- Pays: monthly — $0.1821 per share, unchanged in every fiscal year from 2017 through 2026 ($2.19 a year).
- Paying since: 2007, monthly throughout.
- What it is: a leveraged multi-sector credit CEF (about 20% of assets borrowed), run by Guggenheim; total expenses about 2.0% including interest on the leverage.
- What's in the check: fiscal 2026 distributions were 59% return of capital (67% on a 2025 calendar-tax basis); NAV has fallen from $14.33 (May 2022) to $10.79 (May 2026).
- The 2026 shock: the shares' premium to NAV collapsed from 29% (June 2025) to roughly zero by mid-2026 and a ~6% discount by August — the sponsor's own filings note the decline.
GOF has funded itself by selling new shares at a premium through an at-the-market program (about $563M in fiscal 2026). With the premium gone, that source of fresh capital is gone too — a level payout at ~21-23% of market price now rests entirely on the portfolio. No formal managed-distribution plan; the board can change the rate.
GOF pays monthly. Each point below is one distribution since 2007 — a line so flat it hides everything that matters.
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Each point is one payment; the line ends at the most recent payout. The table below totals them by year.
- Trailing 12 months: $2.18 per share across 12 payments — up 0% from $2.18 in the 12 months before. What a change like that does to your income →
- Current pace: recent payments annualize to $2.18 — 0% above the trailing figure. When those two disagree, the trailing yield is quoting the past. Live cut & raise board →
- Share price, same 12 months: down 38% (dividends excluded) — income and principal are one story. Erosion Index →
- Record: 229 payments over 19 years; the largest single payment was $0.182 (May 2013).
- Payment drops ≥20% below trend, last 24 months: none. Get one short email if that changes →
- Payment steadiness: the last 12 checks wobble ±0% around their median. Compare that against any fund →
Every figure above is computed from GOF's actual payment record and share-price history as of the date shown — not copied from a fact sheet. Recomputed regularly; the chart above always shows the live data.
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| Recent Ex-Dividend Dates | Distribution / Share |
|---|
"Next expected" is estimated from GOF's recent payment rhythm — the fund announces exact dates shortly before each payout, and the data feed can lag a few days. You must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout; the cash typically arrives days later. See every fund's upcoming date on the live dividend calendar.
A real total-return estimate, assuming every payout was reinvested — including what happened to the share price. Before taxes and fees. Past performance does not predict the future.
For years GOF was the closed-end fund that traded at an absurd premium — investors paid up to 29% over net asset value for the monthly $0.1821 — and the fund used that premium to issue new shares, replenishing a NAV the distribution was steadily consuming. In 2026 the premium evaporated. The distribution line on the chart didn't move; the economics underneath it changed completely.
Over half of recent payments are return of capital, which the Cost Basis Calculator tracks. Compare GOF against PDI (the other level-payout credit CEF, still at a premium) on the compare tool.
| Year | Total Distributions / Share | Payments | Change vs Prior Year |
|---|
Data source: Yahoo Finance. Figures are per share; the current year may be partial and figures should be verified against official sources.
Calculated from complete calendar years in the data above. Past results don't guarantee future payments.
When Is GOF's Next Ex-Dividend Date?
GOF pays monthly. The exact date of each payout is announced by the fund only shortly beforehand, so no site can promise the next date — but the live schedule box above shows the most recent ex-dividend date and the expected window for the next one, computed from GOF's actual payment rhythm. Remember: you must own shares before the ex-dividend date to receive that payout.
Nineteen Years, One Number
GOF has paid monthly since 2007 and the identical $0.1821 since at least fiscal 2017 — a decade of sameness that made it a retail favorite. The chart above is that flat line; the year-by-year table confirms it.
The Premium Machine, and Its Off Switch
A closed-end fund that trades above NAV can sell new shares at that premium and hand the proceeds to its NAV — a genuine source of value for existing holders, and one GOF used heavily. A distribution that exceeds earnings quietly drains NAV; the premium issuance quietly refills it. Remove the premium, as 2026 did, and only the drain remains. That is the single most important development in GOF's history, and it is invisible on the distribution chart.
Reading the Chart Honestly
Judge GOF on NAV total return and on the premium or discount you'd pay today — a fund at a discount is a different proposition than the same fund at 29% over. For the sector's other level-payout machines, see PDI and CLM. Next expected date on the live calendar.
Heavy Return-of-Capital Fund? Track Your Real Cost Basis
Distributions classified as return of capital lower your cost basis and change your tax bill when you sell. Our free calculator does the lot-by-lot math.
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