Is ECF a Friend, Question Mark or Foe?

ECF is classified a Friend under the Income Quality Score framework, based on long-duration distribution and total-return history. This is a research classification, not investment advice.

How safe is the ECF distribution?

A Friend is an income asset whose long-term economic total return has historically covered its distributions and whose distribution has been stable over the available history. It describes a track record of durable, well-covered income.

Home › IQ Score › ECF

Public snapshot

ECF Income Quality Score

Name: ECF Income Quality Score
Creator: Income Quality Score
Keywords: ECF income quality, ECF dividend quality, ECF dividend safety, ECF distribution history, ECF dividend score, ECF analysis, Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. dividend

Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. (ECF) has an Income Quality Score of 88/100, classified as a Friend with high confidence, based on a 10-year income and total-return history.

Ellsworth Growth and Income Fund Ltd. (ECF) is a closed-end fund and is part of the IQ Score universe.

July 2026 snapshotAs of July 7, 2026Lookback: 10-year

Explore More IQ Scores Get Monthly IQ Score Updates

Long-term focused10-year income and total-return analysis

Data-drivenObjective scoring across 5 quality, distribution and risk signals

Clear classificationFriends to own. Foes to avoid.

IQ Score

88/100

FriendHigh confidence

Asset Type

CEF

Exchange

NYSE

Trailing Yield (TTM)

—

Rank in CEF Universe

9 of 263

Lookback

10-year

Data as of

July 7, 2026

How the IQ Score works →

About this snapshot
This is the public July 2026 snapshot. Public snapshots are delayed and frozen: once released, a month's scores do not change, and current data is reserved for members. The July 2026 snapshot is published as the public launch snapshot.

Read about data freshness →

Follow ECF and 700+ Other Income Tickers

Get a free monthly email as new public IQ Score snapshots are released — new Friends, downgrades and distribution changes across the income universe.

Get Monthly IQ Score Updates

IQ Signal Scores

5 quality, distribution and risk signals combined into the overall IQ Score.

Economic Payout Coverage

74/100

Working Capital Preservation

78/100

Distribution Cut Score

100/100

Distribution Trend

100/100

NAV CAGR

100/100

View full methodology →

IQ Score History

IQ Score trajectory since 2023

ECF's IQ Score has 70 recorded points from 2023-05-31 to 2026-07-07, most recently 87, ranging between 49 and 90 over the period. Over that window ECF recorded 3 classification changes. The chart above plots the score against the methodology's Friend and Foe thresholds and overlays a base-100 normalised price line for capital-preservation context.

View full history →

ECF distribution history & safety

Across 11 years of distribution data (2015–2025), ECF recorded 4 annual increases and no distribution cuts. Distribution stability is a core IQ Score signal — a long record free of cuts supports a stronger classification, while repeated cuts weaken it. Per-year figures are shown in the panel above.

Annual increases

2015–2025

Distribution cuts

2015–2025

Years of data

2015–2025

—

Trailing yield (TTM)

As of snapshot

Growing

Distribution trend

Over available history

Explore More Income Quality Scores

Browse the full Income Quality Score research across CEFs, BDCs, REITs and income ETFs.

Browse All IQ Scores

IQ Score is a long-duration quality and distribution-safety classification for income assets. It is research based on historical data, not personal investment advice, and it does not tell you what to buy or sell. Figures reflect a delayed public snapshot and may differ from current data.