MORRISTOWN, NJ -- (Marketwire) -- 11/19/12 -- Bancroft Fund Ltd. (NYSE MKT: BCV) declared its one hundred sixty-eighth quarterly dividend today.

The $0.195 per share dividend is payable from net investment income on December 28, 2012 to shareholders of record November 30, 2012.

Shareholders who are not members of the Fund's Automatic Dividend Investment Plan will be given the option to receive the distribution either in cash or in beneficial shares of the Trust. Because of this option, the dividend is taxable to all shareholders whether or not they choose to receive cash.

The expiration date of the option is December 14, 2012.

The number of shares that holders will be entitled to receive under the option will be determined on December 20, 2012, either on the basis of the closing market price of the Fund's beneficial shares, or its net asset value, whichever is lower on that date.

SHAREHOLDERS MEETING DATE: The trustees also set February 22, 2013 as the date of the annual shareholders meeting, with a record date of December 24, 2012.

Bancroft Fund Ltd. operates as a closed-end, diversified management investment company and invests primarily in convertible securities, with the objectives of providing income and the potential for capital appreciation; which objectives the Fund considers to be relatively equal, over the long-term, due to the nature of the securities in which it invests. Its shares are traded on the NYSE MKT Exchange under the ticker symbol BCV.

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