THE ZWEIG FUND, INC. 
By NEW YORK, Jan. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Board of Directors of The Zweig Fund, Inc. (NYSE: ZF) declared a distribution of $0.082 per share to shareholders of record on December 30, 2011, payable January 9, 2012. The Fund has a Managed Distribution Plan to pay 10 percent of the Fund's net asset value ("NAV") on an annualized basis. The Board believes that regular, fixed cash payouts will enhance shareholder value and serve the long-term interests of shareholders.
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The following is a required Section 19A notice:
You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the terms of the Fund's Managed Distribution Plan.
This notice discloses information on the sources of the distribution as required by SEC Rule 19(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Fund's SEC Exemptive Order under Section 19(b) as follows:
Distribution December 2011(QTD) Year-to-date (YTD)
Estimates (1)
------------ ----------------- ----------------------
Per Share Percentage of Per Share Percentage of
Amount Current Amount Current
(Sources) Distribution Distribution
-------- ------------ ------------
Net Investment
Income $0.006 7.0% $0.011 3.1%
-------------- ------ --- ------ ---
Net Realized
Short-Term
Capital Gains 0.053 64.7% 0.072 20.4%
-------------- ----- ---- ----- ----
Net Realized Long-
Term Capital
Gains - 0.0% - 0.0%
------------------ --- --- --- ---
Return of Capital
(or other Capital
Source) 0.023 28.3% 0.270 76.5%
------------------ ----- ---- ----- ----
Total Distribution $0.082 100.0% $0.353 100.0%
------------------ ------ ----- ------ -----
(1) YTD February 1, 2011 to
January 9, 2012.(The
distribution paid on
January 10, 2011 was
reportable for tax on Form
1099 in 2010)
The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur, for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be confused with "yield" or "income."
The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.
Information regarding the Fund's performance and distribution rates is set forth below. Please note that all performance figures are based on the Fund's NAV and not the market price of the Fund's shares. Performance figures are not meant to represent individual shareholder performance.
Average Annual Total Return on
NAV for the 5-year period ended
December 31, 2011 (2) 0.53%
-------------------------------- ----
Current Fiscal YTD Annualized
Distribution Rate (3) 10.83%
----------------------------- -----
YTD Cumulative Total Return on
NAV (4) -1.18%
------------------------------ -----
YTD Cumulative Distribution Rate
(5) 10.83%
-------------------------------- -----
Average Annual Total Return on
NAV is the annual compound
return for the five year
period. It reflects the change
in the Fund's NAV and
reinvestment of all
(2) distributions.
Current Fiscal YTD Annualized
Distribution Rate is the
Cumulative Distribution Rate
annualized as a percentage of
the Fund's NAV as of December
(3) 30, 2011.
YTD Cumulative Total Return on
NAV is the percentage change in
the Fund's NAV from January 1,
2011 to December 31, 2011,
including distributions paid
and assuming reinvestment of
(4) those distributions.
YTD Cumulative Distribution Rate
is the dollar value of
distributions from January 1,
2011 to December 31, 2011 as a
percentage of the Fund's NAV as
(5) of December 30, 2011.
The Zweig Fund, Inc. is a closed-end fund with an investment objective of increasing capital primarily through investment in equity securities consistent with the preservation of capital and reduction of risk as determined by the fund's investment adviser. The Zweig closed-end funds are advised by Zweig Advisers LLC. For more information on the Fund, please contact Shareholder Services at 800.272.2700, by email at zweig@virtus.com, or visit us on the web at www.virtus.com.
ZF Cusip: 989834106
SOURCE The Zweig Fund, Inc.
