Mr. Solano: I am Eduardo Solano, Investor Relations Vice President of The Mexico Fund. Here with me is my colleague Alberto Osorio, who is Senior Vice President, Treasurer and CFO of the fund. Launched in June 1981 and with current assets of around $360 million, The Mexico Fund is today one of the largest and oldest closed-end country funds listed on the NYSE. The fund's trading symbols is MXF, and its investment philosophy is long-term capital appreciation through investments in securities, primarily equity, listed on the Mexican Stock Exchange, or Bolsa, as it is commonly known. Typically the fund does not hedge against currency fluctuations nor leverage its portfolio. Since its inception, the fund has been managed by Impulsora del Fondo MŽxico, a Mexican investment advisory firm registered with the SEC under the U.S. Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The board of directors of the fund is currently composed of seven members, and only one of them is an Interested Director because of his affiliation with the Investment Adviser.
TWST: Would you tell us a little about what makes The Mexico Fund different and attractive for investors?
Mr. Solano: First, the fund is an actively managed fund. The adviser carefully selects the portfolio components based on their growth perspective, financial situation, management quality and other factors that are monitored continuously. Second, the board is concerned about the discount at which fund shares trade with respect to its NAV, currently near 12%, and has implemented a plan of to mitigate it. The fund recently conducted an in-kind tender offer for 15% of outstanding shares at 98% of NAV. Additionally, the following two actions are currently in place: One, the board has implemented a managed distribution plan, consisting of quarterly cash distributions at an annualized rate of 10% of the fund's net asset value per share as of the end of the previous calendar year. The board believes that there are an important number of retail investors who are attracted to investments that provide predictable cash flows, particularly in an environment of low interest rates, just like the one we are witnessing now. Two, the fund has in place a program of open-market repurchases of fund shares for at least 10% of outstanding shares during one year if the discount is above 10%. We believe that not many closed-end funds have committed to mitigate the discount issue as firmly as our fund.
Tickers included in this excerpt: AMX, BIMBO.MXK, BMOSF.PINK, BOLSAA.MXK, CX, GMBXF.PINK, LABB.MXK, TV, WMMVY
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