There's a bright light at the end of the tunnel--- finally. Most of the really well respected, long term investors are advising their audiences to hang in there, to stop the panic selling, and to look for the great companies that have withstood the economic downturns of the past.

Buffet, Bogle, Gross, Schwab, and company offer sound advice--- don't run and hide, it's time to hit the Wall Street Mall and go shopping! They've seen the indicators; they've been there before. So have many of you. Clearly, it's time for action.

With IGV stock prices down 50% or more, and income securities as low or lower, Chuck Jaffe points out in MarketWatch that the case for loading up on managed Closed End Funds (CEFs) is a strong one. The great companies are in garage sale mode, and managed CEFs are selling at an additional 25% below net asset value (NAV).mcr

Jaffe writes: "With investments, investors can only guess at how big a bargain they are getting. The one exception is CEFs, where investors looking for both bargains and income streams get a price tag that shows the actual amount of their discount--- an intriguing choice for current market conditions."

Jaffe emphasizes that investors "look inside" the wide variety of CEFs out there, and there are excellent educational websites, like ETF Connect, for hands on research.  He quotes investment manager Jerry Paul, who feels that "the buying case is pretty clear", and that "the best times for closed end funds have been in crisis environments".

The CEF idea, in both equity and fixed income portfolios, boils down to this lightly edited commentary from an old friend that brainwashing book readers know as Deep Pockets: "Closed end funds are misunderstood investments and perhaps that is reflected in their volatility."

"Seems to me that the leverage on the funds would be the cause of concern, yet the taxable funds like Blackrock are not leveraged yet seem to have the same volatility as the leveraged funds. Credit risk could be another cause of concern, yet the insured municipal funds seem to be as volatile as the uninsured."

"As you have pointed out, overall income streams have been stable, yet double digit yields are all over the place. Fixed income assets are on SALE because of the decline in the bond market and thus the reduced net asset values."

"Additional opportunity exists because the Market Values of CEF stocks are at huge discounts to their already lowered NAVs. It is like the 25% markdown sale items are reduced by an additional 25% for no reason other then fear and misunderstanding."

"Looking at prior periods of panic in the markets, closed end funds historically have big rallies toward the end of bear markets. 2003 saw many closed end funds achieve returns of 25-30% in just twelve months.