Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Announces Increase In Distribution Rate And Declaration Of Next Monthly Distribution

PRNewswire 11-Apr-2019 5:26 PM

NEW YORK, April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Neuberger Berman High Yield Strategies Fund Inc. (NYSE:NHS) (the "Fund") has announced an increase in its monthly distribution rate to $0.0905 per share of common stock from the prior monthly distribution rate of $0.0658 per share, representing an increase of approximately 38%. The Fund has also declared its next monthly distribution at the new rate, which is payable on May 31, 2019, has a record date of May 15, 2019 and has an ex-date of May 14, 2019.

The Fund's new annualized distribution per share of common stock is $1.086 versus the prior annualized amount of $0.7896. The new $0.0905 per share monthly distribution represents an annualized distribution rate of approximately 9.32% per share of common stock based on the Fund's market price of $11.65 on April 10, 2019.

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC ("Neuberger Berman"), the Fund's investment manager, and the Fund's Board of Directors (the "Board") continue to be focused on delivering value to shareholders of the Fund. The distribution rate increase announced today is an effort to enhance the Fund's competitiveness in the secondary market and increase demand for the Fund's common stock in the secondary market, in order to narrow the discount between the market price of the Fund's common stock and its net asset value per share. The Fund's Board has determined that -- like many other closed-end funds -- it is in the best interests of the Fund and its current stockholders to pay a higher distribution rate, even if that distribution represents a combination of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. Neuberger Berman and the Board will continue to consider other strategies or transactions that may mitigate the discount that the Fund's common stock trades relative to its net asset value.

Like much of the closed-end fund market, the Fund's common stock discount widened substantially during the fourth quarter of 2018, amid a broader market sell-off. While the Fund has experienced an improvement in valuation since that time, the Fund's Board approved the increased distribution rate in an effort to ensure that the Fund remained competitive with other closed-end funds, while remaining committed to its investment strategy dedicated to rigorous and comprehensive credit analysis focused on the higher quality end of the high yield market. The Board also considered, among other things, the Fund's current level of income generated relative to its current distribution amount, the levels of yields available in the high yield bond market and the Fund's current and expected future costs of leverage.

Due to an effort to maintain a stable distribution amount, the distribution announced today, as well as future distributions, may consist of net investment income, realized capital gains and return of capital. In compliance with Section 19 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, a notice would be provided for any distribution that does not consist solely of net investment income. The notice would be for informational purposes and not for tax reporting purposes, and would disclose, among other things, estimated portions of the distribution, if any, consisting of net investment income, capital gains and return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of all distributions paid in 2019 will be made after the end of the year.

About Neuberger Berman
Neuberger Berman, founded in 1939, is a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager. The firm manages a range of strategies—including equity, fixed income, quantitative and multi-asset class, private equity and hedge funds—on behalf of institutions, advisors and individual investors globally. With offices in 22 countries, Neuberger Berman's team is more than 2,000 professionals. For five consecutive years, the company has been named first or second in Pensions & Investments Best Places to Work in Money Management survey (among those with 1,000 employees or more). Tenured, stable and long-term in focus, the firm fosters an investment culture of fundamental research and independent thinking. It manages $304 billion in client assets as of December 31, 2018. For more information, please visit our website at www.nb.com.

Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in the Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other closed end investment companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability of the Fund's investment adviser to attract or retain key employees, inability of the Fund to implement its investment strategy, inability of the Fund to manage rapid expansion and unforeseen costs and other effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations.

Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers LLC
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10104
Tel. 212.476.9000

Contact:
Neuberger Berman Investment Advisers
LLC Investor Information
(877) 461-1899

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