Fitch Ratings wrote the paper, "CEF ARPS Ten Years After the Financial Crisis," which says, "Roughly $​5 billion of closed-​end fund (​CEF) ARPS [​auction-​rate preferred securities] remain outstanding (​as reported year end 2016), down 93% from over $​60 billion in 2007. CEFs continue to redeem auction-​rate preferred shares (​ARPS) at discounts to par, albeit at a slow pace. In 2016, $​443 million of ARPS were redeemed, $​407 million of which was at a discount. So far in 2017, $​166 million of ARPS have been redeemed, $​64 million at a discount. Fitch expects the redemptions to continue for CEF ARPS that remain outstanding.... Over the last few years alternative financing options to ARPS have grown significantly. For municipal funds these include preferred shares placed with banks, money funds, and bond funds. For taxable funds alternatives include notes and preferred shares placed with insurance companies and retail investors as well as bank financing. While initially more expensive than ARPS, these options may be attractive for CEFs in a rising rate environment, especially when combined with a discounted ARPS tender.... Since the ARPS auctions froze in 2008, fund managers have been actively redeeming these securities. The chart below shows that taxable CEFs' outstanding ARPS balances have declined 93%, from approximately $​31.​5 billion to $​2.​2 billion as of end 2016. Municipal CEFs were slower to reduce balances, but have almost caught up, declining 91.​6% from approximately $​30.​2 billion to $​2.​5 billion."

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