Investment Trust Dividends
If you used the dividends to pay your bills.
With a KISS plan to re-invest all dividends back into the share until you need to spend your dividends.
You don’t need to take high risks with your hard earned but be ready when Mr. Market gives you an opportunity and then overcome your trepidation as Mr. Market will look very bleak.
By Val Cipriani IC
Published on March 17, 2026
It’s a basic principle of investing: when prices go up, yields go down. This applies to equity income assets as well as bonds. In the past year, UK companies have seen their share prices rise enthusiastically – even after the dip caused by the war in Iran, the FTSE All-Share is up 22.4 per cent in the year to 16 March
The flipside is that a stock market known for its income generation actually generates a lot less income than it used to, at least as a proportion of the price you pay for the assets. In December 2023, AJ Bell estimated a dividend yield for the FTSE 100 of 3.9 per cent for that year and 4.2 per cent for 2024. Fast forward two years, and the figures were 3.2 per cent for 2025 and 3.4 per cent for 2026. The drop has also partly been caused by companies sometimes prioritising buybacks over dividends.
Investment trusts in the Association of Investment Companies’ UK equity income sector are also yielding less as a result. In the past year, the sector’s average yield has fallen by 0.6 percentage points. The table below shows how the trusts’ yield has changed over the course of a year, as well as their share price performance over the period.
As you’d expect, there is some correlation between those that have performed particularly well and those on lower yields. The six top performers, whose shares returned around 30 per cent or more, all saw their yields decrease by more than a percentage point. These trusts tend to take a value approach, particularly Lowland (LWI) and Temple Bar (TMPL), which now yield around 4 per cent, and traditionally invest in dividend-rich sectors, such as financials.
Then there are trusts with a quality tilt, whose performance has been less strong. Some of these have traditionally tended to have lower yields than their value counterparts, but now look more attractive on this metric – at 3.7 per cent, Edinburgh Investment Trust (EDIN) now yields nearly as much as City of London (CTY), for example. Nick Train’s Finsbury Growth & Income (FGT), the one trust in the sector that lost money this year, actually saw its yield increase as a result of this drop, albeit at 2.7 per cent it remains relatively meagre compared with peers.
For some trusts, discounts to net asset value (NAV) have also narrowed as well as yields, with the sector’s average discount dropping from 5.6 per cent on 28 February 2025 to 3.7 per cent a little more than a year later.
Of course, yields are not everything. Dunedin Income Growth (DIG) has the highest yield in the sector – 6.5 per cent – after introducing an ‘enhanced’ dividend policy that will see it pay out 6 per cent of its NAV, partly out of capital; but its performance record over the past five years looks decidedly poor.
After such a long period of lukewarm performance for the UK market, it would be ridiculous to complain about this change in fortune, regardless of whether or not it lasts. But income investors are less spoiled for choice. They may want to review their portfolio, and remember that the UK market is not the only option – for example, investment trusts in the AIC global equity income and Asia Pacific equity income sectors yield 3.8 per cent and 5 per cent, on average, respectively. That compares with a UK average that has fallen from 4.6 per cent to 4 per cent over the past year.
BUYING YIELD
It’s a win, win, because when you buy a dividend hero Trust the yield you will receive is the yield when you buy, gently increasing as long as you own the Trust
Remember as an example only if you buy PHP today you should receive 5 dividends in just over the calendar year, an enhanced yield of around 9%. of course there is a chance of a capital gain/loss but if you need to pay your grocery bill, a Trust to DYOR
RUNNING YIELD
It’s a win,win because if you buy a dividend hero as the price rises the yield falls and hopefully, you could if you
You could achieve
In that you take out your stake, when/if the Trust doubles and re-invest in another high yielder, also receiving income from a Trust that sits in your Snowball at zero, zilch cost. If the Trust you own becomes a low yielder because the price has risen, you can always re-invest the dividends back into your high yielding shares in your Snowball.
The power of the market is that if you don’t CPA, losses are limited to 100% but gains are unlimited.
Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist
Updated: March 17, 2026
The bombs continue to fall in the Middle East. But we contrarians know something the crowd always forgets at times like this:
The world is always burning somewhere.
At times like these, our Contrarian Income Report dividend strategy shines. Our portfolio yields 8.2% on average, and those dividends roll in no matter what the world throws at us.
The result? No need to sell into a downturn to get the cash we need. And we get the chance to go on offense, too, snagging dividends on the dips and boosting our income stream (and upside potential) as we do.
Rinse and repeat.
We especially love stocks and funds that pay us monthly, for two reasons:
The problem for most investors is that they limit themselves to the fan favs of the S&P 500, and there are virtually no monthly payers there. But we know there are plenty to be found if we hunt just a little off the beaten path.
Best of all, we can get those high monthly divvies without giving up the large caps we already hold. The key is to buy them through closed-end funds (CEFs), which yield around 8% on average. Plus, most of the 400 or so CEFs out there pay dividends monthly.
Here are two that stand out now.
Monthly Dividend Pick No. 1: A Diversified Pick With an 8.2% Dividend
The BlackRock Enhanced Equity Dividend Trust (BDJ) is purpose built for a market like this. For starters, its portfolio is balanced among stock sectors—finance is the biggest slice, at 19% of assets, followed by industrials (14.5%), healthcare (14.2%) and technology (12.5%).
Then it goes further, adding in a dash of global exposure, with about 12% of assets outside the US, in stable countries like the UK, South Korea, Germany and Canada.
Let’s get to what we really want to know about here: the (monthly!) dividend, which is not only hefty but has risen a stout 32% in the last decade (not including special dividends, which BDJ has paid five times in that span):
Source: Income Calendar
The fund aims to hold at least 80% of its portfolio in dividend-paying stocks. Right now, its holdings include the likes of Amazon.com (AMZN) and medical-device maker Baxter International (BAX), both of which stand to gain as AI boosts their efficiency; Dollar General (DG), which is nicely set up as consumers cut costs; and BP plc (BP), a clear winner from rising oil.
BDJ further bulks up the divvie by selling options on about half of its holdings. That increases income, particularly in volatile markets.
But despite these strengths, investors have unfairly tossed BDJ aside. As I write this, the fund’s discount to net asset value (NAV, or the value of its underlying portfolio) sits at 6%, having nearly doubled since hostilities broke out in Iran.
BDJ Goes On Sale—as Its Discount Looks for a Bottom
That’s a clear overreaction. And if you look at the right side of that chart, you can see that its discount is looking to form a bottom. That sets up a nice entry point for those on the hunt for a well-diversified monthly paying stock fund.
Monthly Dividend Pick No. 2: An 11.5% Payer With a “Discount in Disguise”
We’ve talked in recent days about how AI is deflationary because it caps wage growth as businesses automate more tasks. Add a cooling job market and a new Fed chair who’s likely to lean toward lower rates, and you get a strong outlook for bonds.
The PIMCO Corporate & Income Opportunity Fund (PTY) is perfectly set up for that. The fund stands out for a lot of reasons, but a key one is the long effective maturity on its credit assets: just over seven years as I write this.
That’s important because longer-duration bonds do better when rates decline, as they’re more attractive than new (and lower-yielding) debt.
Moreover, PTY’s effective leverage-adjusted duration is 3.8 years. That’s enough to position it for gains on lower rates without taking on too much risk if rates rise. With all that in mind, it’s surprising (to me) that PTY is trading at such a bargain now.
That might sound like an odd thing to say about a fund that trades at a 6.5% premium to NAV. But with CEF discounts and premiums, context is everything. And the truth is, PTY is on sale at that level. In fact, that premium is lower than it’s been since the bond (and stock) meltdown of 2022.
PTY’s “Discount in Disguise”
The fund’s drop in valuation is overdone. And if you look at the right side of that chart, it looks like that premium is carving out a bottom, similar to what’s happening with BDJ.
But why the premium in the first place?
It’s simply because PIMCO, founded by legendary investor Bill Gross in the ’70s, has long had an almost superhuman mystique. That’s why most of its funds trade at premiums—many with bigger ones than PTY.
Even without the “PIMCO aura,” it’s tough to argue that PTY hasn’t earned a premium. The fund has been around since 2002, longer than the benchmark US corporate-bond ETF, the SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK). In the years since, PTY has clobbered that benchmark.
PTY Laps JNK—Again and Again
Reinvested dividends drove that return, thanks to PTY’s huge monthly payout.
A Reliable 11.5% Dividend
Source: Income Calendar
Despite a slight cut during COVID, PTY’s payout has held steady for years. And besides, its regular special dividends (the spikes and dips above) have gone a long way toward making up for that cut.
I expect that to continue as the wind shifts toward lower rates and this proven income generator reclaims the premium its track record deserves.
The debate over low-risk cash ISAs versus higher-returning stocks and shares ISAs overlooks the fact that both have an important role for different goals
By Laura Miller
Contributions from
Dan McEvoy
Deciding whether to put your money into a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA has always been a head-scratcher.
However new data points to a huge gap in potential gains possible, with a significant gulf between the biggest cash ISAs and stocks and shares ISAs.
The 25 highest-value ISAs in the UK now hold a combined £274.4m, up by more than £50m in just one year, making each of their owners a multi-millionaire, according to figures obtained by investment platform InvestEngine through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to HMRC.Article continues below
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On average, each of these accounts is worth almost £11 million, and they are all stocks and shares ISAs. In comparison, the 25 highest value cash ISAs have a combined value of £16 million, meaning each is worth on average £10.3 million less at £640,000.
The FOI data also shows that the number of ISA millionaires in the UK has now reached 5,070. This is up by 220 in the past year and nearly ten times higher than the 570 recorded in 2016, according to HMRC. As the 25 highest value cash ISAs have an average value of just £600,000, most ISA millionaires will have reached this level of wealth through stocks and shares.
The difference between saving and investing is further highlighted by the fact that an individual who had maxed out their cash ISA allowance every year since ISAs were launched in 1999, earning interest in line with the average interest rate banks lend money to each other, would have accumulated £418,176 by February 2026.
In contrast, someone who invested their full allowance each year in a stocks and shares ISA – such as an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking global stock markets – would now be an ISA millionaire, with £1,357,964 in their account, more than three times higher than the equivalent in a cash ISA.
As the figures show, investing is one of the most effective ways to grow long-term wealth, but factors like fees can still make a significant difference to the final gains. Two people investing £1,000 each month over 20 years, achieving the same real returns of 5% per year, could end up with a difference of more than £43,000 in today’s money purely because one paid 1% in annual fees while the other paid none, by InvestEngine’s calculations.
Andrew Prosser, head of investments at InvestEngine, said: “The proof is in the pudding: those who have consistently invested their full ISA allowance in stocks and shares since 1999 are now over three times better off than savers who have done the same using cash ISAs.
“This long-term outperformance is already translating into real-world outcomes, with the number of ISA millionaires continuing to climb and reinforcing how investing early and consistently in a diversified portfolio can make a meaningful difference to long-term, tax-free wealth as part of a broader financial plan.
“With the government increasingly encouraging people to invest rather than rely on cash for long-term saving, the widening gap between investors and cash savers is becoming hard to ignore.”
Following ISA reforms at the 2025 Autumn Budget, the differences between cash and stocks and shares ISAs have been thrust into the spotlight.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed she would cut the annual cash ISA allowance to £12,000 from April 2027, meaning savers under the age of 65 would need to put £8,000 into stocks and shares in order to maximise their annual £20,000 allowance. Over 65s can continue using the full ISA allowance of £20,000 with cash ISAs, if they wish to.
HMRC also confirmed that certain ‘cash-like’ investments, potentially including money market funds, would be excluded from the stocks and shares ISAs allowance to prevent cautious savers circumventing the limit.
The government has been very vocal as well about the desire for more investment in the UK, and by April 2026, the Retail Investment Campaign is expected to be launched. The initiative is intended to raise awareness of the importance of investing for people’s future financial wellbeing and highlight the value of investing to the economy.
Whether saving or investing is best for your money will depend on your financial circumstances and your goals. For instance, it’s recommended people hold an easy to access emergency savings pot which covers three to six months of essential spending, before considering locking money away, such as in investments.
Putting money into cash ISAs or savings accounts will offer security that your money will grow over time in nominal terms.
But advocates of investing often highlight that in real terms, cash holdings tend to be eroded by inflation over time, despite a recent period when the best cash ISAs typically offered above-inflation rates – around 4.47% as of November 2025, for example.
Analysis from AJ Bell shows that £1,000 deposited into the average cash ISA when ISAs were launched in 1999 would, as of December 2025, be worth £2,079. The same investment into UK stocks via a typical UK All Companies fund would be worth almost twice as much, at £3,787.
“These figures highlight the hidden cost of playing it safe,” said Laura Suter, director of personal finance at AJ Bell. “While keeping money in cash can feel comfortable, over time it’s an almost guaranteed way to lose purchasing power.”
Stocks and shares ISA returns have outpaced cash ISAs over the past 12 months, according to the latest analysis by Moneyfacts.
The average stocks and shares ISA fund experienced a growth of 11.22% over the past 12 months from February 2025 to February 2026. There have now been three consecutive years of positive growth returns for stocks and shares ISAs. In contrast, the Moneyfacts average cash ISA rate returned 3.48% over the same period. Furthermore, the average cash ISA return is down compared to the previous 12 months.
Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “Stocks and shares ISAs have now outperformed cash ISA returns for a consecutive year. Over the past 12 months alone, investing in stocks and shares has returned three times more to savers than a cash ISA, based on average returns.
“This should be a wake-up call for those who fear investing, as cash returns have diminished. However, it is important to not rely on returns over the shorter-term when making longer-term investment decisions.”
| 1 February 2025 to 1 February 2026 | % growth |
| Average stocks & shares ISA | 11.22% |
| Best-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | 38.24% (Latin America*) |
| Worst-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | -4.03% (Healthcare) |
| Average cash ISA rate | 3.48% |
| 1 February 2024 to 1 February 2025 | % growth |
| Average stocks & shares ISA | 11.86% |
| Best-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | 34.74% (Financial & Financial Innovations) |
| Worst-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | -11.15% (Latin America) |
| Average cash ISA rate | 3.80% |
| 1 February 2023 to 1 February 2024 | % growth |
| Average stocks & shares ISA | 2.80% |
| Best-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | 34.14% (Technology & Telecoms) |
| Worst-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | -32.46% (China/Greater China) |
| Average cash ISA rate | 3.73% |
| 1 February 2022 to 1 February 2023 | % growth |
| Average stocks & shares ISA | -3.27% |
| Best-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | 24.64% (Commodities and Natural Resources) |
| Worst-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | -32.81% (UK Index Linked Gilts) |
| Average cash ISA rate | 1.71% |
| 1 February 2021 to 1 February 2022 | % growth |
| Average stocks & shares ISA | 6.92% |
| Best-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | 27.69% (Commodities and Natural Resources) |
| Worst-performing stocks & shares ISA fund sector | -21.98% (China/Greater China) |
| Average cash ISA rate | 0.51% |
Source: Moneyfacts
“Cash is considered a safe choice, but investing shows the gains that could be made over the longer-term,” said Springall. “Granted, past performance is not guaranteed to be repeated, so short-term gains should not be a decision maker in isolation. The past year alone laid bare the importance of seeking advice before taking the plunge to invest, some sectors boom one year and perform badly the next but can bounce back.”
If you invested £1,000 into UK stocks every year since 1999, it would have been worth around £67,866 by the end of September 2025, AJ Bell analysis suggests, compared to just £36,290 if the same payments were made into a cash ISA.
The UK’s stock market has underperformed global competitors throughout that time period. £1,000 invested annually into global stocks would, over the same time, be worth £92,000, while putting it into US stocks would have seen the same investment grow to £127,887 – more than three times the size of the cash equivalent.
| Header Cell – Column 0 | £1,000 one-off investment | £1,000 investment every April |
|---|---|---|
| Average IA North America sector | £6,285 | £127,887 |
| Average IA Global sector | £5,158 | £92,349 |
| Average UK All Companies sector | £3,787 | £67,866 |
| Average cash ISA return | £2,079 | £36,290 |
| Average UK Gilts sector | £1,912 | £33,931 |
Source: AJ Bell/Bank of England/FE. Data from 30 April 1999 to end of September 2025. Investment figures show average performance of sector including fund charges; inflation is based on CPI measure; cash ISA returns based on average interest rate available.
“Regular investing has been particularly powerful – turning steady contributions into six-figure sums thanks to the power of compounding,” said Suter. “Over that 26-year period the investment in the average North America fund would be nearly five times the total contributions.”
In the short term, stocks are more volatile than cash and, unlike cash holdings, they can potentially lose nominal value; that is the non-inflation-adjusted value of your investments can fall, whereas cash can’t.
“Markets don’t move in a straight line and there will always be periods of volatility,” said Suter. That makes stocks riskier than cash if viewed over a short time period.
But over the long term there is evidence to suggest that stocks are a safer investment in real (inflation-adjusted) terms.
Barclays Research into the real returns on cash, UK equities (stocks) and gilts since 1899 found that the longer you hold any of these assets for, the smaller the variation in your real returns. Over 20+ time periods, the minimum and maximum return on equities was higher than the equivalent for either cash or gilts.
This divergence between how stocks compare to cash over different time periods highlights the need for a balanced approach between the two, rather than either/or.
“When it comes to choosing between a cash ISA and a stocks and shares ISA, the key question is: are you saving for the short term or the long term?” said Suter. “If you’re setting money aside for an emergency fund, typically three to six months’ worth of expenses, then a cash ISA is a solid option.”
This way, any money you need at short notice or in the case of emergency is protected and easily accessible.
But for long term goals such as retirement plans or home improvements, Suter believes a stocks and shares ISA is more effective than a cash ISA.
“Markets tend to rise over time and outperform cash, despite short-term fluctuations,” she said.
There is a further blow to cash savers following the Budget, as a higher rate of income tax on savings interest held outside a tax-efficient wrapper (like an ISA) will also apply from April 2027.
Despite the new cash ISA limit there is no need to “choose” between either a cash ISA or a stocks and shares ISA. The two are not mutually exclusive, and the government is expected to make further changes to help people allocate their excess funds however works best for them.
“From April 2026 a new ‘Targeted Support’ service will be available, which could equip more people to make the right financial decisions for themselves,” said Steven Cameron, pensions director at from Aegon. “This includes understanding the benefits of moving excess cash into a stocks and shares ISA, potentially benefitting from much higher returns, albeit at the expense of the ‘no loss’ security of cash savings.”
Investment trusts can be a good option for income-focused investors – but which trusts have consistently increased their dividends over the past 20 years?
By Dan McEvoy
Twenty investment trusts have increased their dividend payment every year for two decades, according to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). Ten of these so-called “dividend heroes” have gone a step further, stretching this track record to half a century or more.
Topping the list of these reliable income-paying investment trusts are the City of London investment trust (LON:CTY), the Bankers Investment Trust (LON:BNKR) and Alliance Witan (LON:ALW). All three have increased their dividends for 59 consecutive years.
Last year, Murray International Trust (LON:MYI) became the newest dividend hero, and it has retained its place in the list as it was able to increase its dividend payout in the most recent financial year.
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Two of the trusts on the list – Caledonia (LON:CLDN) and Scottish Mortgage (LON:SMT) – are also constituents in MoneyWeek’s investment trust portfolio, a model we set up over a decade ago to help readers build a global, long-term, “all-weather” set of investments.
“Dividends serve a dual purpose for us,” said Richard Clode, co-manager of the Bankers Investment Trust. “They are an important component of the attractive long-term total returns we aim to deliver to shareholders in combination with capital growth.
“Dividends also provide capital discipline to the companies we invest in as well as to how we invest as we seek out companies that can generate long-term profit and cash flow growth,” Clode added.
Investment trusts have a unique structure which allows them to hold back up to 15% of their income each year in a dividend reserve. This can then be used in years when companies pay lower dividends than expected.
This feature can make trusts particularly attractive to income-focused investors. In periods like the coronavirus pandemic, when swathes of companies cut or paused their dividends, trusts were able to fall back on these reserves to deliver a smooth income stream.
The full list of the 20 dividend heroes is below:
| Investment trust | Number of consecutive years dividend increased | Dividend yield (%) | 5-year annualised dividend growth rate (%) |
| City of London Investment Trust | 59 | 3.91 | 2.31 |
| Bankers Investment Trust | 59 | 2.08 | 4.96 |
| Alliance Witan | 59 | 2.31 | 14.52 |
| Caledonia Investments | 58 | 2.22 | 3.79 |
| The Global Smaller Companies Trust | 55 | 1.67 | 12.03 |
| F&C Investment Trust | 55* | 1.28 | 6.10 |
| Brunner Investment Trust | 54 | 1.78 | 4.50 |
| JPMorgan Claverhouse | 53 | 4.22 | 4.18 |
| Murray Income Trust | 52 | 4.40 | 3.15 |
| Scottish American | 52 | 3.15 | 5.82 |
| Merchants Trust | 43 | 4.85 | 1.43 |
| Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | 43 | 0.37 | 6.15 |
| Value and Indexed Property Income | 38 | 7.08 | 2.66 |
| CT UK Capital & Income | 32 | 3.80 | 2.48 |
| Schroder Income Growth Fund | 30 | 4.25 | 3.13 |
| Aberdeen Equity Income Trust | 25 | 5.69 | 2.23 |
| Athelney Trust | 23 | 7.41 | 1.25 |
| BlackRock Smaller Companies | 22 | 3.49 | 6.25 |
| Henderson Smaller Companies | 22 | 3.26 | 3.57 |
| Murray International Trust | 21 | 3.63 | 2.61 |
Source: theaic.co.uk / Morningstar. Data at 12/03/26. * Dividend rise announced on 16/3/2026
The three trusts at the top of the list have increased the dividend income they generate for investors for 59 years, consistently raising payouts even through market upheavals like the inflationary 1970s, the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Covid pandemic.
City of London invests in companies listed on the London stock exchange; top holdings as of 28 February include HSBC (LON:HSBA), Shell (LON:SHEL) and British American Tobacco (LON:BATS). Of the three investment trusts that have increased their dividends for 59 consecutive years, City of London has the highest dividend yield, at 3.91%.
Bankers has a global focus, and aims to capture the best 100 stock ideas at any given time. Its largest holdings reflect a tilt towards big tech stocks, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) its three largest holdings as of 28 February.
Alliance Witan also invests globally, with a focus on long-term capital growth and, of course, rising dividend payments. Its top holdings, as of the end of February, are Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon.
The first estimate for income for the 2027 SNOWBALL is £10,290.
As the dividends are re-invested this figure will increase but it could be tempered, if any more shares trim their dividend but after the markets reaction to the NESF share price they may think twice before doing so.
The fcast remains £10,500 which should be achieved.
I’ve bought for the SNOWBALL 13000 shares in PHP for 13k.
The yield is 7.3%, which could be improved in just over a year as the buy precedes the xd date.
It may just be a holding position until markets settle down, which may not happen for a while but I get this itch if there is cash sitting in the account not earning its keep.
TRANSFORMATIONAL ACQUISITION OF ASSURA
●
Combination between PHP and Assura successfully delivered, creating a £6 billion healthcare REIT investing in critical healthcare infrastructure
●
On track to deliver annualised synergies identified at the time of the merger of £9 million with £7.5 million or 83% of total annualised synergies already delivered since Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) clearance, as integration moves forward at pace and the benefits of the combination are delivered for shareholders
●
Good progress is being made on expanding the existing primary care joint venture and establishing a strategic joint venture for our private hospital portfolio, where we see exciting growth opportunities
EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS
●
Adjusted earnings per share up 4% at 7.3 pence (2024: 7.0 pence)
●
IFRS earnings per share increased to 6.6 pence (2024: 3.1 pence) reflecting non-cashflow gains arising on the valuation of the Group’s property portfolio and interest rate derivatives
●
Annualised contracted rent roll now stands at £342 million (2024: £154 million) with rent reviews and asset management in the year generating an additional £9 million of annualised income, an increase of just under 7% over the previous passing rent or over 3% on an annualised basis, which supports our positive rental growth outlook
●
EPRA cost ratio 9.8% (2024: 10.1%), excluding Axis overheads and direct vacancy costs, representing one of the lowest in the UK REIT sector
●
Quarterly dividends totalling 7.1 pence (2024: 6.9 pence) per share distributed in the year, a 3% increase, and fully covered
●
Second quarterly dividend of 1.825 pence per share declared and payable on 8 May 2026, equivalent to 7.3 pence on an annualised basis and a 3% increase over the 2025 dividend per share, marking the start of the Company’s 30th consecutive year of dividend growth
The Company intends to maintain its strategy of paying a progressive, fully covered dividend
TRANSFORMATIONAL ACQUISITION OF ASSURA
●
Combination between PHP and Assura successfully delivered, creating a £6 billion healthcare REIT investing in critical healthcare infrastructure
●
On track to deliver annualised synergies identified at the time of the merger of £9 million with £7.5 million or 83% of total annualised synergies already delivered since Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) clearance, as integration moves forward at pace and the benefits of the combination are delivered for shareholders
●
Good progress is being made on expanding the existing primary care joint venture and establishing a strategic joint venture for our private hospital portfolio, where we see exciting growth opportunities
EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS
●
Adjusted earnings per share up 4% at 7.3 pence (2024: 7.0 pence)
●
IFRS earnings per share increased to 6.6 pence (2024: 3.1 pence) reflecting non-cashflow gains arising on the valuation of the Group’s property portfolio and interest rate derivatives
●
Annualised contracted rent roll now stands at £342 million (2024: £154 million) with rent reviews and asset management in the year generating an additional £9 million of annualised income, an increase of just under 7% over the previous passing rent or over 3% on an annualised basis, which supports our positive rental growth outlook
●
EPRA cost ratio 9.8% (2024: 10.1%), excluding Axis overheads and direct vacancy costs, representing one of the lowest in the UK REIT sector
●
Quarterly dividends totalling 7.1 pence (2024: 6.9 pence) per share distributed in the year, a 3% increase, and fully covered
●
Second quarterly dividend of 1.825 pence per share declared and payable on 8 May 2026, equivalent to 7.3 pence on an annualised basis and a 3% increase over the 2025 dividend per share, marking the start of the Company’s 30th consecutive year of dividend growth
The Company intends to maintain its strategy of paying a progressive, fully covered dividend
Previous trends dominated by a handful of companies in a concentrated global stock market
Tom Stevenson writes about investment for fund manager Fidelity International following a 20-year career in financial journalism, most recently at the Daily Telegraph.
Published 08 January 2026
As I select my annual fund picks each January, I’m reminded of Samuel Johnson’s quip about second marriages. “A triumph of hope over experience” is a bit harsh for my situation – my win percentage has been better, and they’ve cost me less. But it is a yearly reminder that picking funds is trickier than it looks.
For the record, this year’s recommendations are: the Dodge & Cox Worldwide Global Stock Fund; Fidelity Special Situations; and Lazard Emerging Markets. Together, they are the distillation of my latest investment outlook, also published this week. This, like those of many of my fellow pundits, errs as much towards hope as experience, three years into a remarkable bull market.
With earnings rising, valuations outside the US undemanding, and interest rates coming down, it is tempting to think all will be well. But my optimism is tempered by caution and expressed with fingers crossed. A fourth consecutive year of rising stock markets would be welcome but unusual.
The Dodge & Cox fund is a value-focused global portfolio with a big underweight to the US. It assumes a continuation of the rotation out of America that we started to see last year. Fidelity Special Sits will benefit if a proportion of that money flows across the Atlantic to what is now one of the world’s cheapest markets. For the Lazard fund to deliver, emerging markets will need to build on last year’s surprising outperformance of the US. Obviously, I think those scenarios are likely, but I offer the picks with the usual dollop of humility.
So I swing a bottle against the hulls of these three funds and wish them well. For now, though, I’m more interested in looking back to see what, if anything, I can learn from my earlier recommendations. As part of this year’s fund picks process, I tracked the performance of all my picks since 2016 that have had at least five years to run. Those up to and including January 2021.
The good news is that of the 23 fund picks I made over those six years, just one lost investors’ money if held to the end of 2025. The less good news is that in most of those years, a portfolio evenly shared between all the fund picks did not do much better than a passive fund tracking the MSCI World index over the same period.
The first lesson from ten years of fund picks, therefore, is that while some active managers beat the market, many do not – and knowing the difference ahead of time is hard.
The second lesson, however, is that the past is a poor guide to the future. The last ten years has been an unusual period, dominated by a handful of companies in a very concentrated global stock market. It has been extremely difficult to beat the global index unless you had a basket of investments heavily skewed towards America’s technology giants.
Given their stellar performance, and their massive contribution to the global index, being underweight has meant, almost by definition, underperforming the benchmark. It’s been a testing time to be a stock picker, but that could easily change.
The third thing I’ve learnt from a decade of trying to beat the market is that patience is a virtue that few of us possess in sufficient quantities. The best example of this was provided by 2020’s recommendation of the Artemis Smart GARP Emerging Markets fund. This pick lost more than 20pc of its value when Covid struck just weeks after my recommendation. It then took four years to achieve just a 40pc return on the initial investment, but then doubled that gain in just six months this year as emerging markets zoomed back into favour. It has been a long haul, but in the end a satisfactory investment.
The fourth lesson I have learnt from my picks is that when you find a well-managed fund the best thing you can do is to put it in a metaphorical drawer and forget about it. I was lucky enough to find my best-performing fund pick in my first year of trying. Rathbone Global Opportunities delivered in 2016 and, with the exception of a painful 2022, when interest rates rose sharply, has continued to do so ever since. An investor who put £100 into the fund at the start of 2016 has £320 today. Even the tech-heavy world index has only risen to £250 over that 10-year period.
Lesson number five has been to keep it simple. The best performers have been the funds with an uncomplicated goal and a broad investment canvas. Like Rathbone’s global growth remit, the Fidelity Global Dividend Fund has a simple objective – high quality dividend growers. I recommended it in 2019 and 2020. Since the first pick, it has doubled investors’ money in seven years.
The final lesson I take from the past decade’s fund picks is the need to accept your mistakes and move on. While patience can be a virtue, inaction can be a drag on your returns too. As a rule, taking a year’s worst performer and reinvesting the proceeds in the year’s best fund would have significantly improved the overall return in subsequent years. Sometimes you just get it wrong and there’s no shame in switching horses. Investment success is about having more winners than losers, and in running the former while cutting the latter.
Picking the right funds without the benefit of a crystal ball is hard. I’ve tested this to destruction over the past ten years. But it is more than just hope over experience. It’s investing with your eyes open. Because a bride at her second marriage doesn’t wear a veil – she wants to see what she is getting.
Tom Stevenson is an investment director at Fidelity International. These views are his own
The Telegraph 25: Our annual list of investments to grow, protect and diversify your wealth
James Baxter-Derrington
James is Investment Editor at The Telegraph.
Every year, Telegraph Money identifies its favourite investment funds – read on to see which ones have made the cut this time.
Markets are complicated beasts and the past few years have only proved that theory. Rumours of recessions and bubbles abound, while governments twist themselves in knots in pursuit of growth. Wars, tariffs and myriad unknown risks continue to crop up, and it seems more difficult than ever for investors to build a long-term view of the world.
Inflation and higher interest rates were seemingly tamed, but now threaten to return because of a combination of international strife and domestic mistakes.
There are professionally managed funds to arm yourself against such difficulties, but the wide range on offer can make choosing one a daunting prospect.
Enter Telegraph 25, a list of our favourite investment funds. It is a mixture of those that we believe will grow your money in the long run, some that provide income, others with strategies that will protect your savings when markets fall, and ones we think offer an exciting opportunity.
We aim to choose funds that can stand the test of time. Even with so much uncertainty right now, these funds should do what we need them to.
As ever, investors must remember that this list is not an off-the-peg portfolio to pump your money into and forget about. DIY investing requires you to understand the risks you are taking and conduct your own research to ensure that an investment fits your needs and blends with others that you already hold.
Neither do we recommend buying all the funds on the list at the same time. The funds and their aims must be considered and match the aims and objectives of the investor.
Some funds on the list have been chosen expressly because they can be relied on to do several jobs well without the need for close monitoring. Others, however, take more risk by design.
When buying open-ended funds, investors must also consider whether they seek income or accumulation shares. Income will pay out any dividend directly to your account, whereas accumulation will automatically reinvest these payouts.
The Telegraph 25 is designed to highlight investments that are the best in the field they operate in and that we believe will give the best returns for the risk being taken. Unless we make clear to the contrary, they are intended for long-term investors who want a home for their money for five, 10 or even 20 years.
We have divided the list into five sections: British funds, world funds, income funds, wealth preservers, and wild cards.
How much you will pay your Isa manager
Investing is for the long-term, and we take that seriously at Telegraph Money. Long-standing readers will recognise the vast majority of names on this list. We don’t take the decision to replace a fund lightly, and one difficult year won’t be enough to end our conviction. However, if a better opportunity is out there, we won’t ignore it. Keep your eyes peeled for several additions scattered throughout.
An investment in the domestic economy should be a core consideration for any investor and there is no simpler way to own it all than with a passive fund. To access the UK markets, this price remains hard to beat.
Charge: 0.05pc | Cheapest share class: S | Five-year return: 79.1pc
Value investing has not been so popular during the “magnificent seven” era but managers Ian Lance and Nick Purves’s portfolio of British stocks, including BP, ITV and Marks & Spencer, is a good option for those seeking reliable dividends.
Charge: 0.57pc | Cheapest share class: L | Five-year return: 91pc
With a more specific mandate than wider funds, this trust aims to deliver a total return in excess of the FTSE 250 (excluding trusts) and, over various time frames, it has achieved its goal. This fund is a new addition to our list. Offering 27.6pc last year, and more than 130pc in 10 years, it continues to outshine its benchmark – even if it’s slightly pricey.
Charge: 0.92pc | Ticker: SCP | Five-year return: 40.1pc
With benchmark-smashing returns yet again in 2025, Alex Wright, its manager, continues to shake off previous difficult years. Over both five and 10 years, the trust has far outstripped the wider market. As markets continue to scare easily, value investing offers a great opportunity, and this trust features underpriced gems.
Charge: 0.68pc | Ticker: FSV | Five-year return: 96.6pc
It has been a tricky few years for this fund as successive managers have tried to wrestle with both the portfolio and the distinctly harsh atmosphere for the UK’s smallest companies. We have stuck with it through the bad and it appears our faith has paid off as performance continues to climb.
Charge: 0.79pc | Cheapest share class: P | Five-year return: -2.6pc
Invest in more than 2,000 companies around the world for a minimal price tag. Consider this at the heart of any portfolio.
Charge: 0.13pc | Cheapest share class: C | Five-year return: 79pc
Baillie Gifford’s flagship fund had a tough few years as interest rates rose, but it offers exposure to a concentrated portfolio of high-growth stocks, including Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Nvidia.
Charge: 0.31pc | Ticker: SMT | Five-year return: 12.7pc
This multi-asset fund stands out for its unique fee structure. Investors only pay if the fund outperforms its benchmark; if it underperforms, they get refunded. This should mean the management team is highly motivated to deliver superior returns. Alec Cutler, the fund’s manager, takes a contrarian approach and prides himself on finding overlooked opportunities.
Charge: 0pc base fee with refundable performance fee of 40pc of out-performance refundable at 40pc for under-performance | Cheapest share class: Standard | Five-year return: 126.2pc
Although this trust had a tough year, it still managed double-digit returns – and over 10 years has shone brightly, with a 349pc return. This blend of value and growth investing offers diversification without sacrificing performance, and should also defend when markets turn.
Charge: 0.35pc | Ticker: JAM | Five-year return: 104.6pc
This is another fund that has proved it is worth sticking with, and the experience of Austin Forey continues to right the ship in yet another tough year. We will continue to monitor performance but keep the faith in this £1.4bn trust.
Charge: 0.79pc | Ticker: JMGI | Five-year return: 16.9pc
Rounding out the trinity of core holdings, any investor must consider owning the S&P 500 as cheaply as possible. Consider this to complement your UK and global tracker funds.
Charge: 0.07pc | Ticker: CSPX | Five-year return: 91.5pc
Since appointing Nish Patel as manager, the Global Smaller Companies Trust has continued to justify its 137-year existence. It is one to continue monitoring but it has happily maintained performance against comparable funds investing in the same space.
Charge: 0.74pc | Ticker: GSCT | Five-year return: 37.2pc
This £2.3bn fund, which is a new addition to our list, has a concentrated holding of 31 companies ranging from Deutsche Bank to Ryanair, and has outperformed an already impressive European market in recent years. Managers James Inglis-Jones and Samantha Gleave continue to impress with top-quartile performance over every period.
Charge: 0.84pc | Cheapest share class: I | Five-year return: 100.6pc
For investors who want a stake in property, this trust is an excellent starting point. The company is invested in a combination of direct holdings in bricks and mortar and UK and international property shares. With a 4.7pc yield and an attractive 11pc discount at the time of writing, it remains worth consideration.
Charge: 0.78pc | Ticker: TRY | Five-year return: 14.3pc
This stalwart fund has had a tough year, but with top-quartile performance over three, five and 10 years, Artemis Income remains a strong option for both income and capital growth.
Charge: 0.8pc | Cheapest share class: I | Five-year return: 83pc
For those looking for geographic diversification, Guinness Asian Equity Income offers a high-conviction approach to dividend-paying companies in the Asia-Pacific region.
Charge: 0.77pc | Cheapest share class: Y | Five-year return: 46pc
A 5.53pc income yield paid monthly, combined with impressive capital growth, secures this fund’s place on the list for yet another year.
Charge: 0.67pc | Cheapest share class: Z | Five-year return: 23.3pc
Despite losing two managers in the same year, Schroder Income maintains a strong team – including a founding member of the firm’s Global Value team. With this and a solid track record in mind, we’re happy to keep the faith for now. The fund mainly invests in above-average yielding equities in order to beat the FTSE All-Share, and we will monitor its future performance.
Charge: 0.81pc | Cheapest share class: L | Five-year return: 94.9pc
King of the dividend heroes, this trust has raised its payout for 59 years and counting. Holding a stable of famous yielders and with a strong reputation, it is one of the few trusts to command a (small) premium.
Charge: 0.36pc | Ticker: CTY | Five-year return: 95.7pc
There are very few periods of discrete performance in recent years where this trust dips into the red. Beyond protecting your wealth from erosion, capital growth has also been impressive. For those seeking a smoother ride, it is worth knowing.
Charge: 0.67pc | Ticker: PNL | Five-year return: 33.4pc
A favourite of financial advisers. One of the cheapest and simplest options for those who do not have the time or inclination to think about investing. Each of the five portfolios offers a different exposure to shares, from 20pc to 100pc, with the remaining chunk held in bonds. Invested across Vanguard tracker funds, managing risk has rarely been so easy to understand.
Charge: 0.2pc | Cheapest share class: A | Five-year return: 39.3pc (60pc shares)
The first port of call for an investor seeking to diversify, there is a reason Ruffer holds its reputation. This fund remains the essential holding for investors who want something to rise when everything falls.
Charge: 1.07pc | Ticker: RICA | Five-year return: 18.9pc
After decades in the cold, it seems Japan may have finally risen again. Since clawing its way back to its 1989 peak just a couple of years ago, the Nikkei 225 has risen a further 40pc – and with new regulation on the horizon to force companies to start spending their large cash reserves, there’s plenty of room to run. A top-quartile performer over one, three and five years, this fund is worth considering, and is a new arrival on our 2026 list.
Charge: 0.47pc | Cheapest share class: I | Five-year return: 90.1pc
This fund invests in biotechnology, pharmaceutical and life sciences firms from around the world. David Pinniger, its manager, has delivered outperformance against the very strong Nasdaq Biotechnology Index every year over the past decade.
Charge: 1.1pc | Cheapest share class: S | Five-year return: 77.6pc
Another Telegraph 25 staple, Dale Nicholls’ offering is a standout performer, even if the investment case for China is more uncertain than it once was. While the five-year performance figure looks bleak for this trust, this is a result of unfortunate timing more than anything else. Five years ago Chinese markets reached an all-time high, before regulatory pressures and the AI boom in the US sucked the wind out of its sails. Even so, this industry darling weathered the storm better than most – and with a 40pc return over 2025 and a near 200pc return in 10 years, we’ll stick with this wild card.
Charge: 0.89pc | Ticker: FCSS | Five-year return: -22.6pc
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