Thanks everyone - generally good points. Notwithstanding some...

Thanks everyone - generally good points. Notwithstanding some confirmation bias going on in the comments they've all been additive to my understanding. Another point (raised in the BKI discussion) is that they have struggled to keep up with a protracted bull market as they are more defensive. This holds up - as their beta shows out at around 0.6-0.7 over 10/20 years - if you can keep up with the market at that level of risk you're doing very well. So on an underlying basis (a) they do pretty well (adjusted for risk), (b) the ability to buy/sell at a discount is a bonus and (c) the admin benefits of just receiving fully franked divvys vs a complex tax statement and inconsistent distributions are real.

I don't think the LIC tax benefit has merit - this just makes individual investors whole for a tax rate they would be otherwise entitled to in a trust (ETF) because company's don't generally get the CGT discount. The tax benefits of LICs in general are oversold. There aren't any. They are tax paying entities, tax obligations don't disappear into thin air just because you don't get them on a statement and a growing ETF and/or managed fund is actually better from a tax perspective as your CGT bill gets diluted as new investors come in. On the other side though a shrinking ETF/managed fund is no fun at all from a tax perspective. Tax admin in LIC's is far easier though - no doubt about it.

My remaining concern is the shareholder base - "lots of us under 80" doesn't avoid the fact that most shares are likely held by retirees 70 years+ (a crude measurement is the demographic of investor briefings but I think that's reasonably extrapolated to the broader shareholder base) . Nothing wrong with retirees (!) but this means the demand/supply balance for these securities (upon which the premium/discount relies upon) is highly likely under threat in coming years and decades. Incremental demand by those shareholders is likely limited (yes not zero, but very limited), whilst they may be selling (supply) to fund retirement of passing on their shares to others who may have other ideas (more supply) on where their investment should be. In my view, this means holders should perhaps temper their expectations for premium/discount behaviour (i.e. reversion/premium) of the past to be replicated in the future. Hopefully the LICs have the firepower and propensity to crank a buyback when material discount presents itself.

All in - think I'm a buy/hold at these levels given defensiveness is likely a good thing now but cautious about the medium term for the reasons above.

Thanks everybody once again - greatly appreciate your thoughts and GLTAH.