# Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund is an Asset Manager based in Boston, United States. ## Overview - **Organization type:** Asset Manager - **Headquarters:** Boston, United States - **Region:** North America - **Address:** Boston, MA, United States - **Founded:** 2004 - **Assets under management:** Undisclosed - **Website:** allspringglobal.com ## Regulatory record - **Reports private funds:** No ## About Allspring Global Investments launched the Utilities and High Income Fund in 2004 as a closed-end strategy designed to generate monthly distributions through a split allocation. Allspring, formed from the 2021 sale of Wells Fargo Asset Management to GTCR and Reverence Capital Partners, operates the fund under its multi-boutique model, with Manju Boraiah listed as Senior Portfolio Manager responsible for day-to-day security selection. The fund's mandate requires roughly two-thirds of managed assets in common stocks of utility companies — electric, gas, water and telecommunications — with the remaining third allocated to high-yield debt securities. This structure creates a hybrid income stream: regulated utility dividends for baseline yield and below-investment-grade bonds and bank loans for enhanced current income. The fund can invest up to 20% in foreign securities, including emerging markets, though historically positions concentrate in North American regulated utilities and domestically issued high-yield corporates. The portfolio uses leverage, typically through preferred shares or credit facilities, to amplify distributable income. As a registered closed-end fund trading on the NYSE American under the ticker ERH, the strategy offers daily liquidity to public shareholders despite managing an illiquid private-credit and utility-equity mix. Allspring's listed CEF platform houses multiple sector-specific strategies alongside this fund. The board of trustees provides governance oversight, and the adviser can waive fees to support the fund's distribution rate, a common practice among CEF sponsors managing income-oriented mandates. The fund operates as a publicly traded vehicle rather than a private family-office partnership, giving it a regulatory posture under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that mandates semi-annual reporting, shareholder voting rights, and SEC oversight. Unlike private utility-infrastructure funds or direct lending vehicles, this CEF allows retail and institutional allocators to access a leveraged utility-debt blend through a standard brokerage account — a structural difference that lowers the minimum investment threshold to the price of a single share. ## Sectors - Utilities - Energy Transition & Renewables - Private Credit ## People - Joe Sullivan — Chief Executive Officer - Manju Boraiah — Senior Portfolio Manager ## Questions ### How does the fund split its portfolio between utilities and high-yield debt? Under normal market conditions, the fund invests approximately two-thirds of its total assets in common stocks of utility companies and the remaining third in high-yield bonds and bank loans. This allocation is a stated investment policy, not merely a historical tilt, and the fund can adjust within bands around these targets depending on relative value assessments by the portfolio management team. ### Who manages the day-to-day investment decisions for the fund? Manju Boraiah serves as Senior Portfolio Manager for the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund, leading security selection across the utility equity and high-yield sleeves. Boraiah works within Allspring Global Investments' multi-boutique structure, which separates investment teams by asset class while centralizing operations and distribution. ### Does the fund use leverage to enhance its income distributions? Yes, the fund can employ leverage through the issuance of preferred shares, debt securities, or credit facilities. The stated purpose is to increase the assets available for investment, thereby amplifying the income available for monthly distributions to common shareholders. Leverage introduces additional risks, including heightened sensitivity to interest rate changes and the cost of maintaining the preferred share or debt obligations. ### How is Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund related to the former Wells Fargo Asset Management? Allspring Global Investments is the direct successor to Wells Fargo Asset Management. The business was acquired by private equity firms GTCR and Reverence Capital Partners in a 2021 transaction and rebranded as Allspring. The firm continues to manage legacy funds, including this closed-end utility and high-income strategy, under the Allspring name and governance structure. ### Where does the fund's utility exposure come from geographically? The fund invests primarily in U.S. regulated electric, gas, water, and telecommunications utilities. It has the ability to invest up to 20% of assets in non-U.S. securities, including those in emerging markets, but historically the utility equity portfolio concentrates on North American names with established dividend track records and rate-regulated revenue streams. ### What is the fund's ticker and exchange listing? The fund trades on the NYSE American exchange under the ticker symbol ERH. As a closed-end fund, its market price can diverge — at a premium or discount — from its net asset value per share, a structural feature that can create opportunistic entry and exit points for allocators monitoring CEF discounts. ## Related profiles - [ChampionsGate Acquisition Corp](https://altss.com/profile/championsgate-acquisition-corp) - [Revium Rx](https://altss.com/profile/revium-rx) --- Last updated: 2026-06-03T20:00:00.000Z Canonical page: https://altss.com/profile/allspring-utilities-and-high-income-fund Maintained by Altss — https://altss.com — methodology: https://altss.com/methodology