Investment Trust Dividends
I’ve bought for the SNOWBALL 7341 shares in SEQI Infrastructure for 6k.
The cash from the recent sale has now been re-invested at a blended yield of 9.5%.
When the cash from the dividends roll in, subject to the market at the time, they will be added to GCP or SEQI
(“GCP Infra” or the “Company”)
Dividend Declaration and Market Update
Dividend Declaration
GCP Infra is pleased to announce a dividend of 1.75 pence per ordinary share for the period from 1 January 2026 to 31 March 2026. This is in line with the Company’s annual dividend target of 7.00 pence per ordinary share. The dividend will be paid on 8 June 2026 to holders of ordinary shares recorded on the register as at the close of business on 8 May 2026.
Expected timetable:
Shares quoted ex-dividend
7 May 2026
Record date for dividend
8 May 2026
Dividend payment date
8 June 2026
Market Update
The Company notes the recent UK Government announcements relating to: (i) the removal of carbon price support (“CPS”) from 2028; and (ii) the increase to the tax rate on the electricity generator levy (“EGL”) from 45% to 55%; and (iii) the intention to introduce the option for low carbon generators that do not benefit from an existing contract-for-difference (“CfD”) to bid for a wholesale CfD (“WCfD”) (the “Announcements”).
The Company does not expect any material impact on the valuation of the Company’s investment portfolio as a result of the Announcements. The Company’s independent electricity price forecaster had, in their long-term forecasts, already assumed the phasing out of the CPS alongside the increased alignment of the UK and European Union carbon markets. Further, such electricity price forecasts are below the level at which the EGL applies. The Company and its Investment Adviser will continue to review proposals relating to the WCfD as they are developed to assess the extent to which the WCfD would benefit any projects in its investment portfolio.
GREENCOAT UK WIND PLC
Net Asset Value, Dividend and Government Policy Announcements
Net Asset Value
| Net Asset Value / Net Asset Value per share | £2,897 million / 134.2 pence |
| Dividend / Dividend per share | £57.9 million / 2.68 pence |
The Company announces that its unaudited Net Asset Value (“NAV”) as of 31 March 2026 is £2,897 million (134.2 pence per share), including a 2.1 pence per share reduction as a result of a post period adjustment for the removal of Carbon Price Support from April 2028.
The Company’s March 2026 Factsheet is available on the Company’s website, http://www.greencoat-ukwind.com.
The performance of the Company’s assets for the quarter was strong, with wind generation 4.2 per cent above budget, and power prices ahead of expectations. Continued delivery of the Company’s structurally robust cashflow will fund its 2026 capital allocation priorities and, in line with its initial priority of reducing gearing, the Company repaid £30 million of its Revolving Credit Facility at the end of March 2026.
The past two months have presented a compelling opportunity to enter into power price hedging arrangements for a portion of the Company’s merchant volume. At the start of 2026, the Company had merchant power exposure of 4.5TWh pa. Over the past quarter, the Company entered into hedges for 1TWh of power sales through to March 2027. As a result, for the next 12 months, 68 per cent of the Company’s cashflows are fixed in nature.
These hedges have secured power prices at NAV accretive rates, and together with above budget generation, serve to further underpin full year dividend cover expectations, whilst retaining a balanced exposure to merchant power prices in the near term.
Dividend
The Company also announces a quarterly interim dividend of 2.68 pence per share with respect to the quarter ended 31 March 2026, in line with the annual dividend target of 10.70 pence per share for 2026.
Dividend Timetable
Ex-dividend date 14 May 2026
Record date 15 May 2026
Payment date 29 May 2026
Government Policy Announcements
Last week the Government released a number of UK energy policy statements, including changes to the Electricity Generator Levy (“EGL”), the introduction of Wholesale Contracts for Differences (“Wholesale CFDs”) for operational renewable energy projects and its Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan.
EGL
The EGL was introduced in January 2023 and applies a 45 per cent tax to exceptional revenues from the sale of power. The electricity price above which the tax applies currently stands at £82.61 / MWh. The rate of tax has now been increased to 55 per cent with effect from 1 July 2026 and the tenor of the EGL, which was due to expire on 1 April 2028, will be extended.
In 2023, the Company (and its group) paid £14 million of EGL in respect of elevated power revenues received in 2023. At today’s forecast power prices, the net power price that the Company expects to receive for all future forecast periods is lower than the threshold.
Wholesale CfDs
The Company, and Schroders Greencoat LLP the (“Manager”), have for some time advocated for the introduction of a Wholesale CfD mechanism. It has the potential to address the long-term challenge of how the wholesale electricity market functions as low marginal cost generators become the majority. It could provide both meaningful savings to consumers and attractive, inflation-linked cashflows conducive to sustained investment in UK renewables.
The Company and the Manager will continue to engage with the Government to ensure a balanced outcome for both consumers and generators. The Manager’s view is that, if implemented carefully, this mechanism could be a constructive option to use in composing the Company’s revenue profile. The Company will judge how it will participate in the mechanism as conversations with the Government progress and further detail is provided.
Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan
Following the Government’s decision to retain a single wholesale electricity market, the Reformed National Pricing Delivery Plan (the “Plan”) sets out how the Government plans to approach electricity market reform. It includes proposals to reduce constraint costs, improve system operability and solicits views on reforms that could sharpen locational investment signals. In considering forward-looking reforms, the Plan recognises the need to not undermine confidence in the sector. The Company will continue to engage with the Government through the consultations that follow, in particular to preserve existing investments and investor confidence.
Apr 26, 2026 RLJ, RLJ.PR.A, EPD
Rida Morwa Investing Group Leader
Co-authored with Hidden Opportunities
Can you name one of your possessions that you’ve held onto for years, something that has quietly stood the test of time?
For some, it’s a wedding band, serving as a symbol of a lifelong commitment made by two people. Others think of the phrase “diamonds are forever” as a way of saying that the hardest known substance to human beings depicts unmatched hardness and durability (not the James Bond movie starring Sean Connery).
You may have also heard the phrase “worth its weight in gold.” Not all prized possessions are valuable from a monetary standpoint. Some people have a memory box for their children, storing meaningful toys and artifacts that remind them of their kids growing up. Family photographs, heirlooms, and recipes are popular examples of objects that are cherished for decades, often by multiple generations. I’m reminded of a cousin who planted a tree each time one of his children was born. Today, those children are in their teens, and in his backyard stand two strong, deeply rooted trees, growing steadily year after year, requiring little attention, yet impossible to ignore.
Some assets are worth more in your hands than in the market. If you have a 20-year-old car that is well-maintained and runs perfectly, odds are high that selling it will fetch you no more than a few thousand dollars. Yet, the value in that asset comes in its ownership and regular use, rather than the cash it can secure by selling it in the market at pennies.
The most valuable things in life are often not the flashy, valuable ones. They are the ones that last.
Investing can work the same way. While markets swing between euphoria and fear, there are select investments designed not for excitement, but for endurance. These assets quietly generate cash flow quarter after quarter, year after year, and are often structured to reward patience, to incentivize holding, and to compound wealth over time. They are well-positioned to be the prized possessions of your portfolio. Today, we will discuss two forever income plays that are built to keep paying.
Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) is one of the largest midstream operators in North America, based on infrastructure, pipeline mileage, and market capitalization. EPD owns and operates over 50,000 miles of pipeline, and 300 MMBbls of Liquids Storage, among other infrastructure essential for secure storage, processing, and transportation of NGLs, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, Petrochemicals, and Refined Products, from energy basins to customers and export terminals. ~90% of EPD’s long-term contracts have CPI-linked escalation provisions, providing inflation protection, and ~80%–90% of its gross operating margin is fee-based, providing much-needed insulation from commodity prices.
Note: EPD is Master Limited Partnership that issues a Schedule K-1 to investors
EPD maintains a strong balance sheet, rated investment-grade A3, and the partnership ended 2025 with $5.2 billion in liquidity and a 3.3x leverage ratio, one of the lowest levels in the midstream industry. EPD ended 2025 with a 4.7% weighted-average cost of debt and a comfortable maturity schedule.
The partnership has $4.8 billion of major capital projects under construction, with 5 out of 6 estimated to come online in 2026. 55% of EPD’s gross operating margin is from the partnership’s NGL business, followed by Natural Gas at 16%. The United States is a low-cost supplier of NGLs to the world, and we estimate ~15-25% of Adj. EBITDA likely comes from direct export demand. We also note that EPD is the largest individual global LPG supplier, exporting a third of total U.S. LPG exports. The complete disruption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz has a profound impact on the global supply, and EPD stands to benefit from higher U.S. exports.
However, this large dependence on exports also comes with risks and considerations. When the U.S. Government imposed export controls on ethane to China, EPD management noted that they could redirect product to other countries to mitigate the effects, but it would take time. The worst possible outcome for EPD is the Government imposing an outright cap on energy exports. While we don’t anticipate this scenario materializing at this time, it cannot be ruled out entirely because the U.S. trading policy and global energy dynamics are rapidly evolving. A cap on energy exports would result in volume backup domestically, terminal utilization drops, and a sharp decline in fee-based revenues for EPD.
EPD boasts 27 years of consecutive distribution raises and currently yields 5.8%, with a 1.7x coverage. These payments are typically 100% ROC, making them beneficially tax-deferred for eligible investors. Management expects new assets to come online at high utilization levels, supporting organic growth in Adj. EBITDA, and continued distribution increases.
RLJ Lodging Trust (RLJ) is a hotel REIT that owns and operates 92 hotels with ~21K rooms in 23 states. Over 50% of the REIT’s Adj. EBITDA comes from the Sunbelt states, and most of its portfolio comprises assets that are part of the network of top global hotel brands like Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, etc. Source
RLJ maintains a healthy balance in property classes across urban lifestyle (39% of 2025 Adj. EBITDA), urban gateway (36%), urban metro (11%), and resort properties (14%). America 250 and the 2026 FIFA World Cup are significant events this year, and notably, 62% of FIFA WC matches are scheduled to be played in RLJ markets.
RLJ cut its quarterly common stock dividends to $0.01/share during the COVID-19 pandemic, a brutal time for the travel industry, but maintained its preferred stock dividends. Since 2022, in light of improving fundamentals and outlook, the company has been focusing on capital returns to shareholders. This includes significant dividend increases and share repurchases.
RLJ’s $0.15/share common stock dividend calculates to a 7.6% annualized yield at an impressive 40% payout ratio. RLJ spends $25.1 million annually on preferred stock dividends. This compares with $209 million in AFFO generated (which RLJ calculates after subtracting preferred stock dividends). The REIT ended 2025 with $1 billion in liquidity (including $410 million in restricted cash) and has no debt maturities until 2029. Source
For 2026, management projects Adj. EBITDA between $312 and $342 million and AFFO/share between $1.21 and $1.41, which places its current dividend at a comfortable 45% payout ratio.
RLJ-A is a convertible preferred, which has negligible chances of being subject to a forced conversion into common stock due to the need for +1,100% upside ($89.09/share for 20 trading days). We believe this is quite improbable at this time. As such, RLJ-A can be considered as a perpetual source of yields, backed by a well-managed hotel REIT.
At High Dividend Opportunities, we want your portfolio to be worth its weight in gold, not because you plan to sell it, but because of what it pays you to hold it. The best investments aren’t traded; they’re owned, and they quietly deliver income, year after year, proving their value over time.
Markets will move, and there will be varying frequencies of noise surrounding them. Real wealth is built by staying steady and consistent. Because sometimes, the greatest returns come not from what you sell, but from what you never have to. This is the power of income investing.
Retirement Plan
The simple and safe way to live off investment income alone…
Without drawing down your nest egg or worrying about daily market gyrations.
Dear Reader,
Idly flipping through my phone recently, I ran across a news story saying there are roughly 654,000 “401(k) millionaires” out there, a new record.
That’s how many seven-figure accounts are managed by Fidelity Investments — which is apparently happy to share its customers’ financial info anonymously.
A chunk of money like that is great, especially when we can leave it untouched and let it grow.
That was no doubt the “secret” of 99%+ of these retirement millionaires.
They socked away for decades and rode the market higher.
(They certainly didn’t bet the farm on penny stocks or swing for the fences with the latest crypto du jour!)
But there comes a time when we need to convert that pile of cash into cash flow that can pay the bills.
And many of these patient retirees will buy stocks and “hope” they’ll go up in price. There’s just one problem…
Hope is not a retirement strategy.
Especially in years when the market posts double-digit losses.
I know we haven’t seen one of those since 2022, but with three straight years of gains under our belts, it’s unlikely we’ll run that streak to four.
Market history tells us this is a rare occurrence indeed.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly wouldn’t sleep well at night knowing my future (and my family’s future) was riding solely on share price trends.
Of course you could opt for what I call…
The Share-Selling Death Spiral
Also known as the 4% Rule, this so-called “proven” theory says you can draw down some arbitrary amount out of your portfolio — typically 4% — every year for decades on end…
Think about this for a moment.
It was dollar-cost averaging that built these Fidelity fortunes in the first place.
These diligent savers bought a set amount of stocks and funds every two weeks, every month, every year.
Most even did it on autopilot, which secured them more shares when prices were low and fewer when they were dear!
And now this traditional retirement “advice” says they can live comfortably doing the exact opposite.
Wait, what?
No. No. No.
This is the same dollar-cost averaging, but in reverse!
Problem is, in reality, every few years you’re faced with a chart that looks like this.
Apple’s Dividend Was Fine – Its Stock Wasn’t
As you can see, the dividend (orange line above) is fine — growing, even — but you’re selling at a 27% loss!
In other words, you’re forced to sell more shares to supplement your income when prices are low.
When shares rebound (assuming they eventually do), you need an even bigger gain just to get back to your original value.
A disaster in the making!
The Only Reliable Retirement Solution
Instead of ever selling your stocks, you should instead make sure you live on dividends alone so that you never have to touch your capital.
This is easier said than done, and obviously the more money you have, the better off you are. But with yields still pretty low, even rich folks are having a tough time living off of interest today.
And you can actually live better than they can off of a (much) more modest nest egg if you know where to look for lesser-known, meaningful and secure yield.
I’m talking about annual income of 8%, 9% or even 10%+ so that you’re banking $50,000 (and potentially more) each year for every $500,000 you invest.
You and I both know an income stream like that is a very nice head start to a well-funded retirement.
And it’s totally scalable: Got more? Great!
We’ll keep building up your income stream, right along with your additional capital.
And you’ll never have to touch your nest egg capital – which means you won’t have to worry about or running out of money in retirement, or even the day-to-day ups and downs of the stock market.
The only thing you need to concern yourself with is the security of your dividends.
As long as your payouts are safe, who cares if your stock prices swing up or down on a given day?
Most investors know this is the right approach to retirement.
Problem is, they don’t know how to find 8%, and 10% yields to fund their lives.
And when they do find high yields, they’re not sure if these payouts are safe. Will the company or fund have enough cash flow to pay the dividends into the future?
And how sensitive are these payouts to the latest headline, Fed policy change or unrest on the other side of the globe?
We’ll talk specific stocks, funds and yields in a moment.
But first, a bit about myself.
I graduated cum laude with an industrial engineering degree — which is actually pretty popular with Wall Street recruiters.
But I couldn’t stand the thought of grinding it out in a cubicle for 80 hours a week. So I moved to San Francisco and got into the tech scene.
A buddy and I started up two software companies that serve more than 26,000 business users.
The result was a nice chunk of change coming in … and I had to decide what to do with my money.
I had seen plenty of young “techies” come into sudden cash and burn through their windfall in a year, ending up right back where they started.
That was NOT going to be me. I already had dreams of living off my wealth one day, decades before I retired.
I got plenty of cold calls from brokers wanting to “help” me. But I knew that nobody would care as much about my money as me.
So I went out on my own and invested my startup profits in dividend-paying stocks.
I’ve been hunting down safe, stable and generous yields ever since, growing my wealth with vehicles paying me 8%, 9%, even 10%+ dividends.
Over the past 10+ years, I’ve been writing about the methods I use to generate these high levels of income.
Today I serve as chief investment strategist for Contrarian Income Report — a publication that uncovers secure, high-yielding investments for thousands of investors.
Since inception, my subscribers have enjoyed dividends 5 times (and much more!) the S&P 500 average, plus big annualized gains!
And that brings me to a crucial piece of advice…
The ONE Thing You Must Remember
If I could leave you with just one nugget of investing wisdom today, it would be to NEVER overlook the incredible wealth-building power of dividends.
Few investors realize how important these unglamorous workhorses actually are.
Here’s a perfect example…
If you put $1,000 in the dividend-paying stocks of the S&P 500 back in 1973, you would have had $96,970 by the end of 2024, or 97x your money.
But the same $1,000 in the non-dividend payers would have grown to just $8,990 — 91% less.
That’s why I’m a dividend fan.
The stock market is a fantastic wealth-building machine, but it doesn’t always go straight up!
There have been plenty of 10-year periods where the only money investors made was in dividends.
And that’s what gives us dividend investors such an edge.
When you lock in an 8%+ yield, you’re booking an income stream that’s bigger than the stock market’s long-term average return right off the bat.
Of course you can’t just buy every ticker symbol out there with a flashy yield, or you’ll get burned pretty fast.
So let’s wipe the false promises of mainstream finance from our minds and start thinking the “No Withdrawal” way…
Step 1: Forget “Buy and Hope” Investing
Most half-million-dollar stashes are piled into “America’s ticker” SPY.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) is the most popular symbol in the land. For many 401(K)’s, this is all there is.
And that’s sad for two reasons.
First, SPY yields just 1.1%. That’s $5,500 per year on $500K invested… poverty level stuff.
Second, consider a hypothetical year when, say, SPY fell 20%, not at all out of the question, given the multiyear run stocks have been on. Just from that alone, your $500K would be slashed to $400K.
SPY was down nearly 20% that year. That is no bueno, because that $500K would have been reduced to $400K.
The last thing we want to do is lose the money we’re getting in dividends (or more) to losses in the share price. Which is why we must protect our capital at all costs.
Step 2: Ditch 60/40, Too
The 60/40 portfolio has been exposed as senseless.
Retirees were sold a bill of goods when promised that a 60% slice of stocks and 40% of bonds would somehow be a “safe mix” that would not drop together.
Oops.
Inflation — plus an aggressive Federal Reserve, plus a (thus far) persistently steady economy — drop-kicked equities and fixed income before they went on a serious bull run in 2023, 2024 and into 2025 (with a brief interruption for the April “tariff tantrum.”)
It just goes to show that bonds are not the haven guaranteed by the 60/40 high priests. They could easily plunge just as hard (or harder) than stocks in the next economic crisis.
Just like they did in 2022 (sorry, we’re only going to spend one second on that disaster of a year). US Treasuries plunged, which resulted in the iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) getting tagged.
Sure, it still paid its dividend. But even including payouts, the fund was down 31% — worse than the S&P 500. Ouch!
When stocks and bonds are dicey, where do we turn? To a better bet.
A strategy to retire on dividends alone that leaves that beautiful pile of cash untouched.
Step 3: Create a “No Withdrawal” Portfolio
My colleague Tom Jacobs and I literally wrote the book on a dividend-powered retirement.
In How to Retire on Dividends: Earn a Safe 8%, Leave Your Principal Intact, we outline our “no withdrawal” approach to retirement:
To make that nest egg last, and our working life worthwhile, we really need yields in the 7% to 10% range. We typically don’t see these stocks touted on Bloomberg or CNBC, but they are around.
Of course, there are plenty of landmines in the high-yield space. Some of these stocks are cheap for a reason. Which is why we need to be contrarian when looking for income.
We must identify why a yield is incorrectly allowed to be so high. (In other words, we need to figure out why the stock is priced so cheaply!)
As I write, the top 10 payers in my Contrarian Income Report portfolio yield about 11.4% on average.
On every million dollars invested, this dividend collection is spinning off an incredible $114,000 every single year!
And you don’t have to be a millionaire to take advantage of this strategy.
A $750k nest egg would generate $85,500 annually…
$500K could hand you $57,000…
You get the idea.
The important thing is that these yields are safe, which creates stability for the stock (and fund) prices attached to them.
We want our income, with our principal intact.
It’s really the only way to retire comfortably, without having to stare at stock tickers all day, every day.
Now, many blue-chip yields are reliable. They just need to hit the gym and bulk up a bit. Here’s how we take perfectly good, yet modest, dividends and make them into braggarts.
Step 4: Supersize Those Yields
Mastercard (MA) is a near-perfect dividend stock. Its payout is always climbing, having nearly doubled over the last five years. (MA shareholders, you can thank every business that accepts Mastercard for your “pennies on every dollar” rake.)
Tap, tap, tap. Remember cash? Me neither. Another 2020 casualty, with Mastercard making a few dimes or dollars on every plastic transaction.
The cashless trend has been in motion for years. But international growth prospects remain huge. Just a few years ago, 80%+ of transactions in Spain, Italy and even tech-savvy Japan were in cash.
We expect more dividend hikes as more cash turns to plastic. Or skips plastic entirely and goes straight to e-transfers. Mastercard and close cousin Visa (V) nab a nice piece of that action, too.
The only chink in MA’s armor? Everyone knows it is a dynamic dividend stock. So it only yields 0.6%. Investors keep bidding it higher, knowing that the next dividend raise is just around the corner.
So, the compounding of those hikes makes MA a great stock for our kids and grandkids. You and I, however, don’t have the time to wait for 0.6% to grow. And $3,000 on a $500K investment simply won’t get it done.
Let’s instead consider top-notch closed-end fund (CEF) Gabelli Dividend & Income Trust (GDV), managed by legendary value investor Mario Gabelli.
Mastercard is one of Gabelli’s largest holdings. But we income investors would prefer GDV because it boasts a healthy dividend right around 6.4%, paid monthly, nearly 13 times what Mastercard pays (and this is low in CEF-land; other funds, like the next one we’ll talk about, pay nearly double that).
And as I write this, thanks to the conservative folks who buy CEFs, we have a rare opportunity to buy Mario’s portfolio for just 88 cents on the dollar.
Yup, GDV trades at a 12% discount to its net asset value, or NAV. It’s a way to boost MA’s payout and snag a discount, too.
Where does this discount come from?
CEFs are like their mutual fund cousins, with one exception: they have fixed pools of shares, so they can (and do) trade higher and lower than their NAVs, or “fair” values (the value of their holdings minus any debt).
As contrarians, we can step in when they are temporarily out of favor, like after a pullback, when liquidity is low, and buy them at generous discounts.
GDV holds more blue-chip dividend payers alongside MA, such as American Express (AXP), Microsoft (MSFT) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM). And with GDV, we have an opportunity to purchase them at a 12% discount.
These high-quality stocks wouldn’t normally qualify for our “retire on $500K” portfolio because everyone in the world knows they are strong long-term investments.
Even though these companies are constantly raising their dividends, constant demand for their shares keeps their prices high (and current yields low). So they never meet our current-yield requirement.
GDV does. The fund pays a monthly dividend that adds up to a nice 6.4% annual yield.
Let me give you one more idea (and this is where that much larger payout comes in): the Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Diversified Equity (EXG) is another CEF with a similar blue-chip dividend portfolio.
But EXG generates even more income than GDV by selling covered calls on the shares it owns.
More cash flow means a bigger dividend — and EXG pays an already terrific 8.6%!
So we buy and hold EXG and GDV forever, collecting their monthly dividends merrily along the way? Not quite.
In bull markets, these funds are great. But in bear markets, they’ll chew you up.
Step 5: Protect That Principal!
My CIR readers will fondly recall the 15 months we held GDV and EXG together, collecting monthly dividends plus price gains that added up to 43% total returns.
What was happening in that period, from October 2020 until February 2022? The Federal Reserve was printing money like crazy. Not only did the Fed stoke inflation, but we also enjoyed an asset-price lift.
Starting in 2022, we had the opposite situation. The stock market was topping, and we didn’t want to fight the Fed. We sold high, and by late 2022, both funds were down sharply:
We Sold EXG and GDV Just Before They Plunged
For whatever reason, “market timing” is a taboo phrase among long-term investors. That’s a shame because it’s quite important.
By aligning our dividends with the market backdrop, we can protect our principal from bear markets.
Step 6: Start Here to Retire on $500K
So if the “tried and true” money advice — like the 60/40 portfolio and the 4% rule — has been properly exposed as broken…
Where do we go from here?
Well, imagine your portfolio in just a few days or weeks from now spinning off 8%, 9% and even double-digit dividends with the reliability of a Swiss watch… with many of my recommendations paying every single month no less!
No more worrying how much is coming in next month.
No more worrying about the Fed’s next move. Or the next inflation or jobs report.
No more worrying about outliving your nest egg.
Let me tell you more about my solution — what I call the “No-Withdrawal Portfolio.”
TwentyFour Select Monthly Income (SMIF) has bounced back from the fund’s worst month in three years when its portfolio of bank and corporate debt fell 2.7% in March. The declaration of a top-up interim dividend and resumption of share issuance shows the £300m investment company is back on track after being knocked by the fallout from the US-led war on Iran. Confidence is based on the relatively high credit rating of its investments, although its managers remain vigilant over the path of inflation.
Despite the uncertainty gripping the global economy as oil prices bounce around $100 a barrel following Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, the 8.6%-yielder last week said it would pay in May a half-year 0.25p per share special dividend on top of its monthly 0.5p distribution for the second time in two years.
The board of the investment company, the only one in the listed loan and bond funds sector to pay a monthly dividend, said after “careful consideration” of income prospects and market risks, it expected dividends would exceed 6.5p per share in the year to 30 September. That’s ahead of the 6p annual target SMIF has either hit or bettered since launch in 2014.
That was reassuring after last month’s decline in net asset value (NAV). The March wobble, while modest compared to steep drops in many equity funds, was the biggest fall since March 2023 when the fund’s financial holdings were caught up in the crisis over US regional banks and the run on Credit Suisse saw it shed 3.3%.
The worst month in recent years was in September 2022 when Liz Truss’ notorious “mini-Budget” prompted a selloff of UK government bonds, rocking European credit markets and knocking 7.8% off the NAV.
While these setbacks proved to be temporary, they are unnerving for an investment company seeking to provide stable capital and income returns from the debt issued by corporate borrowers with less than impeccable credit ratings. At the end of March, nearly a third of the fund was in loans and bonds on the lowest BBB investment grade credit rating with most of the remainder rated below investment grade at BB and B.
Although some borrowers could struggle to maintain loan repayments in a serious downturn, SMIF’s chair Ashley Paxton had already indicated he wanted to keep a steady hand on the tiller. Earlier this month he told QuotedData that “we’re not aware of any reason” to change the positive outlook the board stated at the annual results in December when the then solid economic picture and high yields on bonds made them confident about the year ahead.
For the year to September 2025, the company declared a 1.3p final dividend which with the half-year top-up took the total to 7.3p. It paid 7.4p per share in the previous two years.
As the shock of a 44% surge in oil prices hit global assets, including the debts in which SMIF invests, shares in the £298m closed-end fund briefly traded slightly below the value of its assets last month. A quarterly facility letting shareholders sell shares at close to their real worth saw an increase in investors tendering their stock.
Sentiment towards listed debt funds has cooled amid problems in US private credit funds exposed to software companies facing intense competition from rivals using artificial intelligence. However, SMIF only invests in publicly-traded debt.
The board’s calm posture was vindicated as the US, Israel and Iran began a fragile ceasefire after a month of attacks, and SMIF returned to stand at a 2% premium over NAV, enabling the company to issue more shares. Like several of its peers, the company has been a consistent issuer of paper, adding around £140m to market value in three years as it catered to demand from income investors.
George Curtis one of seven portfolio managers at TwentyFour Asset Management overseeing SMIF, said investors had over-reacted to the inflationary threat posed by soaring energy prices, but said the selloff had at least remained “orderly”.
At one point, markets forecast the Bank of England and European Central Bank would hike interest rates three times this year, instead of the cuts in the cost of borrowing they had expected before the US and Israel began air strikes against Iran.
Rising interest rates depress loan and bond prices as their mostly fixed levels of income become less attractive, although there are “floating rate” bonds that SMIF also holds whose prices can be more resilient.
Curtis said TwentyFour’s view was that US President Donald Trump was politically incentivised to do a deal with Iran and avoid high fuel prices damaging his prospects in the US mid-term elections in November.
However, he was wary that the longer oil supplies were disrupted, the bigger the impact on energy prices would be. This could make it difficult for central banks to look through what should be a transitory spike in inflation and avoid hurting an already slowing economy with interest rate rises.
He said the next few weeks would be critical. “The key for central banks is whether inflation expectations for the next three to five years move up in response.” Any evidence of rising wage demands, for example, could force rate setters to act.
Underlining the precariousness of the situation, data this week showed UK annual inflation jumped to 3.3% in March from 3% in February. Rises in petrol, heating oil and airfares – all linked to the squeeze on oil – were largely to blame.
With markets on tenterhooks as to the direction of interest rates, Curtis said the TwentyFour team had refrained from making big changes to the diversified pool of mostly short and medium-term loans of one to ten years.
However, during last month’s turmoil they had added “crossover protection”, using a credit default swap index. This shielded the loan portfolio from price falls caused by the yield gap, or “spreads”, to benchmark government bonds widening. As prices and yields move in opposite directions, higher yields could damage a fund’s capital.
At the same, however, rising yields offer the chance to lock in higher levels of income for shareholders. This is exactly what Curtis did with “extension trades” enabling him to sell a short-term debt and buy a long-term one on the same yield.
Curtis said the normalisation of interest rates that saw the Bank of England base rate accelerate from 0.25% in January 2022 to 5.25% 18 months later had hugely benefited SMIF investors even if the cost of borrowing had come back down to 3.75% in January.
He said this had resulted the average yield from SMIF’s investments over their purchase price had risen 1.5% to 8.5% in the past three years, underpinning a 55% total shareholder return ahead of its peer group’s 43% average.
Meanwhile, Curtis said the portfolio’s average BB credit rating was the highest it had ever been meaning investors were getting a good return for the risk they were taking.
Jitanchandra Solanki
Dec 18, 2025
Expert Verified
UK monthly dividend stocks are relatively niche compared to the more common dividend frequency of quarterly payouts. However, there are a few options available – primarily via UK investment trusts with monthly dividends, UK-domiciled funds and ETFs that are accessible to UK investors, and global alternatives like US-listed REITS (Real Estate Investment Trusts).
In this article, we will highlight a few monthly dividend vehicles available to most UK investors, compare them with more traditional quarterly payers, and examine the risks and opportunities heading and 2026.
It’s important to note that dividend payouts can change over time and a company could stop paying them abruptly. This material is for informational purposes only and not financial advice. Consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.
| 🔍 Key Statistics Estimated around ~10-20 UK-listed monthly dividend stocks 1 Around ~5 UK funds/trusts with monthly dividend payouts 2 Over > 4,000 global monthly dividend stocks and funds 3 *As of October 2025 |
To understand how monthly dividend stocks work, we first need to understand what a dividend is. A dividend is a share of company earnings that is paid to the company’s stockholders. Not all companies will pay dividends and the ones that do will pay biannually, quarterly or monthly.
Monthly dividend stocks represent companies that pay dividends every month instead of the more common quarterly schedule. This higher dividend frequency may provide some investors with potential cash flow from their investments.
Dividends are approved by the company’s board of directors who also announce when the dividend will be paid and the amount. Each dividend payment follows a set timeline which includes a declaration date, ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date. The ex-dividend date is for investors as this is the date the investor must own shares before, in order to receive that month’s dividend.
Compared with the more typical dividend frequency of a quarterly payment, monthly dividends may help in compounding as these dividends can be reinvested sooner. Income investors may choose to receive the dividend as a form of income, whereas capital growth investors may choose to reinvest the dividend to buy more shares.
As most dividends are considered to be ‘qualified dividends’ there is likely to be a tax liability depending on your individual circumstances and geographical region. Do your own due diligence and speak to a tax advisor.
Below is a list of the top 9 monthly dividend stocks and ETFs (exchange-traded funds). How did we choose this list? First, we checked to ensure each company pays a monthly dividend. We also checked that each company’s share price is available to purchase from the Admiral Markets Invest.MT5 account which collects dividend payments for you.
| Name: | Ticker: | Industry: | Country: | Dividend Yield: |
| ARMOUR Residential REIT | ARR | Mortgage REITs | US | 8.02% |
| TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund | SMIF | Fixed Income, Credit Securities | UK | 7.92% |
| Global X SuperDividend UCITS ETF | SDIP | Equity Securities | UK | 11.75% |
| Apple Hospitality REIT | APLE | Hotel and Resorts REITs | US | 8.43% |
| iShares J.P. Morgan USD EM Bond ETF | IEMB | Emerging Market Bonds | Ireland | 5.69% |
| Realty Income | O | Retail REITs | US | 5.51% |
| JPMorgan USD Ultra-Short Income UCITS ETF | JPTS | Fixed Income | UK | 4.76% |
| Agree Realty Corp | ADC | Retail REITs | US | 4.23% |
| Gladstone Land Corp | LAND.US | Specialized REITs | US | 6.05% |
Sources: HL Shares, TipRanks, DividendMax, Dividend Yields on 15 October 2025. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
ARMOUR Residential REIT is a real estate investment trust. It is a US-based dividend income option that can also act as a UK monthly dividend stock for a portfolio. It pays dividends monthly, unlike typical quarterly dividend frequency schedules.
The TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund is one of the few UK investment trusts with monthly dividends. It focuses on diversified fixed-income securities such as corporate and asset-backed bonds.
The Global X SuperDividend UCITS ETF aims to provide high-yield monthly income through a globally diversified basket of dividend-paying equities. Structured as a UCITS ETF, it’s accessible to UK investors as it’s listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Apple Hospitality REIT is a real estate investment trust that owns one of the largest portfolios of upscale hotels in the United States, including 96 Marriott-branded hotels, 199 Hilton-branded hotels and 4 Hyatt-branded hotels.
The iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Market Bond fund aims to provide diversified exposure to emerging market bonds issued in US dollars and consists of a mixture of government and corporate bonds.
Realty Income is a real estate investment trust that primarily invests in and owns 11,288 commercial properties in the United Kingdom, United States and Spain, such as Walgreens, 7-Eleven, Dollar General, Sainsbury’s, LA Fitness and many others.
The JPMorgan USD Ultra-Short Income UCITS ETF is a monthly income fund which aims to invest in short-term, high-quality bonds to reduce volatility while maintaining liquidity.
Agree Realty Corp is a real estate investment trust that focuses on the development and acquisition of net lease retail properties throughout the United States and includes tenants such as Best Buy, Autozone, Dollar General, Home Depot and many others.
Gladstone Land Corp is an agriculture real estate investment trust, owning and leasing farmland across the United States.
Assessing the sustainability of monthly dividend payments is essential for managing a long-term portfolio but can be difficult to do. One helpful tool is the dividend payout ratio analysis. A high ratio may indicate that a company is distributing too much of its earnings which increases the chance of future dividend cuts. The dividend coverage ratio may also help gauge whether earnings or cash flow can support ongoing payments.
Investors should keep an eye on potential dividend yield traps. This is where unusually high yields may signal financial issues rather than growth opportunities. As dividend yields tend to rise when a stock price falls, it can result investing into troubled companies.
Reviewing dividend consistency metrics, such as the company’s dividend payment history is key, although past performance does not guarantee future performance. It’s also important to keep track of cash flow strength to support dividend payments, and sector-specific risks. Ultimately, while a company may pay monthly dividends now, it could stop paying them altogether in the future.
Monthly dividend stocks may provide additional revenue opportunities for UK investors, compared to quarterly dividend paying stocks. When embarking upon a monthly dividend portfolio construction it’s important to exercise proper risk and portfolio management as a company may change its dividend payout in the future.
Some stocks and funds may also offer inflation-protected monthly income. For example, real estate investment trusts may receive steady rents regardless of increasing or decreasing inflation. While some investors may focus on stocks and funds that offer dividend growth investing in the UK, it’s also important to take into consideration that a monthly dividend stock price may not grow over time but may still continue to payout a monthly dividend.
With Admiral Markets, UK investors can invest in over 4,000 stocks and ETFs from around the world. UK stock and ETF commissions start at 0.1% of the trade value and have a 1 GBP minimum commissions per transaction. Learn more on the Admiral Markets Contract Specification page.
To start investing:
As of October 2025, Legal & General leads the FTSE 100 list of stocks with the highest dividend yield of approximately 9.0%, however this will change over time.
UK investors have access to a limited but growing range of monthly dividend options, mainly through London-listed international ETFs and UK investment trusts. Some examples include the TwentyFour Select Monthly Income Fund (SMIF), Global X SuperDividend UCITS ETF, and JPMorgan USD Ultra-Short Income UCITS ETF.
To assess dividend reliability, check the dividend payout ratio analysis and the dividend coverage ratio. These metrics reveal whether earnings or cash flow can support dividend payouts. However, there are no guarantees, and a company may decide to stop paying dividends abruptly.
The current plan for the SNOWBALL
Once the above plan is achieved, it should be well before year ten but it may not all subject to Mr. Market. This will give the SNOWBALL more income to re-invest into the SNOWBALL.
The options.
Start another ten year plan
Re-invest in higher yielding ETF’s, higher risk but as it’s the markets money rather than your hard earned, the risk may be worth taking.
Invest in ETF’s that pay monthly dividends, so there is a constant stream of cash to re-invest.
For anyone who intends to take out their 25% tax free lump sum, the dividends could be re-invested into market trackers, subject to valuations at the time.
A snapshot from the year the SNOWBALL started, you will note it’s well ahead of the plan.
If you had been investing in VWRP, after the price moved sideways for 2 years, you may have been disillusioned and sold and missed the latest rise but investing near the end of a major bull run usually leads to disappointment.
Asset manager Vanguard has introduced a LifeStrategy Global funds range. We take a look under the bonnet and also highlight other options.
22nd April 2026
by Nina Kelly from interactive investor
Credit: Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images.
Vanguard LifeStrategy multi-asset funds have a seemingly universal appeal, with some appearing to have cemented their place in our monthly lists of bestselling investments among interactive investor customers.
It’s easy to see why; the five passive funds, which launched 15 years ago in 2011, offer investors ready-made diversification across the risk spectrum, with the individual Vanguard index funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that make up the range giving you exposure to thousands of company shares.
The low cost of these equity/bond funds is also a strong draw, with an ongoing charges figure (OCF) of 0.20% meaning that for every £1,000 invested, it costs investors £2 a year, plus the platform charge. Although do bear in mind that the OCF doesn’t include the trading costs incurred when the funds buy and sell holdings. However, for such funds this tends to be very low, at around 0.04%.
However, many commentators have taken issue with the funds’ “home bias” (heavy exposure to the UK market), with the asset manager telling ii that this was owing to “client preference”.
Yet in January this year, Vanguard announced that it would lower the UK exposure in its LifeStrategy funds, with the process completing by the end of June. So, for investors who own a LifeStrategy fund, UK equity exposure will fall from 25% to 20%, while UK bond holdings will drop from 35% to 20%.
Despite the reduction in home bias, these funds will still be notably overweight the UK, given that the UK’s weighting in the MSCI World Index – a commonly used proxy for developed stock markets – is only around 3.8%.
You might be perfectly happy with a still-hefty dose of exposure to familiar firms and feel positive about UK businesses over the long term.
But, since many of the businesses in the FTSE 100 index are multinationals – for example,
BP BP,and Unilever ULVR
most of their revenue will be generated outside the UK, so their fortunes aren’t tied to British shores, and they aren’t insulated from global headwinds just because they are London-listed.
Another thing to mull is your view on the composition of the FTSE 100. It has a large amount of “old economy stocks”, namely financials (banks and insurers), miners and consumer staples. Mining dividends, for example, can be cut owing to fluctuating commodity prices, which is a risk. However, mining’s a highly cyclical area and there were huge payouts between 2021 and 2023, for instance.
Another thing to consider is currency moves. If you own the longstanding LifeStrategy range, you are more exposed to sterling. When the US dollar experiences a period of weakness – which has recently been the case owing to US President Donald Trump’s whipsawing policies on trade tariffs, among other factors – the pound strengthens. This is positive for LifeStrategy investors, since the UK home bias means they have more exposure to assets priced in pounds.
However, currency fluctuations are a natural part of the economic cycle, and a strengthening dollar has the opposite effect to that described above.
When Vanguard announced that it would be adjusting the LifeStrategy funds’ positioning to the UK, it also unveiled global versions of the multi-asset funds.
At first, this might seem unnecessary. Isn’t the raison d’être of the LifeStrategy range that it’s diversified so that you don’t have to think about it? Kind of. As explained above, while whichever LifeStrategy fund you hold will undoubtedly be diversified and low cost, there are biases to be aware of.
The glaring differences between the existing range and the new one is the exposure to the UK and US. For example, the equity weighting to the UK is about 25% in the old range (which will fall to 20% by the end of June) but only 3-4% for the new LifeStrategy Global funds. There are also higher weightings to Europe, Japan, Asia, and emerging markets in the new LifeStrategy Global funds compared with the old range.
The weighting to UK bonds is also notably different in the Global funds range, with the proportion invested around 4% compared with the original LifeStrategy range’s allocation of 20% (after June 2026). This difference in positioning to the UK impacts the lower-risk LifeStrategy Global funds (20% and 40% versions) the most, since they have a larger exposure to bonds.
Another thing that stands out is that Vanguard LifeStrategy Global 20% Equity A Acc has a hefty 33% weighting to one fund, Vanguard Global Bond Index. Other funds in the new range also have bigger weightings to one fund versus the more established range. For example, Vanguard LifeStrategy Global 100% Equity A Acc holds 33.3% in Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-UK Equity Index £ Acc fund and 33.2% in Vanguard US Equity Index £ Acc.
Vanguard says that its five new funds are for people who prefer to “invest in a way that reflects global markets” and that investors must be “comfortable investing in sectors such as technology and healthcare”.
The fees are the same as its more established range, with a 0.2% yearly fund charge.
Source: Vanguard LifeStrategy factsheets dated 31 January 2026 *UK shares and bond exposure to fall to 20% by end of June 2026.
Source: Vanguard LifeStrategy factsheets dated 31 January 2026 *UK shares and bond exposure to fall to 20% by end of June 2026.
Source: Vanguard LifeStrategy Global factsheets dated 28 February 2026.
The problem with “global” is that while it strongly gives the impression of international diversification, it’s not always as diversified as the word suggests, and “global” may in essence be largely synonymous with the US, which currently makes up about 70% of the MSCI World index.
Most index funds, which are the building blocks of all LifeStrategy funds, are constructed on a market capitalisation-weighted benchmark. This means companies are weighted according to their total value relative to the index. So, in practice, investors get a larger exposure to the giant companies in an individual index.
The super-size valuations of some mega-caps such as Amazon.com Inc AMZN
and Microsoft Corp MSFT
mean that they have a huge weighting in US and global indices. As a result, investor portfolios that include global and US indices are heavily skewed towards tech.
Many investors, having witnessed the stellar returns that tech stocks have delivered over the last 15 years, alongside the promises of the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, might wonder what the problem is with chunky exposure to the US. Tech could prove to be a never-ending party, and for these investors, the LifeStrategy Global fund could make a lot of sense, with its roughly 64% exposure to the US vs roughly 50% exposure for the older range.
Others feel more cautious about the valuation of stocks in the tech sphere and the huge AI spending spree, with some fearing an AI bubble. If you fall into this camp, you might prefer the old LifeStrategy range.
Although Vanguard LifeStrategy is undoubtedly popular, and three of the LifeStrategy funds form part of ii’s Quick-start funds range, there are several other “one-stop shop” funds out there to consider, including BlackRock MyMap and Legal & General’s Multi-Index funds.
While LifeStrategy’s funds are low cost, some multi-asset rivals have even lower charges, so it’s worth doing your research and prioritising what matters to you.
If you want a simple, “hands off” multi-asset portfolio, there’s also ii’s Managed ISA to consider, which enables you to outsource the decision-making to the experts. This could be ideal for you if you want minimum maintenance or lack confidence in choosing investments.
To open a Managed ISA, you answer a few questions about your attitude to risk and investing style and are matched to one of 10 investment portfolios.
If you own one of the longstanding Vanguard LifeStrategy funds and it’s mostly been making a return that beats inflation, and you feel content with your simple-to-understand, low-maintenance investment, you’re already winning. The overweight to the UK market in the existing LifeStrategy range – which will still exist even after Vanguard’s reduction – may be advantageous in your eyes, or at the very least un-concerning.
However, if you are hungering for more exposure to global markets (read the US, as explained above), and gung-ho on tech, you might prefer to make an active choice about which passive fund is the best fit for you and your goals.
Welcome to the latest edition of the ii Top 50
Fund Index, which ranks the most-popular funds,
investment trusts and exchange-traded funds
(ETFs) in each quarter.
Each quarter, we look at how the index has changed,
highlighting key trends. Here’s what caught our eye
in the first quarter of 2026.
Investors broaden their horizons
In the two and a half years since we started this quarterly index,
the number of global funds has dropped to its lowest level, falling
from 15 to 12 at the end of March. This could reflect concerns over
the heavy weighting to the US, with a typical global tracker fund or
ETF allocating over 70% to the country. The concentrated nature of
US stock market performance over recent years, which has been
heavily influenced by the world’s biggest businesses, the so-called
Magnificent Seven, may also be giving investors pause for thought.
Another related concern among some investors is the heavy
spending on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. This has
prompted more scrutiny over whether the world’s largest
companies – Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta
Platforms and Tesla – can deliver the kind of growth that will satisfy
elevated expectations.
In addition, with other markets outside the US offering lower, and
potentially more compelling valuations, there’s been a pivot in
outlook, with our own UK market seeing an uptick in demand of
late. The number of UK funds in our index has risen from three to seven.
Top 50 Fund Index – April 2026
While there are various ways to build a portfolio, one useful
strategy is the core and satellite approach. Core holdings, such as
multi-asset funds or those investing in global shares, are among
the contenders as such approaches can, in theory, work for the
long term as they shouldn’t give you any nasty surprises. As a
rough rule of thumb, core holdings could collectively comprise
around 70% of a portfolio.
The remaining 30% is where investors can consider being more
adventurous by seeking out higher-risk funds in pursuit of higher
rewards. Among the options are funds that invest in themes,
which investors are showing a preference for at present, with
commodities, technology and renewable energy infrastructure
proving particularly popular.
Other funds that fall into the adventurous category are those that
invest in the emerging markets or Asia Pacific. iShares Core MSCI
Emerging Markets ETF is a new entrant in the first quarter, joining
Henderson Far East Income. However, funds with a dedicated focus
on smaller companies, which are also potential satellite holdings,
are not represented in the index at all. However, a number of funds
in the index do have some exposure to smaller-sized firms.
Three new areas appearing in the index this quarter are defence
via VanEck Defense ETF, copper through Global X Copper Miners
ETF, and a very specialist space tech play (in the Growth Capital
sector) in the form of Seraphim Space Investment Trust.
It is interesting to note declining demand for money market funds
over the three-month period, with the number in the index falling
from six to three, despite the notable uptick in volatility in March in
response to conflict in the Middle East.
Such funds, which offer a cash-like return that is usually close
to the level of UK interest rates, remain a compelling option for
investors who are more cautiously minded or those who are
tactically seeking some defensive exposure.
The ii Top 50 Q1 2026
Ranking Change from last quarter Fund/trust/ETF What it invests in Active or passive ?
1 ↑ 1 iShares Physical Gold ETC Commodities Passive
2 ↑ 1 iShares Physical Silver ETC Commodities Passive
3 ↓ 2 Royal London Short Term Money Market (accumulating) Money markets Active
4 ↑ 4 Artemis Global Income Global shares Active
5 ↑ 6 Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (distributing) Global shares Passive
6 ↑ 3 Vangaurd FTSE Global All Cap Index Global shares Passive
7 ↓ 3 Vanguard LifeStrategy 80% Equity Shares and bonds (multi-asset) Passive
8 ↑ 9 Global X Silver Miners ETF Commodities Passive
9 ↑ 1 HSBC FTSE All World Index Global shares Passive
10 ↓ 5 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (accumulating) US shares Passive
11 ↑ 1 Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity Global shares Passive
12 ↓ 6 Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (distributing) US shares Passive
13 ↑ 1 Scottish Mortgage Global shares Active
14 ↑ 18 WisdomTree NASDAQ 100 3X Daily Leveraged ETF Technology shares Passive
15-Greencoat UK Wind Renewable energy infrastructure Active
16 ↓ 3 Vanguard LifeStrategy 60% Equity Shares and bonds (multi-asset) Passive
17 ↑ 4 Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (accumulating) Global shares Passive
18 ↑ 8 WisdomTree Physical Silver ETC Commodities Passive
19 ↑ 12 iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF (distributing) UK shares Passive
20 ↑ 2 City of London UK shares Active
21 ↑ 13 Artemis SmartGARP European Equity European shares Active
22 New entry Seraphim Space Growth capital Active
23 ↑ 3 Jupiter Gold & Silver Commodities Active
24 ↑ 23 BlackRock World Mining Commodities Active
25 ↓ 5 Fidelity Index World Global shares Passive
26 ↓ 19 L&G Global Tech Index Trust Technology shares Passive
27 ↓ 2 iShares Core MSCI World ETF Global shares Passive
28-Amundi Smart Overnight Return ETF Money markets Passive
29 ↓ 5 Polar Capital Technology Trust Technology shares Active
30 New entry Global X Copper Miners ETF Commodities Passive
31 ↓ 12 3i Group Private equity Active
32 ↑ 14 WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged Commodities Passive
33 New entry VanEck Defense ETF Defence shares Passive
34 ↑ 8 Vanguard FTSE All World High Dividend Yield ETF Global shares Passive
35 New entry Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index UK shares Passive
36 ↓ 18 Invesco EQQQ NASDAQ 100 ETF Technology shares Passive
37 ↑ 8 VanEck Semiconductor ETF Technology shares Passive
38 ↓ 3 Invesco FTSE All-World ETF Global shares Passive
39 New entry Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity UK shares Passive
40 New entry Vanguard FTSE 100 ETF (distributing) UK shares Passive
41 ↓ 11 Temple Bar UK shares Active
42 New entry iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets ETF Emerging market shares Passive
43 ↓2 WisdomTree Physical Gold ETC Commodities Passive
44 New entry iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF (accumulating) UK shares Passive
45 ↓ 7 Henderson Far East Income Asia Pacific shares Active
46 ↓ 30 VanEck Crypto and Blockchain Innovators ETF Cryptocurrency shares Passive
47 ↓ 24 Royal London Short Term Money Market (distributing) Money markets Active
48 New entry The Renewables Infrastructure Group Renewable energy infrastructure Active
49 ↓ 20 NextEnergy Solar Fund Renewable energy infrastructure Active
50 New entry Artemis Global Income (distributing) Global shares Active
A key trend in the first quarter of 2026 was increased demand
Investors focus on UK
large company plays
12 14 15 17 19 20 21 24
Investment Trust
11 16
Exchange-traded
fund (ETF)
Q1 2025 Q2 2025
10 11
Index fund
(passively managed)
Q3 2025
Top 50 Fund Index – April 2026
Q4 2025
9
8 8
6 6
5
7
Fund
(actively managed)
Q1 2026
For funds investing in the UK. In terms of how investors gained
exposure, three of the four new UK entrants are passively
managed, meaning they seek to replicate the return of a certain
part of the UK stock market.
Vanguard FTSE UK Equity Income Index, the highest-ranked new UK
fund, consists of shares “that are expected to pay dividends that
generally are higher than average”. Therefore, its performance and
income generation is heavily influenced by the biggest FTSE 100
dividend stocks.
While Vanguard FTSE 100 ETF and iShares Core FTSE 100 ETF (with
both accumulation and distributing share classes featuring) seek
to track the performance of the FTSE 100 index, which houses the
100 largest UK-listed companies.
The other new entrant, Artemis SmartGARP UK Equity, is actively
managed, meaning it attempts to outperform a standard tracker
fund. Its performance has been strong over multiple time periods,
helping attract investors.
Of the other UK funds in the index two are actively managed.
City of London is a favourite among income seekers due to its
remarkable consistency in raising its dividend every year since 1966
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