The Second Interim Dividend of 2.25 pence per Ordinary Share (May 2025: 2.20 pence per Ordinary Share) will be payable to Shareholders on the register as at 22 May 2026, with an associated ex-dividend date of 21 May 2026 and a payment date on or around 15 June 2026.
Formal Sale Process
The Formal Sale Process continues to progress in line with expectations, and the Board will make further updates when appropriate. There can be no certainty that an offer will be made, nor as to the terms on which any offer will be made.
TRIG
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited
Interim Dividend
The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the first quarterly interim dividend in respect of the three month period to 31 March 2026 of 1.8875 pence per ordinary share (the “Q1 Dividend”). The shares will go ex-dividend on 21 May 2026 and the Q1 Dividend will be paid on 30 June 2026 to shareholders on the register as at the close of business on 22 May 2026.
For as long as the Company’s shares trade at a discount wider than 10% to NAV, the Board does not intend to offer a scrip dividend alternative
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7 Best ETFs to Buy in May 2026
Exchange-traded funds tend to be less volatile than individual stocks and provide exposure to a broad range of opportunities.
By Matthew DiLallo – Updated May 6, 2026 at 12:34 PM EST | Fact-checked by Frank Bass
Key Points
ETFs offer a diversified investment option, reducing risk compared to individual stocks.
Low expense ratios in ETFs like Vanguard S&P 500 (0.03%) enhance investor returns.
ETFs like the Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF provide exposure to high-yielding stocks with growth potential.
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are investment vehicles that trade like a stock but give investors ownership of a broad range of stocks or other assets. ETFs offer investors an appealing alternative to owning individual stocks. They can also be great complements to an investor’s stock portfolio.
An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, allows investors to buy many stocks or bonds at once.
There are all kinds of ETFs available. Some track major indexes, such as the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq Composite. Others give investors exposure to specific regions, such as China or emerging markets. And some ETFs concentrate on certain sectors, such as technology or banking, or specific types of stocks, like dividend or growth stocks.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
In a challenging market environment, ETFs can help reduce the risks of owning an individual stock, as they tend to be less volatile. Although they’re similar in principle to mutual funds, they’re easier to buy and trade than typical mutual funds and tend to have lower fees. If you’re looking for ETFs to invest in, keep reading to see seven of the best.
Top seven ETFs to buy now
There are hundreds of ETFs to choose from. Here are seven of the best ETFs to buy this month.
Vanguard created the index fund. If you’re looking for an S&P 500 index fund, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO+0.55%) is hard to beat. It offers an ultra-low expense ratio of just 0.03%, compared to the 0.23% average for similar funds. This lower expense ratio means that, for every $10,000 invested in the fund, investors will pay just $3 in annual fees, versus $23 in a typical competing fund.
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is one of the largest and most popular ETFs. It was the largest ETF by assets under management (AUM) in May 2026. The ETF’s combination of low costs and large size makes it an excellent choice for investing in the broader market. Because of its history, diversification, and exposure to blue chip stocks, many investors consider it one of the best ETFs to buy and hold.
The S&P 500 has an excellent track record of delivering returns for investors. Over the last 50 years, the average stock market return, as measured by the S&P 500, has been 8% with dividends reinvested. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF is a low-cost way to capture the market’s returns.
If you’re looking to gain exposure to big tech stocks, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ+1.06%) is an excellent choice. The ETF tracks the Nasdaq-100 index, which includes 100 of the Nasdaq’s largest nonfinancial companies.
The top stocks in the ETF are Nvidia (NVDA+2.33%), Apple (AAPL+1.50%), Microsoft (MSFT-0.63%), Broadcom (AVGO-0.60%), and Amazon (AMZN+1.61%). As one of the best-performing ETFs, it boasts an affordable expense ratio of 0.18%.
As of May 2026, the Invesco QQQ Trust had generated a total return of around 580% over the past decade. A $10,000 investment made in this ETF 10 years ago would be worth more than $67,864 today.
The Nasdaq-100’s focus on innovative technology companies positions it to continue delivering strong total returns, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates growth in the tech sector in the coming years.
If you want to invest in growth stocks but don’t want to be an active stock picker, the Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG+1.10%) makes that easy. The ETF holds large-cap growth stocks and tracks the CRSP U.S. Large Cap GrowthIndex.
Like Invesco QQQ Trust and Vanguard S&P 500, the Vanguard Growth ETF’s biggest holdings are Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft. The growth-focused ETF also held many other growth stocks among the roughly 150 companies in the fund as of May 2026. The Vanguard Growth ETF offers a rock-bottom expense ratio of just 0.03%. Its low cost makes it a good deal for anyone looking for a growth stock ETF.
The iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR-0.38%) provides broad exposure to small-cap stocks. Small caps tend to be more volatile than the broader market because they may be less profitable or less financially strong than their large-cap counterparts. As a result, small caps tend to be riskier during a downturn because they may not have the same access to capital.
This ETF helps mute some of that risk by holding a large basket of small-cap stocks. As of May 2026, it held around 640 stocks and had a fairly low concentration of holdings. Its top 10 holdings made roughly 6% of the total. The ETF has a very low expense ratio of 0.06%, making it a low-cost way to add some small-cap exposure to your portfolio.
Dividend stocks are great long-term investments. Over the last 50 years, dividend-paying companies outperformed nondividend payers by more than 2-to-1 (9.2% average annual total return versus 4.2% for nondividend payers). The best performance came from dividend growers and initiators (10.2% versus 6.9% for companies with no change in their dividend policy).
The Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF (SCHD-0.03%) provides exposure to high-yielding U.S. stocks with a history of dividend growth. It tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100, which measures the performance of 100 top dividend stocks based on several quality characteristics. Among its 10 largest holdings in early May 2026 were notable dividend payers PepsiCo (PEP-1.70%) and Chevron (CVX-0.04%).
The ETF offers a relatively attractive dividend yield. As of May 2026, it had a trailing-12-month yield of 3.4%, triple the 1.1% dividend yield of an S&P 500 index fund. And thanks to its low expense ratio of 0.06%, investors keep more of the ETF’s dividend income. The fund should also deliver price appreciation as the underlying companies grow their earnings and dividends.
Although the S&P 500 is considered a broad-market index, it gives you exposure to only 500 large-cap U.S. stocks. If you want to own all the stocks in the U.S. market, the best way to do it is through a total stock market fund such as the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI+0.53%).
As of May 2026, the fund held more than 3,500 companies, including large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks. Because its holdings encompass the S&P 500, its largest positions are the same as for the broad market index.
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF aims to track the CRSP U.S. Total Stock Market index. Like other Vanguard funds, its low 0.03% expense ratio makes it an affordable way to invest in the entire U.S. stock market through a single ETF.
7. iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF
iShares Trust – iShares Core Msci Total International Stock ETF
Today’s Change
(1.04%) $0.98
Current Price
$95.60
If it’s international markets you want, the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS+1.04%) is a good way to go. The fund derives its holdings from an MSCI global index and subtracts the U.S. listings. It holds about 4,160 stocks, including large-, mid-, and small-cap companies from around the world.
The ETF offers diversified international exposure. Its top five geographies as of May 2026 were:
Japan: 14.6% of the fund’s holdings
United Kingdom: 8.4%
Taiwan: 8.3%
Canada: 8.1%
China: 6.8%
The iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF allows you to invest globally at an affordable expense ratio of 0.07%. It also has an attractive dividend yield of 3.2% based on the last 12 months of dividend payments (as of May 2026).
Tax considerations for ETFs
ETFs tend to be more tax-efficient compared to mutual funds. However, investors still need to keep taxes in mind when holding an ETF in a regular brokerage account.
Investors will pay two types of taxes on ETFs that hold stocks or bonds:
Taxes on income: ETFs that hold dividend-paying stocks must distribute the income from those dividends to investors at least once each year. The IRS taxes Qualified dividends at the lower federal long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%, while taxing non-qualified dividends and interest income from bonds as ordinary income, up to 37%.
Taxes on capital gains: If you sell an equity or bond ETF, you’ll pay taxes on the gain depending on how long you held the fund and your annual income. ETFs held for more than a year get taxed at the lower federal long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15%, or 20%. Meanwhile, the IRS taxes funds held less than a year at the short-term capital gains rate, which is the same as your ordinary tax rate (up to 37%).
Types of ETFs
There are several types of ETFs that investors can buy, including:
Broad index funds: Many of the largest ETFs track a broad market index, such as the S&P 500 or the Nasdaq-100. These funds enable investors to gain diversified market exposure through a single low-cost fund.
Sector ETFs: These ETFs focus on stocks in a specific stock market sector, such as technology, energy, or healthcare.
Asset-focused funds: These funds invest in a specific asset class, such as government bonds, dividend stocks, small-cap stocks, or commodities.
Thematic ETFs: Thematic funds invest in themes such as semiconductor stocks, artificial intelligence (AI), international stocks, or clean energy.
How to choose an ETF
You should evaluate the following factors when choosing an ETF:
Whether the investment strategy (i.e., growth, income, or specific theme) fits your needs
How the ETF’s expense ratio compares to similar funds
Its past performance compared to similar funds and its benchmark
Its size and trading volume versus other similar funds.
Whether it uses any leverage
Should you invest in ETFs?
Exchange-traded funds can work for almost any kind of investor, regardless of your investing style or the type of stocks you’re looking to invest in. Hundreds of ETFs offer exposure to a wide range of sectors and investment goals, including dividend and growth strategies. These funds have several benefits, including:
Potentially lower risk and less volatility compared to investing in individual stocks.
A passive investment with a low management fee.
Built-in diversification from day one.
Targeted investment in a trend or theme through a simple investment vehicle.
Liquidity (ETFs trade like stocks).
Very transparent investments.
A possible source of passive income, depending on the ETF’s investment strategy.
However, there are also some drawbacks to investing in ETFs that investors need to consider, including:
The higher management fees of some funds can eat into their returns.
Leverage and other factors can cause some funds to deliver poor long-term performance.
For most investors, holding at least one or two high-quality ETFs makes sense, especially if you want to eliminate some of the work of picking individual stocks. The list above offers a good starting point if you’re looking for the best ETFs to buy.
Tips for Investing in ETFs
Here are some practical tips and strategies for investing in ETFs:
Invest in a low-cost index fund to gain broad exposure to the stock market.
Avoid small ETFs (with assets under management of less than $200 million) due to their greater risk of manipulation and closure.
Look for ETFs with expense ratios well below 1%.
Use ETFs to target themes you believe will deliver long-term outperformance (e.g., AI-focused funds or clean energy ETFs).
Avoid most funds that use leverage to increase returns.
Use ETFs to increase your portfolio diversification (e.g., bond ETFs and international stock ETFs).
A 9.14% dividend yield turns a £100,000 portfolio into a £9,142.86 annual income. And reinvesting at that rate makes the returns go up quickly.
After 10 years, the annual return reaches £20,092.78. In Year 15, it gets to £31,118.36, and after 20 years, it becomes £48,194.04.
Inflation means £100,000 (or $100,000) is worth less in real terms than it was in 1998. That’s when Charlie Munger identified it as a turning point.
What hasn’t changed, however, is the maths behind the compounding. A 9.14% return does the same thing to £100,000 as it did 28 years ago.
THE TWELTH MAGPIE
The SNOWBALL, year to date
Income £5,189
Current shares xd £1,831
Cash £343
Total £7,363
The current plan
The SNOWBALL is ahead of plan and this year’s fcast has been updated to £11,261, which is the 2030 target.
If you can compound at 7%, you should double your income every ten years, if you can compound at a higher rate, even 1 or 2%, as your shares increase their dividends to allow for inflation, your journey will also be shortened.
You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services, soon to be The Twelfth Magpie.
The UK has some terrific shares for dividend investors to consider. And they can generate real passive income – especially inside a tax-efficient Stocks and Shares ISA.
Charlie Munger – Warren Buffett’s right-hand man – used to say that the first $100,000 (or for britons £100,000) was the hardest. But is that still the case?
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Passive income opportunities
A lot of dividend stocks look pretty attractive. But a high yield can often be a sign that there’s something to worry about.
Often, but not always. The stock market doesn’t get everything right and it can make mistakes in both directions.
Games Workshop is one example. 10 years ago, the stock came with an 8% dividend yield.
That counts as high. Since then, though, the dividend per share has climbed 700%.
As a result, the stock is up 3,997%. And that means the dividend yield has actually fallen to 2.9% – less than half of where it was.
Source: Fiscal.ai
Is the stock less risky now than it was 10 years ago? Maybe, but I think this shows that not every high dividend yield is a trap.
Where’s the opportunity?
Regional REIT (LSE:RGL) is a really interesting income stock to consider. It’s a real estate investment trust that owns a portfolio of properties based outside the M25.
On the face of it, there are two main issues. It has a lot of debt and a significant part of its asset base isn’t the highest quality in the world.
Both of those are risks and the firm has lowered its dividend recently. But it’s looking to solve one problem with another.
It’s selling some of its weaker assets and using the proceeds to pay down debt. If it works, the result could be a better portfolio with less debt.
What’s not to like about that? And while there are no guarantees, the dividend yield is still 9.14% even after the recent cut.
Regional REIT takes an unusual approach, prioritising scarce supply over strong demand. The risks are obvious, but so is the potential opportunity.
A £100k portfolio
A 9.14% dividend yield turns a £100,000 portfolio into a £9,142.86 annual income. And reinvesting at that rate makes the returns go up quickly.
After 10 years, the annual return reaches £20,092.78. In Year 15, it gets to £31,118.36, and after 20 years, it becomes £48,194.04.
Inflation means £100,000 (or $100,000) is worth less in real terms than it was in 1998. That’s when Charlie Munger identified it as a turning point.
What hasn’t changed, however, is the maths behind the compounding. A 9.14% return does the same thing to £100,000 as it did 28 years ago.
In that sense, I think Munger’s advice still holds true. And it’s especially interesting in a Stocks and Shares ISA with a £20,000 annual contribution limit.
At £100,000, though, the portfolio starts to make a real contribution to the annual growth. That’s why it’s still a key level for investors.
9.14% dividend yield
Going all-in on one stock – any stock – is risky. So Regional REIT isn’t by itself a way to turn a £100,000 portfolio into a £9,142.86 second income.
What it does show, however, is that not every high dividend yield is a trap. And where there’s one opportunity, I think there might be more.
Whitecap Resources (TSX:WCP) stock is a reliable monthly payer (4.5% yield) with record Q1 production (391k boe/d), falling costs, and doubled free cash flow potential amid high oil prices.
Freehold Royalties (TSX:FRU) stock offers a “risk-free” royalty model, dividend yields 6.1%, paid monthly. Its U.S. assets boost liquids for premium pricing. FRU can sustain stable dividends even at $50/bbl oil.
InPlay Oil (TSX:IPO) is a small-cap high-yielder (6.4%) that reported an 80% AFF surge recently, has low-decline assets. Investors may expect an unhedged cash flow boom at $81.50/bbl oil forecast for the rest of 2026.
Three top Canadian energy sector stocks to buy for May, for dividend-oriented investors who intend to buy-and-hold TSX energy stocks as a source of recurring passive income, include monthly dividend powerhouses Whitecap Resources (TSX:WCP) stock, Freehold Royalties (TSX:FRU) stock, and a tiny oil stock that pays a 6.4% yield from its surging distributable cash flow. Here’s why they are good buys in May 2026.
Source: Getty Images
Whitecap Resources stock – The monthly dividend heavyweight
Whitecap Resources (TSX:WCP) stock is an ideal Canadian energy stock to buy for monthly income, especially given its proven dividend track record. The oil stock has never missed a monthly payout since 2021. At May prices, its monthly dividend of $0.061 per share currently yields approximately 4.5% annually. The payout received more cash flow coverage this year as high crude oil prices improve WCP’s cash flow outlook.
WCP reported record first-quarter production growth, increased its production guidance for 2026, generated impressive revenue, saw costs drop by 11% per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), and reported a 12% increase in funds flow to $1 billion as merger synergies with Veren kicked in.
Whitecap Resources stock’s production of 391,416 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) during the first quarter exceeded management’s targets. High well productivity and improved operational execution, which brought new wells onstream ahead of plans, propelled Whitecap’s superior operating results. This trend may persist into the second half of 2026.
10 stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor Canada.
The monthly dividend stock is up 38% year to date. WCP stock could sustain a rally as production grows, revenue and earnings surge, and its free cash flow run-rate doubles. The energy stock is one of the safest energy sector bets for risk-averse dividend investors seeking both capital appreciation and reliable monthly passive income.
Freehold Royalties
Freehold Royalties (TSX:FRU) stock offers a strategically different business model that could be appealing to dividend investors: a royalty company rather than an energy producer. Freehold Royalties stock pays monthly dividends from high-margin earnings generated without assuming the operational risks of oil drilling and crude production. At a 6.1% dividend yield, FRU stock’s high-yield monthly payout should remain a major total return component on the energy stock over the next decade.
FRU stock’s dividend is supported by low-risk royalty income at oil prices as low as US$50 per barrel. During the first quarter, Freehold’s U.S. production continued to improve its liquids weighting from 55% to 65%, providing a 31% pricing premium over Canadian production supported by light oil premium pricing and lower shipping costs to the Gulf Coast.
Huge capex budgets and innovation by FRU’s production partners may widen U.S. assets’ performance gap over the next several years, positioning the dividend stock for a good cash flow harvest – as long as oil prices comply.
The royalty-earning energy stock offers a safer cash flow generating model, which adds valuable diversification to your energy portfolio.
InPlay Oil Corp stock: A high-yield monthly dividend play in a small package
InPlay Oil (TSX:IPO) is a $470 million small-cap Canadian energy stock that is the perfect pick for investors seeking pure monthly dividend exposure in a smaller package. The junior oil and gas producer has declared a monthly cash dividend of $0.09 per share payable on May 29, 2026. The dividend should yield 6.4% annually. The payout was well covered at oil prices around US$60 per barrel in budgeting for 2026.
During the recent earnings (Q1 2026) released in May, management forecasts oil prices to average US$81.50 for the remainder of the year. The IPO stock may harvest boatloads of free cash flow in 2026. The Canadian energy stock has already reported an 80% year-over-year surge in adjusted funds flow (AFF) during the first quarter, despite significant debt-mandated hedges in place that limited its participation in record oil prices earlier this year.
The company has significantly fewer oil-price hedges during the second half of 2026 and all of 2027. It should therefore generate higher cash flow going forward, as long as oil prices stay elevated.
InPlay Oil stock’s low-decline light oil assets in Alberta, which have expanded through a recent acquisition that increased production levels, should provide a stable foundation for recurring dividend payouts, making it an excellent choice for investors who want to diversify across company sizes. The energy stock has generated 128% in total returns during the past 12 months.
The lofty valuations of AI stocks in the past few years have dredged up memories for some of the time before the dotcom bubble burst in 2000.
This burst, which led to steep fall in the MSCI World over a period of two years, was due to overinvestment in internet companies that eventually couldn’t live up to their value despite the internet becoming a part of everyday life. It’s simple to see the similarities to today: even with a general consensus that AI will be a world-changing technology, it’s hard to be clear on the companies which will benefit most.
But a striking phenomenon of the dotcom bubble bursting was the performance of value stocks in the aftermath, which shot up as the rest of the market fell. The past is never a perfect indicator of what will happen to markets in the future, but some investors believe value stocks could deliver the same bumper returns if the AI bubble burst.
Investors can see this through the Fama-French HML Factor Data. This is an educational data measure that shows how value-driven stocks perform in comparison to growth stocks. The chart below shows how dramatically value outperformed growth in the period immediately following the dot-com crash.
What does value really mean?
There is no single definition of what qualifies a stock as ‘value’. Generally, it refers to stocks that are unloved by the market, but if these stocks are worth more than their price will depend on who you ask. This makes it a popular area of the market for fund managers that select their own stocks, because it allows them to use their own strategies to see appeal they think others, or indices, might be missing.
Indices offer value options too, but their performance has differed widely based on criteria. The MSCI World Value index, for example, has lagged behind the standard MSCI World in the past five years, with returns of 65.8% and 76%, respectively. But the MSCI World Enhanced Value Index has beat both with a 101.65% return.
How are these value metrics so different? MSCI World Value Index chooses its holdings based on book value (essentially the value of a company’s assets) divided by share price, dividend yields, and 12-month forward earnings multiples. It then gets a score to sort it between value and growth. But a stock can fall in both of these baskets which means the returns of this index aren’t always so different from the broader market.
MSCI World Enhanced Value, on the other hand, uses different metrics, has stricter criteria, and an all-in or all- out approach for if stocks qualify. This creates a smaller qualifying group and a much different return than the standard MSCI World.
This stricter criteria meant that on a longer- term view, including in the early 2000s, the enhanced value strategy won out. However, in times that were strong for growth, such as the 2010s, this index lagged behind.
Balancing growth and value
Value stocks don’t come without risk, and some are cheap for a reason. By relying them on completely, investors would likely have missed out on some of the most impressive market performers in recent years, such as Nvidia and Alphabet. For this reason, many investors choose to use a blend. Indices like the MSCI World are, by nature, weighted more heavily towards growth. So having a separate portfolio weighting that is aimed specifically at value can be a way to even out this risk.
Some value stocks will present a smoother ride than broader equity markets, as many measures of value include stocks that pay high levels of dividends, which tend to be more mature businesses. But other value stocks are discounted severely because the company has had a difficult period. This does involve risk, but it can still be a diversifier to other parts of your portfolio.
Value investments can be hard to sniff out, because it involves deep analysis of why they are trading more cheaply in the first place, as well as what their potential is for the future. There’s always a possibility of buying a stock that looks good value at the time, but keeps sinking instead of recovering. Some prefer to leave it up to the experts and invest through funds. The table shows the best performing value funds of the past 10 years offered on AJ Bell’s platform. Note that these funds will each have different metrics to constitute value, and past returns don’t guarantee future performance.
The Law Debenture Corporation — Outperforming with consistency
The Law Debenture Corporation (LWDB) has published 2025 results, a year in which it built on its long-term record of outperformance versus its broad UK equity market benchmark and peers. We believe LWDB’s unique combination of a UK investment trust and a cash-generative professional services operating business (IPS) are core to this performance. In 2025, portfolio returns were driven by strong stock selection across the range of market capitalisations, with investment flexibility supported by the earnings and cash flow of IPS. With debt and IPS at fair value, NAV total return of 28% was 4.4pp ahead of the benchmark and DPS increased by 6.0%.
Written by Martyn King
Edison
LWDB has generated significant outperformance over multiple periods versus its broad UK equity market benchmark and peers in the AIC UK Equity Income sector. On a fair value basis to end-2025, NAV total return is 60% over three years, 97% over five years and 201% over 10 years, 13pp, 23pp and 77pp ahead of the benchmark, respectively. The proposed Q425 DPS of 10.375p takes the total DPS for the year to 35.5p (2024: 33.5p), the 47th year in which it has been held or increased. 2025 DPS was 1.05x covered by revenue earnings per share of 37.26p (2024: 33.48p), which, along with a higher starting asset base, bodes well for further growth.
IPS accounts for 16% of NAV but its strong cash generation has funded c 30% of the trust’s dividends over the past 10 years. This provides the portfolio managers with greater freedom to balance the requirements for immediate income with the goal of growing capital values over time. They can avoid higher-yielding stocks they deem unattractive and invest in attractive lower- or non-yielding stocks, with greater growth potential or significant, identifiable recovery potential.
IPS delivered a solid performance in 2025, broadly spread across its range of businesses. Revenue increased 7.5% versus 2024 and underlying profit before interest and tax was up by 6.1%, the eighth successive year of mid- to high-single-digit growth. The end-2025 fair value, newly published, increased 7.3% to £209m, driven by growth in cash earnings and reflecting an unchanged earnings multiple.
The investment portfolio continues to be driven by flexible stock selection across the range of large- (c 50%), small- and mid-cap stocks. UK equities (90% of the LWDB portfolio) have performed strongly but valuations remain moderate in historical terms and below global averages. The forward P/E on LWDB’s portfolio is 12.3x, compared with the benchmark’s 13.1x. Attractive valuations continue to be reflected in corporate activity, including several companies in LWDB’s portfolio. The investment managers see strong opportunities across the market and stress the importance of focusing on companies rather than the economy.
The valuation of UK equities and a more defensive, value-oriented sector mix among large caps compared to overseas markets should provide a defence against heightened global uncertainty. IPS is a well-diversified, resilient and growing business with elements of counter-cyclicality and it is relatively insensitive to short-term economic and market fluctuations. LWDB’s consistent performance has been reflected in an average premium to par value NAV of 3% over the past five years.
LWDB a coveted share for when the next market crash occurs, not if but when.
Forget Tech: These 3 Funds Yield 11% (and They’re Just Getting Started)
Brett Owens, Chief Investment Strategist Updated: May 12, 2026
Stocks are surging—but they’re also developing a case of “bad breadth.” That is, most of the gains are coming from a small slice of the market (I’m looking at you, tech).
That’s good news for us contrarians because this shift has left us some sweet dividend deals in other corners of the market. We’re going to capitalize through 3 discounted closed-end funds (CEFs) yielding up to 11.8%.
Together, they form a tidy “mini-portfolio” that includes blue chips (sans tech), bonds and infrastructure plays. Two of these funds offer payouts that roll out monthly, too.
Start With Stocks—and the Gabelli Equity Trust (GAB)
GAB stands out for another reason beyond its hefty 10.6% payout: It’s one of the few US-stock-focused CEFs whose top-10 holdings aren’t heavily weighted toward tech.
Sure, Texas Instruments (TXN) is here, but most of the rest hail from sectors like financials, like Mastercard (MA), and manufacturing, with names like aircraft-parts maker Curtiss-Wright (CW), Deere & Co. (DE) and UK-based Rolls Royce Holdings.
Building a portfolio with minimal tech exposure isn’t easy these days, given that IT and communication services—that latter category includes Alphabet (GOOGL), Meta Platforms (META) and Netflix (NFLX)—together make up 47% of the S&P 500.
But GAB’s bias to other sectors comes as no surprise when you consider that it’s run by value investor (and Buffett disciple) Mario Gabelli.
And GAB itself is a solid value now. You can see that in two ways: First, it’s trailed the market this year, and it really fell behind around late March (in purple below), right around the time tech started its ascent, pulling the S&P 500 (in orange) higher:
GAB Pulls Back as Tech Boots Up the S&P 500
That’s the first sign GAB is a bargain. The second? GAB’s own discount to NAV, which is 3.6%, far below the 10% premium at which it started the year:
GAB’s Discount Falls, Flatlines—Then Sets Up to Bounce
This wider discount is because GAB recently completed a rights offering, under which it offered current shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a below-market price.
That deal is now closed. The resulting dilution caused by the new shares is behind the wider discount, but I expect that to narrow over time, especially as mainstream investors eventually look beyond tech.
That, plus the fact that GAB pays 10X what the S&P 500 does, makes the fund a sweet index-fund alternative. And if you buy today, you’ll start pocketing GAB’s high payout while you wait.
Next, We’ll Hire the “Bond God” to Scour the Credit Markets for Us
Next up, bonds—and for those we’re turning to the “Bond God,” Jeffrey Gundlach. He runs the DoubleLine Income Solutions Fund (DSL), a holding of my Contrarian Income Report service that yields 11.8% and pays dividends monthly.
With DSL, Gundlach can go after income wherever he sees fit, and he’s built that 11.8% divvie on high-yield corporate bonds, emerging-market issues and a dash of mortgage-backed securities. (Don’t let ghosts of 2008 spook you—these are more regulated than ever.)
He then “tweaks” the portfolio with around 21% leverage. That’s a sweet spot for us—enough to make a meaningful difference as rates fall (which I see as AI caps wage growth) but not enough to be a problem if rates unexpectedly rise.
This savvy approach has driven the fund’s total return ahead of the corporate-bond benchmark State Street SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) in the last five years.
The Bond God Beats His Benchmark
Even so, DSL trades at a 4% discount to NAV, well below the 1.4% premium it held as recently as September. That’s overdone, and we’re happy to step in and take advantage.
Finally, “Build” Your Income With This 11% Dividend (Paid Monthly)
The NXG NexGen Infrastructure Income Fund (NXG) is a textbook “pick-and-shovel” play on AI. Management does not try to pick winners here.
Instead, like the shopkeepers of the California Gold Rush, it sells the “picks and shovels”—electricity, engineering expertise and chips—the AI kingpins need. And NXG goes further, with companies toiling away on “old school” projects like roads, airports and bridges:
Source: NXG NexGen Infrastructure Income Fund fact sheet
Every query to ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini drives AI’s power use higher. And while renewables are growing, gas is still key, especially when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing. So we’re happy to see pipeline operators like Energy Transfer LP (ET) and ONEOK (OKE) among the fund’s top-10 holdings.
But the really overlooked side of infrastructure is outside tech, in America’s crumbling roads, bridges and highways. To be fair, the government has put up serious cash here, with $5.4 trillion slated to be poured into infrastructure between 2024 and 2033, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
But that’s still not enough to get everything in good working order: Another $3.7 trillion still needs to be spent. And it will be.
NXG is set up for that next wave of infrastructure spending through stocks like construction firm MasTec (MTZ) and Argan (AGX), an engineering company geared to utility and industrial clients. And of course, utilities benefit from all of this—putting Constellation Energy (CEG) and electrical-gear maker GE Vernova (GEV) in a great spot here.
Management’s smart approach to the infrastructure boom has paid off, with NXG (in purple below) outrunning the S&P 500 (in orange) in the last five years:
NXG Rides the Infrastructure Boom
Despite that, NXG’s valuation has gone the other way: After peaking at a 16% premium last year, it’s pulled back to a 4.6% discount. That’s because, like GAB, NXG has conducted a rights offering.
Given the infrastructure gap (both physical and digital) we just talked about, this discount represents another opportunity, especially as management invests the proceeds of the offering.
Where does all this leave us? With a three-fund “mini-portfolio” that:
Goes beyond tech (while still grabbing a slice of AI’s growth).
Holds top blue chips, bonds and infrastructure plays.
Pays a gaudy average yield of 11%.
Is a bargain, to boot.
That’s a sweet combo in a “greedy” market like this one. I don’t expect these discounts to stick around.
Current cash to re-invest £1,263. I am going to buy for the SNOWBALL another 1k in NESF ahead of their xd date tomorrow, that will give income of £500 to re-invest, before they cut their dividend for future payments.
I may use the next dividends to buy for the SNOWBALL a position in a covered call ETF, higher dividends so higher risk, as it’s easier to monitor a position if you have skin in the game, just to see how risky the proposition is.
The Rule of 300 is broadly similar to the widely used “4% drawdown rule”, which suggests retirees need savings worth around 25 times their annual spending.
However, Standard Life warned that drawdown strategies carry more risk because pension income depends on investment performance and withdrawal levels.
The company said previous analysis showed a £100,000 pension pot could last for life if withdrawals stayed at £4,000 annually and investment growth remained above 5%. But the same pot could run out in as little as 13 years if withdrawals were higher and investment returns were weaker.
