Allspring Announces Increased Distributions for Closed-End Funds

Certain Funds Also Announce a Change to the Managed Distribution Plan

CHARLOTTE, N.C., Nov. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Allspring closed-end funds have each declared a distribution representing an increase from the prior distribution. For Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund and Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund, these distributions reflect an approval by the funds' Board of Trustees to increase the rates used by the funds' managed distribution plans.

Additionally, the president of Allspring Funds, Andrew Owen, will resign from this position effective December 31, 2024, and John Kenney, head of Strategic Initiatives for Allspring, will be appointed as president of Allspring Funds. Andrew will retire from the firm and the industry in March 2025.

The distributions declared today are as follows:

The following dates apply to today's distribution declaration for each fund:

Effective with the distributions declared above, the managed distribution plans for Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund and Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund will provide for the declaration of monthly distributions to common shareholders of the fund at an annual minimum fixed rates of 8.75% and 8.00%, respectively, based on the fund's average monthly net asset value (NAV) per share over the prior 12 months. This is an increase from the prior rates of 8.00% and 7.00%, respectively. These higher rates are expected to provide increased monthly distributions to shareholders, which may lead to higher demand for the funds' shares and a narrowing of the funds' market price discount to NAV. 

The managed distribution plan rates for the remaining Allspring closed-end funds remain unchanged at this time.

These funds make distributions in accordance with a managed distribution plan that provides for the declaration of monthly distributions (in the case of the Allspring Income Opportunities Fund, the Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund and the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund) or quarterly distributions (in the case of the Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund) to common shareholders of the fund at an annual minimum fixed rate of 8% for the Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund, 8.75% for the Allspring Income Opportunities Fund, 8.75% for the Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund, and 9% for the Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund based on the fund's average monthly net asset value (NAV) per share over the prior 12 months. Under the managed distribution plan, distributions are sourced from income and also may be sourced from paid-in capital and/or capital gains. The fund's distributions in any period may be more or less than the net return earned by the fund on its investments and therefore should not be used as a measure of performance or confused with yield or income. Distributions in excess of fund returns will cause the fund's NAV to decline. Investors should not draw any conclusions about the fund's investment performance from the amount of its distribution or from the terms of its managed distribution plan.

The Allspring Income Opportunities Fund is a closed-end high-yield bond fund. The fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income. The fund may, as a secondary objective, seek capital appreciation to the extent it is consistent with its investment objective.

The Allspring Multi-Sector Income Fund is a closed-end income fund. The fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income consistent with limiting its overall exposure to domestic interest rate risk.

The Allspring Utilities and High Income Fund is a closed-end equity and high-yield bond fund. The fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income and moderate capital growth with an emphasis on providing tax-advantaged dividend income.

The Allspring Global Dividend Opportunity Fund is a closed-end equity and high-yield bond fund. The fund's investment objective is to seek a high level of current income. The fund's secondary objective is long-term growth of capital.

The final determination of the source of all dividend distributions in the current year will be made after year-end. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax-reporting purposes will depend upon a fund's investment experience during the remainder of the fiscal year and may be subject to change based on tax regulations. Each fund will send shareholders a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell shareholders how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.

For more information on Allspring's closed-end funds, please visit www.allspringglobal.com.

These closed-end funds are no longer available in public offerings and are only offered through broker-dealers on the secondary market. A closed-end fund is not required to buy its shares back from investors upon request. Shares of a fund may trade at either a premium or discount relative to the fund's net asset value, and there can be no assurance that any discount will decrease. The values of, and/or the income generated by, securities held by a fund may decline due to general market conditions or other factors, including those directly involving the issuers of such securities.

Equity securities fluctuate in value in response to factors specific to the issuer of the security. Debt securities are subject to credit risk and interest rate risk, and high-yield securities and unrated securities of similar credit quality have a much greater risk of default and their values tend to be more volatile than higher-rated securities with similar maturities. Foreign investments may contain more risk due to the inherent risks associated with changing political climates, foreign market instability, and foreign currency fluctuations. Risks of international investing are magnified in emerging or developing markets. Funds that concentrate their investments in a single industry or sector may face increased risk of price fluctuation over more diversified funds due to adverse developments within that industry or sector. Small- and mid-cap securities may be subject to special risks associated with narrower product lines and limited financial resources compared with their large-cap counterparts. Each fund is leveraged through a revolving credit facility and also may incur leverage by issuing preferred shares in the future.

The use of leverage results in certain risks, including, among others, the likelihood of greater volatility of the net asset value and the market price of common shares. Derivatives involve additional risks, including interest rate risk, credit risk, the risk of improper valuation, and the risk of noncorrelation to the relevant instruments they are designed to hedge or closely track. There are numerous risks associated with transactions in options on securities.

Allspring Global Investments™ is the trade name for the asset management firms of Allspring Global Investments Holdings, LLC, a holding company indirectly owned by certain private funds of GTCR LLC and Reverence Capital Partners, L.P. These firms include but are not limited to Allspring Global Investments, LLC, and Allspring Funds Management, LLC. Certain products managed by Allspring entities are distributed by Allspring Funds Distributor, LLC (a broker-dealer and Member FINRA/SIPC).

This material is for general informational and educational purposes only and is NOT intended to provide investment advice or a recommendation of any kind—including a recommendation for any specific investment, strategy, or plan.

Some of the information contained herein may include forward-looking statements about the expected investment activities of the funds. These statements provide no assurance as to the funds' actual investment activities or results. Readers must make their own assessment of the information contained herein and consider such other factors as they may deem relevant to their individual circumstances. ALL-11122024-mal9xbeh

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SOURCE Allspring Global Investments