Virtus Artificial Intelligence & Technology Opportunities Fund

Portfolio management is led by Dave Albrycht, who executes the fund's AI-focused public equity mandate. Albrycht operates within the Newfleet Asset Management division of Virtus Investment Partners, drawing on analytical support from that platform as well as Allianz Global Investors. Investment decisions follow the fund's stated objective of identifying companies whose primary revenue driver is artificial intelligence or related enabling technologies.

AIO is a closed-end fund, which means it raised a fixed pool of capital at its 2019 IPO — roughly $775 million — and does not continuously issue or redeem shares. This permanent capital structure allows the manager to hold positions through market cycles without facing the forced selling that open-end mutual funds or ETFs can experience during redemption waves. The trade-off is that the share price can deviate meaningfully from net asset value, and the fund has historically traded at both premiums and discounts.

The fund targets companies that derive a significant portion of revenue from AI, machine learning, or enabling infrastructure. Top holdings typically include chipmakers like Nvidia, cloud platforms like Microsoft and Alphabet, and semiconductor foundries like TSMC. The investment universe draws from the Nasdaq CTA AI & Robotics Index, though management retains discretion to invest beyond index constituents, including up to 20% in convertible securities and non-US-dollar assets.

AIO operates under a level-distribution managed plan, committing to regular quarterly distributions regardless of the portfolio's realized capital gains or income in a given period. The fund blends interest, dividends, and capital gains to fund these payments, and may include return of capital in distributions. This structure appeals to income-oriented allocators, though it means distribution sustainability depends on underlying portfolio performance over the full cycle.

Yes. The board authorized a share repurchase program that allows the fund to buy back its own common shares in the open market when they trade at a discount to net asset value. The program was most recently renewed in July 2023, per the fund's official communications. Buybacks are opportunistic and intended to support shareholder value during periods of persistent discount.

The fund's mandate explicitly avoids companies where AI is a tangential or experimental initiative rather than a core revenue driver. Traditional industrials, brick-and-mortar retail, extractive industries, and financials fall outside the strategy unless a specific company demonstrates that AI or enabling technologies constitute a primary business line. The fund also limits non-US-dollar exposure and privately held securities, maintaining a public-equity focus.

AIO is one of several closed-end funds sponsored by Virtus Investment Partners, a publicly traded multi-manager firm that also operates open-end mutual funds, ETFs, and institutional strategies. The AI fund's portfolio management is executed by Newfleet Asset Management, a Virtus affiliate, with additional resources from Allianz Global Investors. This multi-affiliate structure means AIO competes for analyst attention and distribution resources within a larger organization, rather than operating as an independent boutique.