Two years (and a few months) ago, we launched our ETF Income Edge service to help investors profitably invest in the rapidly growing world of option strategy, high-yield ETFs sporting yields like 15%, 25%, even 40% or more.
The challenge with these ETFs is managing them to turn those great yields into realized total returns. Investors need to understand that the underlying assets will go up and down. Also, an overly aggressive option strategy can lead to net asset value (NAV) erosion, which can have a significant negative effect on total returns.
When I select ETFs for the ETF Income Edge portfolio, I focus on NAV stability. New ETFs hit the market every week, so I regularly compare returns between ETFs and their underlying assets. I focus on having a diversified portfolio based on those underlying assets.
To help manage a portfolio of these funds, I have developed a specific position management strategy. I have been using the strategy in my own ETF Income Edge tracking brokerage account, and I am very happy with the results.
The core of the strategy is to manage the ETFs to maintain a stable, dollar-weighted position size. If an ETF share price increases above a certain level, we sell shares, locking in a profit. If the price falls, we purchase shares, buying more while they’re “on sale.”
Share trade results going into or from a cash balance in the account. Dividends earned go into the cash balance. If you set up an account using this strategy, it’s good to have some capital in a cash balance.
Here is a simple example:
You start with $5,000 each in 10 high-yield ETFs, for a total commitment of $50,000. With this amount, I suggest having a few thousand dollars in the cash balance.
The goal is to keep each ETF close to a $5,000 value. I recommend checking the current values a couple of times a week. If a position is more than 5% ($250 in this case) above or below the target amount, you buy or sell shares to bring the position’s value back to the target.
Over time, the returns you earn show up as changes in the cash balance. Remember that dividends earned (which happen every day with the ETF Income Edge portfolio) also go into the cash balance.
Here is my experience so far this year. As most asset types declined over the first three months, I saw my cash balance slowly decline, while I was buying shares to maintain position values, offset by dividends coming in. Then, in April, markets turned around and moved strongly higher over the month. During that period, I was selling shares and earning dividends into the cash balance. My cash balance, and thus the return on the account, is significantly higher than it was at the start of the year. From my experience, this somewhat unique portfolio strategy works.
Let’s close out with a new ETF to check out. The Nicholas Nuclear Income ETF (NUKX) is managed to deliver a 12% yield and is the latest addition to the ETF Income Edge portfolio.
From my experience, this somewhat unique portfolio strategy works.
Tim Phaelen
Income yield this year around 13%, maybe less next year, or more ?
From 1929 to Today: A Complete Look at Every Major Stock Market Crash
The stock market has always been a symbol of opportunity — a place where fortunes can rise and fall in an instant. For nearly a century, investors around the world have watched markets boom with optimism and collapse under the weight of fear, greed, and uncertainty. From the catastrophic crash of 1929 that triggered the Great Depression to the modern-day turmoil of 2020’s pandemic-driven selloff, each major market crash tells a story — not just of financial loss, but of human emotion, innovation, and resilience.
Understanding these crashes isn’t only about revisiting history. It’s about learning how markets recover, how investor psychology drives behavior, and why every downturn, no matter how severe, eventually gives rise to new growth. This is a complete look at every major stock market crash — from Wall Street’s darkest days to today’s volatile digital markets.
Why Market Crashes Happen?
Before diving into history, it’s important to understand why markets crash. Stock prices are determined by investor expectations — when optimism is high, prices rise; when fear takes over, they plummet. Crashes usually occur when markets become overvalued, fueled by speculation, debt, or unrealistic expectations.
External shocks — like wars, policy changes, or global pandemics — can also trigger panic selling. But the most consistent ingredient in every crash is emotion. Fear spreads faster than facts, and once panic begins, it feeds on itself. Yet, in nearly every case, what follows a crash is not permanent decline, but a cycle of correction, adaptation, and eventual recovery.
The Crash of 1929 – The Great Depression Begins
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 remains the most infamous in history. The “Roaring Twenties” had created a booming economy and an unprecedented rise in stock prices. Ordinary Americans, driven by optimism, began buying stocks on margin — borrowing money to invest.
By September 1929, markets reached record highs. But the foundation was fragile. When prices began to fall in October, panic selling erupted. On October 24, known as “Black Thursday,” the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 11%. Panic deepened over the next few days, culminating in “Black Tuesday,” October 29, when 16 million shares were traded in a single day.
The result was catastrophic. Billions of dollars in wealth evaporated overnight, and by 1932, the market had lost nearly 90% of its value. The crash didn’t just destroy financial portfolios — it shattered confidence in the economy and led to the Great Depression, a decade-long economic downturn that reshaped global finance and policy forever.
The 1973–74 Bear Market – The Oil Crisis and Stagflation
After decades of postwar growth, the early 1970s brought a new kind of crisis. Inflation was rising, growth was slowing, and in 1973, the OPEC oil embargo sent energy prices skyrocketing. The world entered a period of “stagflation” — high inflation combined with stagnant growth — a situation economists had rarely seen before.
Between 1973 and 1974, the Dow Jones fell nearly 45%. Investor confidence plummeted as unemployment rose and inflation eroded purchasing power. The collapse of the Bretton Woods system, which had tied the U.S. dollar to gold, also contributed to global financial instability.
This crash changed how investors viewed risk and inflation. It also paved the way for a new generation of monetary policies, including the interest rate hikes of the late 1970s that would eventually curb inflation and restore economic stability.
Black Monday – 1987’s Sudden Shock
October 19, 1987, known as “Black Monday,” remains one of the most shocking one-day declines in stock market history. The Dow Jones fell 22.6% in a single session — a drop that would be equivalent to thousands of points today.
Unlike the 1929 crash, this one wasn’t caused by a long buildup of economic weakness. Instead, it was a combination of computerized trading, market psychology, and global contagion. As automated trading systems triggered sell orders, panic spread across markets worldwide.
Despite the dramatic plunge, the economy itself remained relatively strong. Within two years, the market had fully recovered. Black Monday became a defining moment for risk management and led to the introduction of “circuit breakers,” mechanisms designed to halt trading when markets fall too sharply.
The Dot-Com Bubble – 2000 to 2002
The late 1990s saw the rise of the internet — and a wave of speculative mania. Investors poured billions into technology startups, many of which had little more than a business plan and a website. Stocks with “.com” in their names skyrocketed, and traditional valuation metrics were ignored.
By early 2000, the Nasdaq Composite had climbed over 400% in five years. But when investors began questioning profitability, the bubble burst. From March 2000 to October 2002, the Nasdaq fell nearly 78%. Trillions in market value vanished, and countless startups collapsed overnight.
The dot-com crash was painful, but it also paved the way for real innovation. Companies that survived — like Amazon, eBay, and Google — went on to define the modern digital economy. It was a harsh reminder that while technology evolves quickly, market fundamentals never go out of style.
The 2008 Global Financial Crisis – The Great Recession
The 2008 crash, often called the “Great Recession,” was the worst economic collapse since 1929. It began in the U.S. housing market, where years of easy credit and risky lending practices had inflated a massive bubble. When homeowners began defaulting on subprime mortgages, banks and investors worldwide were exposed to trillions in toxic assets.
As panic spread, major financial institutions like Lehman Brothers collapsed, while others required government bailouts. The Dow Jones fell over 50% from its 2007 highs, and global markets followed. Millions lost their homes, jobs, and savings.
The crash revealed the dangers of excessive leverage, poor regulation, and blind trust in financial institutions. In response, governments introduced sweeping reforms — such as the Dodd-Frank Act — aimed at preventing another systemic collapse. The recovery was slow but transformative, reshaping the way banks operate and how investors view risk.
The 2010 Flash Crash – A Digital Era Panic
On May 6, 2010, the Dow Jones suddenly plunged nearly 1,000 points in minutes — only to recover almost as quickly. This “Flash Crash” was unlike any in history. It wasn’t caused by economic weakness or investor panic, but by a glitch in high-frequency trading algorithms.
Automated systems began executing massive sell orders in fractions of a second, overwhelming markets and triggering a cascade of electronic trades. Within minutes, billions in market value had disappeared — and then reappeared.
The event highlighted a new kind of risk in the digital age: the vulnerability of modern markets to technology and automation. Regulators responded by implementing tighter controls and better oversight of algorithmic trading systems to prevent future disruptions.
The 2015 Chinese Stock Market Crash – A Global Ripple
In 2015, China’s booming stock market came crashing down. After a period of rapid growth fueled by speculative investing and easy credit, the Shanghai Composite Index lost nearly 30% of its value in just three weeks.
The Chinese government attempted to stabilize the market through trading halts and interventions, but panic had already set in. The crash sent shockwaves through global markets, highlighting China’s growing influence on the world economy.
While the losses were largely contained within China, the event underscored how interconnected global markets had become. It also served as a warning about the risks of excessive speculation and the limits of government control in open financial systems.
The 2020 COVID-19 Crash – Panic in a Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered one of the fastest market crashes in history. In February and March 2020, as the virus spread globally, lockdowns brought economies to a standstill. The Dow Jones fell over 35% in just a few weeks — wiping out years of gains.
Investors feared a repeat of the Great Depression as unemployment soared and businesses shut down. Central banks responded with massive stimulus packages, cutting interest rates to near zero and injecting liquidity into the system. Remarkably, this aggressive response helped the market rebound almost as quickly as it fell.
By mid-2021, markets had not only recovered but reached new record highs. The COVID crash demonstrated both the fragility and resilience of modern markets — and how monetary policy can stabilize global finance in times of crisis.
The 2022–2023 Bear Market – Inflation and Rising Interest Rates
After years of stimulus and near-zero interest rates, the post-pandemic world faced a new threat: inflation. By 2022, prices were rising at the fastest pace in four decades, forcing central banks to raise interest rates aggressively. The result was a steep decline in global stock markets.
Technology stocks, which had thrived during the pandemic, were hit hardest as investors shifted away from riskier assets. The S&P 500 fell over 20%, marking an official bear market. Bond prices also plunged, creating one of the worst years in decades for balanced portfolios.
Unlike past crashes triggered by panic, this downturn was a deliberate cooling of an overheated economy. Though painful, it represented a return to more normal conditions after years of unprecedented monetary support.
Lessons from Nearly a Century of Market Crashes
Looking back, every major crash — from 1929 to today — follows a familiar pattern: a period of euphoria, followed by fear, panic, and eventual recovery. The key lessons are timeless.
Markets are cyclical: Booms and busts are part of the natural rhythm of capitalism. What rises will eventually correct, and what falls will eventually recover.
Emotion drives behavior: Fear and greed are powerful forces that can distort rational decision-making. Successful investors learn to control both.
Diversification matters: Spreading investments across sectors and asset classes reduces risk and smooths out volatility during downturns.
Time is your ally: Over the long term, markets have always trended upward despite short-term collapses. Patience is one of the most valuable traits an investor can have.
Crashes create opportunity: Every crisis brings undervalued assets and new innovations. Investors who remain calm often find the greatest rewards in recovery periods.
Understanding these lessons doesn’t eliminate risk, but it helps transform uncertainty into strategy. The investors who study history are often the ones who survive — and thrive — through future downturns.
How Investors Can Protect Themselves Today
Today’s markets are faster, more global, and more interconnected than ever before. Crashes may unfold differently, but the principles of protection remain the same.
Stay diversified: Avoid putting all your money into one sector or region. A mix of stocks, bonds, and alternative assets helps reduce risk.
Maintain liquidity: Keep a portion of your portfolio in cash or short-term instruments to take advantage of opportunities during downturns.
Focus on quality: Companies with strong balance sheets and steady cash flow tend to recover faster after a crash.
Avoid emotional decisions: Reacting to fear can turn temporary losses into permanent ones. Stick to your long-term plan.
Keep learning: The market’s past is full of lessons that can help guide future decisions. Continuous education is one of the best investments you can make.
These principles don’t guarantee immunity from volatility, but they build resilience — the difference between those who panic and those who profit when the next downturn comes.
Why Market Crashes Are a Necessary Part of Growth
Though painful, market crashes are not purely destructive — they are a form of renewal. They clear out excess speculation, correct overvalued assets, and force industries to innovate and rebuild stronger foundations. Each crash in history has led to reforms, smarter regulation, and more efficient markets.
The crash of 1929 birthed modern financial oversight. The 1987 collapse led to circuit breakers. The 2008 crisis reshaped global banking. And the 2020 pandemic crash revolutionized digital finance and remote investing. Crashes expose weaknesses, but they also drive evolution — reminding investors that resilience is built through adversity.
Final Thoughts
From 1929’s Great Depression to the digital-age downturns of today, stock market crashes have shaped not just economies, but entire generations of investors. Each one serves as both a warning and a teacher — revealing the consequences of excess, the power of emotion, and the enduring strength of recovery.
The truth is that no crash lasts forever. Markets, like people, adapt and rebuild. The key is not to fear the fall, but to understand it — to learn from history and approach the future with patience, perspective, and preparedness. Because in every downturn lies the seed of the next opportunity, waiting for those who stay calm enough to see it.
Headlines are increasingly pushing the risk of a stock market crash. So let’s check out the reasons, why we shouldn’t panic, and what we might consider doing about it all.
Over in the US, the S&P 500 has risen 25% in 12 months. The market has been climbing sharply since late 2023 on the back of, yes, the surge in artificial intelligence (AI).
AI stock boom
And here’s the really scary thing. One single stock accounts for 9% of the entire value of the S&P 500 right now. And I’m sure you’ve guessed which one — yes, chip maker Nvidia. Nvidia now has a market cap of a shade short of $5.5trn.
Some illuminating perspective on that might be handy for UK eyes — Nvidia alone is worth around twice the value of all our FTSE 100 companies put together. Illuminating? That’s practically blinding.
Meanwhile, Google’s parent Alphabet has seen its market cap rise to $4.7trn. Between the two, they’re worth more than three and a half Footsies.
Why does Burry Worry?
It’s feeling like the last months of the 1999 — 2000 bubble
— Michael Burry
Hedge fund manager Michael Burry recently told us all he could hear on financial radio on a long driving trip was “absolutely non-stop AI“.
He famously predicted the 2008 financial crisis — and made a packet from it. The founder of Scion Asset Management, he was played by Christian Bale in the film adaptation of The Big Short.
Reasons to be cheerful
We’re relatively isloated from the AI surge here in the UK. Our little FTSE 100 index is on a trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 16, with a forecast ratio of 14 based for the next 12 months. That’s pretty much bang on its long-term average.
While I expect a US market crash would give UK shares a shake too, I see enough safety margin to provide resilience.
UK shares recovered from the 2020 pandemic crash impressively fast. And I really can’t see a possible slump in 2026 being anywhere near as painful as that.
What can we do?
I think investors should consider putting a portion of their Stocks and Shares ISA cash into a diversified investment like City of London Investment Trust (LSE: CTY).
The share price is up 40% over the past five years — slightly behind the FTSE 100’s 45%. And we’re looking at an expected dividend yield of 4% — with the index on a forecast 3.3%. Crucially, City of London has raised its dividend every year for 59 years in a row!
If we don’t see a rise one year, I’d expect some share price fallout. And it’ll never be foolproof against a stock market crash.
But I reckon holding an investment trust like this, with widely diversified UK holdings, for the long term could help us worry less about short-term ups and downs. And then look to snap up bargain buys if there is a crash.
Alan Oscroft owns shares in City of London Investment Trust.
At a buying price of 300p the current yield would equate to 7%. You do not need to take big risks with your hard earned, you need a plan and to stick to your plan.
A stock market crash could help you retire years early. The reason’s simple
Will the next crash wreak havoc with your retirement plans — or bring them forward? Our writer explains how plunging prices can help someone retire early.
What would a stock market crash mean for your portfolio? Some people worry it could mean they have to work even longer. However, a crash can actually help a well-prepared investor retire early – even years earlier than planned.
Focusing on what, not when
I do not know when the market will next crash. Nobody does. But what is clear from history is that, sooner or later, it will.
Rather than fixating on when that might happen, I think a more productive use of an investor’s time now can be getting ready by deciding what to do when it does.
After all, it could open a big window of opportunity. It might not last long, so readiness is key.
Buying great shares at bargain prices
It helps to understand what is going on when the stock market crashes. Typically, there is some proximate cause, or causes. The underlying prospects of a sector may have changed, for example.
Take the 2008 financial crisis as an example. Banking shares nosedived – and for good reason. The prospects for the sector suddenly looked much worse than before.
So while Lloyds’ shares have almost doubled in the past five years, they are still 68% below their 2007 peak (which in turn was already far below where the share stood back in 1999).
But a crash can often send down the price of shares whose underlying business prospects seem largely unchanged – and that can be an opportunity.
Same dividend, different share price = different yield
That is because of the difference in dividend yield a share offers depending on the purchase price.
Take asset manager M&G (LSE: MNG) as an example. It currently pays 20.5p a year in dividends. It aims to grow that amount annually and has been doing do, though no payout is ever guaranteed.
The current share price of M&G means that someone buying today can earn a yield of 6.7%. That is already tasty and well over double the FTSE 100 average.
But someone buying in the March 2020 stock market crash paid much less for M&G shares. The share price has risen 175% since, making for a tidy capital gain.
What about dividends though? The simple arithmetic of dividend yield means that someone buying into M&G at that far lower price in 2020 would now be earning a yield of over 18%.
Compound a retirement portfolio at 6.7% and it will take 11 years to double in value. By contrast, compounding it at 18% annually should mean it doubles in just five years.
Here’s how I’m preparing now!
I still think M&G is an attractive business. It has millions of customers, a strong brand and proven cash generation potential underpinning that above-average yield.
But there are risks too. I fear current market instability could see investors withdraw more from M&G funds than they put in, eating into earnings.
I think M&G merits consideration even now. But if I could buy a diversified range of blue-chip shares like it at much lower prices during a market crash, that could potentially give me the opportunity to retire early.
C Ruane has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Lloyds Banking Group Plc and M&g Plc. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro
Whilst if your plan is a TR plan, a stock market crash is the worst case scenario, unless you are in the early years of investing.
To benefit from a market crash and invest at a market beating yield, you can either sell shares in your Snowball if they haven’t fallen as far as the market, or have a cash equivalent share to sell and re-invest.
Remember there is no way of knowing when the market has finished falling so you have to be content with the buying yield.
I just bought this high-quality S&P 500 AI stock for my ISA while it’s down 23%
This high-quality S&P 500 AI stock has pulled back in recent weeks. And Edward Sheldon has capitalised on the weakness, adding it to his ISA portfolio.
S&P 500 technology stock Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) has been a brilliant investment in recent years, rising more than six-fold. However recently, it has pulled back a little.
Given this pullback, I decided that it was time to buy a few shares for my ISA. Here’s why I bought it.
A new growth stock for my ISA
Arista Networks is a leading provider of cloud networking solutions. It specialises in switches (boxes full of ports) that can move vast amounts of digital information between servers at lightning speed and also offers a network operating system.
Today, its products are used by all the big cloud companies (Amazon, Alphabet, etc). For these companies, Arista’s solutions help them manage massive amounts of data with low latency and high reliability.
Source: Google Finance
Why did I buy it now?
As for why I bought it, there are a few reasons. One is that recent Q1 earnings (which the wider market was unimpressed with) looked pretty good to me.
For the quarter, revenue was up 35% year on year to $2.7bn. Meanwhile, non-GAAP earnings per share were $0.87 versus $0.66 a year earlier.
Arista is off to a strong start in Q1 2026. Jayshree Ullal, Chairperson and CEO of Arista Networks
Notably, numerous Wall Street analysts increased their price targets for the stock after the earnings report. Some firms went to $200 (more than 40% above the share price when I bought it).
So, it struck me that there was a disconnect between analyst sentiment and the share price action. I decided to capitalise on this.
An AI capex beneficiary
Another reason is that I expect the strong growth here to continue in the medium term as hyperscalers spend big on AI. After spending over $700bn this year, analysts believe that these tech firms could be set to spend over $1trn next year.
This should benefit Arista because as I said above, its products are used by all the big cloud companies.
A high-quality business
I’m also attracted to the quality of this company. This is a business that’s very profitable.
Over the last five years, return on capital employed (ROCE) has averaged 27%. Companies that have high ROCEs and a source of growth tend to be good long-term investments.
How’s the valuation?
Finally, I could justify the valuation. When I bought, the forward-looking price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio using next year’s earnings forecast was in the low 30s.
Now, obviously that valuation is still high. And it adds risk for me.
If revenue growth slows, the shares are likely to underperform given that lofty earnings multiple. And it could slow – hyperscalers may decide to pull back on data centre spending.
Taking a three-to-five year view, however, I’m excited about the potential here. I believe this stock is worthy of further research.
Edward Sheldon has positions in Arista Networks, Amazon, and Alphabet.
With only one share left to declare a dividend for the first six months of the year, the income for the SNOWBALL will be £7,653, with a year end figure of around £13,189
Whilst there is a lot of water to flow under a lot of bridges before the end of 2027, it would be great if the fcast would be £13,863, whilst possible it’s most probably unlikely.
Regional REIT Limited (LSE: RGL), the regional commercial property specialist, announces the following trading update for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026 and a dividend declaration for the first quarter of 2025 of 2.0 pence per share.
Stephen Inglis, Head of ESR Europe LSPIM Ltd., Investment Adviser commented:
“Market conditions remain challenging, but we continue to deliver on our repositioning strategy, executing targeted disposals to strengthen the balance sheet while further improving the quality of our portfolio via our capex programme.
During Q1 2026, we undertook six sales generating proceeds of £12.6m, with a further three disposals totalling £2.5m completed post quarter end, all were close to their 31 December 2025 valuations and in aggregate c. 90% vacant. These disposals were largely from the sales segment of the portfolio where refurbishment would not have generated sufficient returns on the capital deployed. The LTV was further reduced at the end of Q1 2026 to 39.4% (2025: 40.4%).
The company completed 26 new lettings and renewals in the quarter, adding £1.1m to the rent roll. These lettings were secured at 9.8% above ERV, building on the 9.0% above ERV delivered in Q4 2025, underscoring rental growth created by continued demand for well-located, high-quality space and the effectiveness of our active asset improvement plan.
The increase in rents being achieved is indicative of our view in respect of the structural supply and demand imbalance in the provision of high quality and well-located regional office space that conform to EPC A and B, and this will become increasingly evident.
Our portfolio is currently well positioned with 61.1% already EPC B or better.Grade A vacancy across key UK regional markets remains tight at c.3-5%, with a constrained development pipeline and best‑in‑class space accounting for the majority of leasing activity*. This dynamic continues to support a broader ‘flight to quality’ and underpins our medium-term outlook.”
* Knight Frank Office Market Annual Review 2025
Portfolio update
· 110 properties, 1,075 units and 653 tenants, totalling c.£543.1m** of gross property assets value (31 December 2025: £555.2m)
· 26 lettings to new tenants and renewals/regears in the period across 113,885 sq ft delivering £1.1m of annualised rental income, an uplift of 9.8% against ERV
· Rent roll of £49.8m (31 December 2025: £50.4m); ERV £75.0m (31 December 2025: £77.0m)
· EPRA Occupancy for the Core segment portfolio 87.0% (31 December 2025: 86.5%) – reflecting stable Core occupancy
· EPRA Occupancy (by ERV) 75.5% (31 December 2025: 75.9%); 31 March 2026 like-for-like 75.6% versus 31 March 2025 78.9%
· Total rent collection for the quarter as at 15 May 2026 98.5% compared with 97.9% for the equivalent period in 2025
· Post quarter end a further 7 new lettings and renewals/regears have been achieved across 50,828 sq ft providing £0.9m of annualised rental income, at 3.0% above ERV
Maintaining balance sheet discipline while pursuing updated strategy
· Disposals in the period amounted to £12.6m (before costs) (2 properties and 4-part sales), reflecting a net initial yield of 4.0%
o Post quarter end, a further 1 disposal and 2-part sales completed totalling £2.5m (before costs).
o The current disposal programme comprises of 36 sales totalling c. £89.5m, though not all are expected to complete in 2026
· Net capital expenditure £0.8m (Full year 2025: £11.8m) – continued focus upon the capital expenditure programme
· Cash and cash equivalent balances £40.3m (31 December 2025: £37.7m)
· Net loan-to-value ratio reduced to c. 39.4%** (31 December 2025: 40.4%)
· Gross borrowings £254.5m (31 December 2025: £266.2m)
· Group cost of debt (incl. hedging) 3.4% pa (31 December 2025: 3.3% pa)
**Gross property assets value based upon Colliers International Property Consultants Ltd. valuations as at 31 December 2025, adjusted for subsequent acquisitions, disposals and capital expenditure in the period.
Q1 2026 Dividend Declaration
The Company declares that it will pay a dividend of 2.0 pence per share (“pps”) for the period 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026, (1 January 2025 to 31 March 2025: 2.50pps). The entire dividend will be paid as a REIT property income distribution (“PID”).
Shareholders have the option to invest their dividend in a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (“DRIP”), and more details can be found on the Company’s website.
The key dates relating to this dividend are:
Ex-dividend date
28 May 2026
Record date
29 May 2026
Last day for DRIP election
19 June 2026
Payment date
10 July 2026
The level of future payments of dividends will be determined by the Board having regard to, among other factors, the financial position and performance of the Group at the relevant time, UK REIT requirements, the interest of shareholders and the long-term future of the Company.
Forthcoming Events
19 May 2026
Annual General Meeting
8 September 2026
Interim Results Announcement
12 November 2026
Q3 2026 Trading Update
Note: All dates are provisional and subject to change.
Too Good to Be True? No Way. This 9.4% Dividend Is 15% Off
Michael Foster, Investment Strategist Updated: May 18, 2026
Stocks are up, and the media is finally coming around to what we’ve been saying at my CEF Insider service for months now.
Last week, The Economist wrote a breathless piece about how the US economy is firing on all cylinders—and fears that a recession will sideswipe stocks are just plain wrong.
We’re happy to see a leading publication like The Economist come around on this point, of course. Even better, we now we have the data to prove it:
Across the board, the S&P 500 saw a 27.7% earnings gain in the first quarter. That’s shocking when, historically, profits have risen in the 5% to 8% range.
So it should come as no surprise that the S&P 500 benchmark State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) has gained nearly 9% this year, as of this writing. It should also be no surprise that the tech-focused NASDAQ, as tracked by the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), is up around 15%. The numbers tech firms are putting up are nothing short of jaw-dropping:
Take IT, where earnings are up 50% from a year ago, while sales (shown in the chart above) have spiked 29%. Communication services, which includes companies like Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Platforms (META), has also seen profits pop 48.8% on 15% higher revenue.
These big gains should put an end to bubble fears: They clearly show that the market’s strength is backed by profit and sales growth. And that’s before we talk about stock valuations, which give us one of the clearest indications this market is not in a bubble:
Earnings Pop, Valuations Drop
Here are the price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of three of the biggest public companies in the AI world over the last five years: NVIDIA (NVDA), in purple; Amazon.com (AMZN), in blue; and Microsoft (MSFT), in orange.
While these stocks have what might be considered “high” P/E ratios compared to the market average, those ratios aren’t skyrocketing. Indeed, they’re falling as earnings rise and investors take a more rational view of these companies.
In fact, the chart above shows us that the “bubble” really occurred in 2023, and it didn’t pop. It slowly deflated, thanks to earnings rising, rather than prices falling.
Too Late? No Way. This Run Is Just Getting Started
Of course, looking at stocks’ gains lately, you might feel it’s too late to buy. That’s understandable. But let’s take a closer look at what’s happened in the last five years, with SPY again in purple and QQQ in orange:
Big Gains, Most of Them Recent
The recent jump in stocks is partly due to fresh AI-driven productivity gains—that’s the spike on the right side of the chart. But if we strip out that pop, what we really see is a rational recovery from the irrational 2022 selloff, not a bubble.
The 9.4%-paying closed-end fund (CEF) we’re going to talk about next is the perfect way to take advantage of this situation. It comes our way at a discount that should go a long way toward easing any bubble fears you may have. But there’s more to this high-yielding investment vehicle than just that.
The 9.4% Dividend Play
I’m talking about a CEF called the Neuberger Berman Next Generation Connectivity Fund (NBXG).
NBXG, as the name suggests, holds tech stocks. Its top holdings include Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) and NVIDIA. That tech lean has resulted in a triple-digit total return in the last three years:
NBXG’s Strong 3-Year Run
This is a much better proposition than buying an index fund like SPY, which yields around 1% now. NBXG, with its 9.4% payout, cuts the need to sell into a downturn if you need to tap your investment for cash. That’s our first reason why we see this fund as attractive now, even if you’re worried you’re late to the party. The second reason is more important, and more subtle.
NBXG Gets Cheaper—Even as It Surges
As we saw with individual tech stocks above, NBXG is getting cheaper, going by its discount to net asset value (NAV—the key valuation measure for CEFs) while it delivers bigger returns. Except here, the effect is more pronounced.
With a 15% discount, we’re getting NBXG’s portfolio for 85 cents on the dollar. That gives us more upside potential and more downside insulation if the market hits a speed bump. It also means the fund’s 9.4% dividend is very sustainable (and positioned to grow).
Here’s why: As I just mentioned, NBXG yields 9.4%. That’s calculated on the CEF’s per-share market price. But remember that this price is discounted 15% from NBXG’s NAV, or its portfolio value.
If you calculate the fund’s yield on NAV, you get a much lower number: around 8%. This means management needs to earn 8%—a much lower bar than 9.4%—to keep the payout steady.
NBXG’s return in the last three years is far more than enough to do that. In fact, its return is so large that it puts another dividend hike on the table (after management already raised the payout 20% with the October 2025 payment).
That potential payout hike caps off a solid package: An investor buying NBXG today gets a portfolio of stocks with rising sales and profits, held in a fund that growth “translates” that into a 9.4% dividend (paid monthly). All of this comes at a discount, to boot.
Investors are liking the look of troubled private equity behemoth 3i Group Ord
IIIafter a fresh sell-off, propelling it back into our bestseller list.
The trust’s shares have been on a downward trajectory since late last year thanks to softening sales growth and US expansion plans for its main holding, discount retailer Action.
A trading update last week confirmed continued problems in Action’s main market France and more widely, prompting a fresh sell-off. That lower price, and the trust’s hefty discount, continues to draw in buyers.
We otherwise see a huge amount of continuity in the latest bestseller list.
JPMorgan Global Growth & Income PLC ex-dividend date JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income PLC ex-dividend date Murray Income Trust PLC ex-dividend date Scottish American Investment Co PLC ex-dividend date Town Centre Securities PLC ex-dividend date Tritax Big Box REIT PLC ex-dividend date
