Bancroft Fund Ltd. Announces Earnings and Financial Update

MORRISTOWN, NJ--(Marketwire - August 14, 2009) - Bancroft Fund Ltd. (NYSE Amex: BCV) today
reported earnings, financial highlights and certain portfolio information
for the nine months ended July 31, 2009:

EARNINGS REPORT Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
July 31 July 31
2009 2008 2009 2008
----------- ------------ ----------- ------------

Net Income $ 736,000 $ 970,000 $ 2,623,000 $ 3,127,000
Per Share $ 0.14 $ 0.19 $ 0.50 $ 0.60
Shares Outstanding 5,235,599 5,189,875 5,235,599 5,189,875
Total Net Assets $82,184,000 $100,760,000 $82,184,000 $100,760,000
Net Asset Value Per
Share $ 15.70 $ 19.41 $ 15.70 $ 19.41
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FUND STATISTICS

Market price $ 13.94
Net asset value (NAV) $ 15.70
Premium/(Discount) (11.21)%
Total Net Assets $82,184,000
12-Month income
distribution $ 0.74
Yield on market price 5.31%
Ratio of expenses
(annualized) 1.26%
Ratio of net income
(annualized) 4.95%
Portfolio Turnover 57.73%
Shares outstanding 5,235,599
-------------------------------------

TOP TEN HOLDINGS
by underlying % of Net
common stock Assets
LSB Industries 3.3
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold 2.7
Equinix 2.6
Euronet Worldwide 2.5
Blackboard 2.3
Millipore 2.2
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries 2.2
Intel 2.1
Kinetic Concepts 2.1
Oil States International 2.1
-------------------------------------

MAJOR INDUSTRY EXPOSURE % of Net
Assets
Energy 15.5
Telecommunications 13.1
Healthcare 8.8
Pharmaceuticals 8.7
Banking/Savings and Loan 6.8
Minerals and Mining 6.0
Foods 5.4
Computer Software 5.0
Computer Hardware 4.5
Financial Services 4.2
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QUALITY ALLOCATION *
(From Moody's or S&P when Moody's
is unavailable)
% of Portfolio
AA 0
A 7
BBB 11
BB 20
B 20
CCC 1
Not Rated 40

* Excludes equity securities and cash
-------------------------------------

ASSET ALLOCATION % of Net
Assets
Convertible Bonds & Notes 75.2
Corporate Bonds & Notes 0.9
Convertible Preferred Stocks 11.3
Mandatory Convertible
Securities 8.5
Common Stocks 0.4
Cash & Equivalents 3.7

Data is unaudited and as of July 31, 2009. This selected information should
be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in
the Company's Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders for the six months ended
April 30, 2009.

Detailed portfolio information is available on our website
(www.bancroftfund.com). Contact us by email at info@bancroftfund.com or
call us at (973) 631-1177.

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 Amex under the ticker symbol
BCV.

Cusip # 059695106