index, investment, publishing, securities, telecommunications, treasury, us dollar, yield