SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ING Global Equity Dividend and Premium Opportunity Fund , a closed-end management investment company, today declared its monthly distribution of $0.156 per share. The distribution will be paid on February 15, 2007, to shareholders of record on February 5, 2007. The ex-dividend date is February 1, 2007.
The Fund intends to make regular monthly distributions based on the past and projected performance of the Fund. The tax treatment and characterization of the Fund's distributions may vary significantly from time to time depending on whether the Fund has gains or losses on the call options written on its portfolio versus gains or losses on the equity securities in the portfolio. The Fund's distributions will normally reflect past and projected net investment income, and may include income from dividends and interest, capital gains and/or a return of capital. The final composition of the tax characteristics of the distributions cannot be determined with certainty until after the end of the year, and will be reported to shareholders at that time. The amount of monthly distributions will vary, depending on a number of factors. As portfolio and market conditions change, the rate of dividends on the common shares will change. There can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to declare a dividend in each period.
The Fund estimates that distributions for the tax year commencing on January 1, 2006, will be comprised of approximately 32% net investment income. The remaining portion of the Fund's monthly distributions is estimated to come from the Fund's covered-call option strategy, which for tax purposes, may be treated as a combination of long-term and short-term capital gains, and/or a return of capital. The tax character of the Fund's covered-call option strategy is largely determined by movements in the underlying equity portfolio. Based on the current realized appreciation in the Fund's underlying equity portfolio, the Fund estimates that approximately 66% of the distributions would be considered short-term capital gain, 1% of the distributions would be considered long-term capital gain, and the remaining approximately 1% would be considered a return of capital.
Certain statements made on behalf of the Fund in this release are forward-looking statements. The Fund's actual future results may differ significantly from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements due to numerous factors, including but not limited to a decline in value in equity markets in general or the Fund's investments specifically. Neither the Fund nor ING undertakes any responsibility to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statement.
ING Investments LLC, the manager of the Fund, is part of ING, a global financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management to over 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in more than 50 countries. With a diverse workforce of over 113,000 people, ING comprises a broad spectrum of prominent companies that increasingly serve their clients under the ING brand.
For more complete information, or to obtain a prospectus on any ING fund, please call your Investment Professional or ING Funds Distributor, LLC at (800) 992-0180 or log on to http://www.ingfunds.com/. The prospectus should be read carefully before investing. Consider the fund's investment objectives, risk, and charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this information and other information about the fund. Check with your Investment Professional to determine which funds are available for sale within their firm. Not all funds are available for sale at all firms.
