TR chart, where because of the modest yield you might have re-invested the dividends back into your higher yielding shares in your Snowball.
The holy grail of investing is where you take out your capital and re-invest in another high yielder and still receive income from you original purchase at a cost of zero, zilch nothing and a yield of
The current yield is 3.7%, so everything crossed for a market crash, if you want to buy.
Lots of patients needed as you see from the chart, it spends most of the time going sideways or falling because of the dividends being paid.
If you bought just before the xd date, the price has currently always moved higher than the price fall due to the dividend going xd.
Anyone buying nearer to the end of a bull market than the beginning is likely to lose money.
If you can get a decent entry price/yield the share could be pair traded and the ‘secure’ income re-invested into a higher yielder in your Snowball.
Investment trusts offer a huge range of investment possibilities, and are a great way for beginner investors to get their money working harder for them over the long term.
Anyone getting started in investing will likely be intrigued by the concept of investment trusts. There is, on the face of it, a lot to learn, from whether or not to worry about discounts to how different trusts use gearing.
But for beginner investors, investment trusts can be boiled down to fairly simple fundamentals. They are a form of active fund that trades on a stock exchange, just like a stock. In fact, they are stocks – each investment trust is a listed company in its own right.
“Investment trusts offer diversified portfolios and many have long records of preserving and growing the value of people’s savings,” says Nick Brotton, research director at the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), an industry body that represents nearly 300 investment trusts.
“Many trusts make great first-time investments whether you’re looking for income, growth or a mixture of the two,” he adds.
The AIC has collated the recommendations of various investment industry experts to build a list of the best investment trusts for beginner investors.
UK investment trusts for beginners
Beginner investors who want to use investment trusts to gain exposure to the UK market could consider one of these for their portfolio.
City of London Investment Trust
City of London (LON:CTY) is one of the AIC’s dividend heroes, meaning that it has increased its dividend payout every year for 20 consecutive years.
It is over 100 years old, and manager Job Curtis has run the fund for 34 years, favouring “good quality, well-managed companies, bought at reasonable share prices”, says Emma Wall, head of platform investments at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“A new investor may want to consider an investment trust with a long track record and a manager who has been at the helm through many economic cycles,” said Paul Chilver, director and financial planning manager at Birkett Long IFA. “The City of London Investment Trust ticks both these boxes.”
Chilver added that City of London’s focus on well-known FTSE 100 stocks would be reassuring to beginner investors.
Fidelity Special Values
For a broader play on the UK’s stock market beginner investors could consider Fidelity Special Values (LON:FSV).
“The UK stock market has performed very well this year, but it’s been led by the big blue chips of the FTSE 100,” said Laith Khalaf, head of investment analysis at AJ Bell. “If small and mid caps start to motor, this trust stands to benefit more than most broad UK stock market funds, including index trackers.”
Global investment trusts for beginners
Here are the experts’ picks for investment trusts with a global focus.
Scottish American Investment Company
Scottish American (LON:SAIN) is “a great one-stop-shop trust for those with an appetite for risk, investing predominantly in global equities but with a small allocation to bonds, property and infrastructure”, says Wall.
Its managers James Dow and Ross Mathison seek out companies with dependable income alongside the potential for inflation-beating profit growth.
“They also need to show resilience through the economic cycle,” said Wall, adding that the trust is a dividend hero having increased its dividends for more than 50 years.
F&C Investment Trust
Beginner investors that want a broad play on the global stock market could consider F&C (LON:FCIT).
“It provides access to a very broad and well managed portfolio, delivering steady long-term capital growth alongside an attractive dividend income,” says Philippa Maffioli, senior adviser at Richmond Investment Managers.
Murray International Trust
Maffioli also recommends Murray International Trust (LON:MYI) to beginner investors.
“The trust focuses on achieving long-term returns that outpace inflation, giving investors a strong foundation for the future,” she says.
Alliance Witan
With ten-year returns of 219%, Alliance Witan (LON:ALW) is the highest-performing investment trust over the last decade on this list.
It has an unusual approach to portfolio construction, whereby several external fund managers are asked to pick around 20 of their best stock ideas.
“The result is a portfolio of over 200 stocks, covering a wide range of countries and sectors,” says Kyle Caldwell, funds and investment education editor at Interactive Investor. “For investors prepared to take on a bit more risk, Alliance Witan offers a well-diversified portfolio of global shares.”
Brunner Investment Trust
Brunner Investment Trust (LON:BUT) is a growth-focused investment trust that offers “a modest but steady dividend”, says Maffioli.
“Under the experienced management of Julian Bishop and his team, Brunner has demonstrated resilience and consistency, making it a solid option for those taking their first steps into investing,” she adds.
Capital preservation investment trusts for beginners
Beginner investors might want to take a more cautious approach with their money, especially if venturing into the investing world from predominantly cash savings. These two trusts are solid choices for beginner investors that want to keep their money safe.
Personal Assets Trust
Three experts – Chilver, Khalaf and Wall – recommended Personal Assets Trust (LON:PNL) for beginner investors.
“It has a long track record in protecting investors’ money during periods of stock market volatility and currently has high exposure to government bonds and gold,” said Chilver.
Khalaf particularly likes the balance between these defensive assets with high-quality companies, and Wall highlights the focus of managers Charlotte Yonge and Sebastian Lyon on preserving investors’ capital.
“As well as a good first-time option, this trust can provide ballast to more established equity-biased portfolios,” Wall adds.
Capital Gearing Trust
Capital Gearing Trust (LON:CGT) makes a sound choice for cautious beginner investors because of its heavy weighting towards bonds.
“For those dipping their toes into the stock market for the first time, seeking out funds that provide plenty of diversification is a sensible start as it helps to keep a lid on risk,” said Caldwell. “Among the options is Capital Gearing, which has a third of its portfolio in risk assets (equities), a third in short-dated government bonds and corporate bonds, and a third in index-linked bonds.
Glenstone, the largest shareholder in Alternative Income REIT (AIRE), has made a £56.3m cash bid for the company, three weeks after making a public approach.
The 70p per share offer is 3.5p, or 5.3%, higher than its previous offer of 66.5p which the AIRE board rejected in November 2025. However, it is just 0.4% above AIRE’s 69.7p share price on 14 May before Glenstone confirmed its approach and 1.4% more than last night’s closing price of 69p.
Moreover, it is pitched at 17% below net asset value at 31 March compared to the 3% discount AEW UK REIT (AEWU) offered in its potential proposal which the board deemed fair value but did not proceed after talks broke down in April.
Glenstone, a £97m REIT listed on Guernsey’s International Stock Exchange (TISE), owns 24% of AIRE’s shares and Adam Smith, a Glenstone director who sits on AIRE’s board, holds 2.4%, giving it a total stake of 26.4%.
In addition, Glenstone has received a written indication of support from Hawksmoor Investment Management, holder of a 6.2% stake.
Glenstone said it was a long-standing shareholder of AIRE, having first bought shares in a tender offer in November 2020. In the light of AIRE’s performance and failure to grow since its flotation in 2017, Glenstone said it was “disappointed” that a transaction capable of delivering an exit for shareholders had yet to be achieved, despite a period of sector consolidation that has seen other sub-scale real estate investment trusts be sold or taken private.
It repeated its demand to know why talks with AEWU had broken down in April during the due diligence process.
Our view
James Carthew, head of investment company research, said: “Glenstone REIT has made its opening offer for Alternative Income REIT and it looks a bit mean, coming at a 17% discount to a NAV that has been edging up recently. The question is, will anyone else step into the fray?”
Heya are using WordPress for your blog platform? I’m new to the blog world but I’m trying to get started and set up my own. Do you need any coding expertise to make your own blog? Any help would be really appreciated!
Yep, Word Press thru Fast Hosts, no coding required.GL
The Glenstone Board is pleased to announce the terms of an all-cash offer by Glenstone to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of AIRE that the Glenstone Group does not already hold (the “Acquisition“).
· As at close of business on 11 June 2026, being the Latest Practicable Date, the Glenstone Group held in aggregate 19,325,461 AIRE Shares, representing approximately 24.00 per cent. of AIRE’s issued ordinary share capital. These figures do not include the 1,900,000 AIRE Shares, representing approximately 2.36 per cent. of AIRE’s issued ordinary share capital, held by Adam Smith, a director of Glenstone and AIRE who has provided an irrevocable undertaking to (amongst other things) accept the Takeover Offer.
· It is intended that the Acquisition will be implemented by means of a Takeover Offer under the applicable provisions of the Code and the Companies Act 2006 with a 50 per cent. threshold for the Acceptance Condition.
· Under the terms of the Acquisition, which will provide liquidity for AIRE Shareholders, each AIRE Shareholder will be entitled to receive:
for each AIRE Share: 70.0 pence in cash(the “Offer Price”)
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Growing a Stocks and Shares ISA from nothing to £1m is arguably similar to planting an oak tree.
When you first put a small acorn in the ground, it hardly looks capable of becoming something remarkable. Sprouting takes many months, and then it takes years to even become a sapling. For a long time, it impresses nobody.
Building wealth through investing is similar for most people. In the early years, portfolio gains are modest, even if you’re regularly adding money. A £550 return here, a £43 dividend there. Reaching £50k can take a lot of patience and discipline.
But over time, something miraculous starts to happen underneath. Just like an oak tree develops a powerful root system underground, a portfolio can eventually start compounding. In other words, returns begin generating their own returns!
But how long could it realistically take to become an ISA millionaire?
Running the numbers
The annual ISA allowance is currently £20,000, and the long-term average return from a global index tracker is around 9% (with dividends reinvested).
Putting these things together then, it would take roughly 19 years to hit the £1m mark, starting from scratch.
But hang on. Not everyone can afford to invest £20k a year (the equivalent of £1,666 every month). Especially as the UK’s cost-of-living squeeze gets ever tighter.
Let’s assume then that someone could only invest £600 every month. In this scenario, assuming the same 9% annualised total return, it would take more like 29 years to reach £1m.
Building a solid foundation
Coincidentally, many oak trees begin producing their first acorns after a couple of decades. But imagine the roots were not solid. What would happen to a tree during a really heavy storm?
Exactly — it would likely come crashing down.
That’s how I feel about portfolio construction. I don’t want to be invested in a load of firms with flimsy financials, whose share prices may crash 50%+ during every market meltdown.
So I hold solid businesses like Visa, AstraZeneca, Aviva, and BAE Systems. These have been consistently profitable and pay out dividends.
On top of this firm foundation, I’ve layered on higher-risk, higher-reward growth stocks, including On Holding (the premium sportswear brand), Applied Nutrition, Nu Holdings (Brazil’s Nubank), and digital healthcare platform Hims & Hers.
A dividend ETF to consider
For someone who doesn’t want to pick individual stocks, though, it would make sense to consider investing in index trackers, investment trusts, and thematic exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
One ETF I like today is iShares UK Dividend ETF (LSE:IUKD). Through this fund, investors get exposure to the 50 highest yielding dividend stocks in the FTSE 350 (excluding investment trusts).
These include Legal & General, BP, British American Tobacco, Rio Tinto, ITV, and Lloyds. So there’s a lot of built-in diversification here.
The ETF’s share price has done really well recently, but that doesn’t include dividends (obviously the main attraction here). Right now, the yield is a solid 4.55%.
As for risks, the main one is that 100% of the companies in this ETF are listed in the UK. And while they’re mostly global firms, they could still be dragged down by domestic issues like a severe recession or political instability.
On balance though, I think this ETF is worth assessing closely for a balanced ISA portfolio.
