FIRM HISTORY

A LEGACY OF CEF EXPERTISE, INNOVATION, AND ADVENTURE

For decades, CEF Advisors has concentrated its growth on delivering more for investors.

1969

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George Cole Scott becomes a licensed financial advisor at Anderson & Strudwick in Richmond, Virginia, after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and graduating from the University of Washington.

Partnering with his friend Erik Bergstrom, George who buys control of a deeply discounted CEF, Debold Capital, later renaming the fund Bergstrom Capital ($BEM), which traded on the American Stock Exchange until liquidation in 2003. George joined the fund's Board

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1976

1978

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George moves to Seattle, Washington, where Bergstrom Capital is based. He joins Piper Jaffrey as a financial advisor and gains more experience in closed-end funds.

Returning to Richmond, Virginia, George joins Wheat First Securities as a financial advisor, continuing to focus on closed-end funds.

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1982

1988

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George returns to Anderson & Strudwick after starting a newsletter, The Scott Letter: Closed-End Fund Report, offering a model portfolio and leveraging his previous experience as a journalist in London interviewing fund managers.

CEF Advisors was founded as “Closed-End Fund Advisors, Inc” by three partners in Santa Barbara, CA, on March 15.

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1989

1991

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George co-authors a 500-page book on closed-end funds with finance professor Albert J. Fredman, Investing in Closed-End Funds: Finding Value & Building Wealth, published by the New York Institute of Finance. Amazon link optiona

George buys into CEF Advisors and takes responsibility for managing client portfolios.

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1996

1997

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With help from his college-aged son, John Cole Scott, George moves CEF Advisors to Richmond, Virginia.

George takes full ownership of CEF Advisors.

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1998

2001

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After graduating from William & Mary, George’s son John gets licensed and joins the firm full-time to help manage and grow the business. Together they relaunch The Scott Letter as an online newsletter, interviewing closed-end fund portfolio managers.

John begins managing a new portfolio style for investors, Hybrid Income, adding to Global Growth and Growth & Income Strategies.

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2006

2008

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CEF Advisors partners with Fundamental Data, a London-based data firm, to create a U.S.-focused data offering: CEFA’s Closed-End Fund Universe Report.

CEF Advisors builds an internal data team to work on increasing access to CEF data. The following spring, CEF Advisors launches an independently sourced dataset, CEFData.com, to investors and advisors seeking high-quality data.

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2011

2012

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CEF Advisors begins conducting a quarterly research call for public consumption, with replay and PDF slides available.

CEF Advisors is hired to manage a fund of business development companies (BDCs) for SmartTrust after adding listed BDCs to CEFData.com in February.

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2014

2016

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For CEFData.com, CEF Advisors creates 30+ indexes covering a broad universe of funds, adding to public profile pages for CEFs and BDCs.

CEFData.com adds coverage of interval funds and tender offer funds (non BDCs).

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2018

2019

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John launches the Active Investment Company Alliance (AICA), an independent non-profit trade association focused on educating investors, and the advisors that serve them, on CEFs, BDCs and interval funds. He serves as AICA Executive Chairman. AICA starts a weekly podcast, The NAVigator, with Chuck Jaffe, and organizes an in-person conference in New York City that fall.

After a 50-year career in investments focusing on closed-end funds, George Cole Scott retires from the firm in a day-to-day capacity at age 82.

CEF Advisors hires Dan Silver, CFA, to join John in the research, trading, and management of client portfolios.

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2020

2022

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CEFData.com adds non-exchange–listed BDCs to its dataset.

CEFData.com adds ETF data to its dataset, complementing its CEF data clients’ needs in managing and trading portfolios.

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2023

2024

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CEFData.com starts collecting London-listed CEF data as it continues to grow its dataset.

What began as a firm focused on closed-end fund investing more than 35 years ago has grown into a team recognized for its deep insights, extensive research, and robust data resources. Today, through innovation and technology, CEF Advisors provides investors with access to comprehensive, proprietary data that helps inform their investment decisions.

This legacy is inseparable from the life and vision of George Cole Scott III (1937–2023), who led the firm for over two decades. George’s career in investments began in 1969 after serving in the U.S. Coast Guard and graduating from the University of Washington. His early experiences as a journalist in London sharpened his curiosity and gift for storytelling—traits that later shaped his pioneering research in the closed-end fund (CEF) industry.

George’s partnership with his lifelong friend Erik Bergstrom in the 1970s and their turnaround of a struggling closed-end fund introduced him to the “esoteric universe” of CEFs. Over the years, he became known as one of the earliest and most dedicated specialists in this space, publishing The Scott Letter: Closed-End Fund Report and co-authoring a book on CEF investing. His persistence and optimism— qualities noted by many who knew him—helped him grow his expertise and the reputation of the firm he would eventually own outright.

In 1996, George purchased CEF Advisors, moved it from Santa Barbara to Richmond, Virginia, and expanded its focus to include both client portfolio management and proprietary data services. Under his ownership, CEF Advisors launched CEFData.com, created a broad range of indexes, and built relationships across the industry that continue to benefit clients today. Even as the firm evolved, George remained deeply engaged in research, writing, and client service well into his 80s.

Beyond his professional achievements, George was known as an adventurer, historian, and natural conversationalist. He traveled extensively—often to places few others would go—while remaining grounded in his Episcopal faith, love of nature, and devotion to family. Colleagues and clients alike remember his optimism, generosity, and willingness to ask the tough questions that led to deeper understanding.

Today, CEF Advisors continues to build on the foundation George laid: a firm committed to thoughtful research, comprehensive data, and a client-first approach. His legacy lives on not only in the strategies we employ but in the spirit of curiosity, integrity, and innovation that guides our work every day.

Learn more about the life and legacy of George Cole Scott, CEF Advisors' transformational leader and a respected pioneer in closed-end fund investing.

A LIFE REMEMBERED