Voya Funds Announce Proposed Mergers into Open-End Fund
Summary
Voya Investment Management announced the proposed merger of its closed-end funds, IHD and IAE, into an existing open-end fund, IEMLX, with board approval and institutional investor support.
Key Events
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Proposed Fund Mergers
Voya Investment Management recommended, and the Boards of Trustees approved, the merger of Voya Emerging Markets High Dividend Equity Fund (IHD) and Voya Asia Pacific High Dividend Equity Income Fund (IAE), both closed-end funds, into the Voya Multi-Manager Emerging Markets Equity Fund (IEMLX), an open-end fund.
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Institutional Investor Support Secured
Voya has reached an agreement with a large institutional investor in each of IHD and IAE to support the mergers and remain a passive investor for a period of time.
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Shareholder Vote Pending
IHD and IAE will each hold a special meeting of shareholders to consider approval of the transaction. Detailed proxy materials are expected to be filed with the SEC in the coming weeks.
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Strategic Context
This announcement follows a Schedule 13D/A filing on May 8, 2026, where activist investor Saba Capital, holding a 7.36% stake, nominated an independent trustee candidate to the Voya fund board.
Analysis
This filing announces the proposed merger of Voya Emerging Markets High Dividend Equity Fund (IHD) and Voya Asia Pacific High Dividend Equity Income Fund (IAE), both closed-end funds, into the Voya Multi-Manager Emerging Markets Equity Fund (IEMLX), an open-end fund. The Boards of Trustees have approved the recommendation, and Voya has secured support from a large institutional investor in each fund. This strategic move, following a recent activist investor nomination, aims to consolidate assets and potentially offer shareholders the benefits of an open-end structure, such as daily liquidity. The fund is trading near its 52-week high, suggesting this strategic decision is being made from a position of relative strength.
At the time of this filing, IHD was trading at $7.72 on NYSE in the Unknown sector. The 52-week trading range was $5.58 to $7.75. This filing was assessed with neutral market sentiment and an importance score of 8 out of 10.