The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the third quarterly interim dividend in respect of the three month period to 30 September 2024 of 1.8675 pence per ordinary share (the “Q3 Dividend”). The shares will go ex-dividend on 14 November 2024 and the Q3 Dividend will be paid on 31 December 2024 to shareholders on the register as at the close of business on 15 November 2024.
I am pleased to report that we have once again maintained the Company’s 17-year track record of increasing dividends. A total dividend of 24.60p has been paid in respect of the year ended 31 August 2024, representing a 1.7% increase over the prior year.
It is also particularly pleasing to confirm that our dividend has been fully covered by portfolio revenues during the financial year as we witnessed a strong resurgence of dividend growth in line with longer term trends. We will, as we always do in years of surplus, be adding a considerable amount to the revenue reserve which we seek to strengthen when we can. The revenue reserve can be used to smooth dividends through periods of revenue shortfall. This reserve now stands at £29.9m.
However, looking at one data point is just a snapshot and can be easily affected by specifics. Therefore, to assess the change in the market’s judgement over time, we have looked at several examples of strategies that have adopted these policies and studied what has happened to their discounts in the period before and after the announcement of a new policy.
One of the most recent adopters of this policy has been JUGI. This trust is the result of a combination between the firm’s UK small-cap and mid-cap trusts in the first quarter of 2024. As part of this corporate activity, a new enhanced dividend policy was announced that sees the trust pay c. 4% of NAV per annum in four equal payments. This began in August 2024. In the chart below, we have shown how the discount of JUGI has changed in the year leading up to the announcement on 14/11/2023 and the period since. Following the completion of the corporate activity, JUGI’s discount has narrowed significantly, leading the trust to trade at a notable premium to the sector average, and close to NAV for the first time since the market highs of 2021. In the year before the announcement, JUGI (at the time, JMI) traded at an average discount of 12.1%, at an average 0.4% discount to the peer group. In the period since, the average discount has narrowed to 8.3%, which is an average 2.7% premium to the peer group.
JUGI: DISCOUNT VERSUS SECTOR
Source: Morningstar
This has arguably come at a fortuitous time for JUGI. The enhanced dividend policy was one of a series of announcements as part of the combination, which brought benefits such as better liquidity and lower charges. It has also coincided with a period of strong performance for the trust, following a rare period of weakness as the managers’ investment style fell out of favour. However, whilst it may have coincided with a number of positive factors, the discount has narrowed following the announcement and implementation of an enhanced dividend policy.
Looking further back, we have also looked at the history of abrdn Asia Focus (AAS), an Asian smaller companies trust managed by the three-strong team of Flavia Cheong, Gabriel Sacks, and Xin-Yao Ng. The board introduced an enhanced dividend policy in 2021 to provide a higher yield to investors from an asset class not typically associated with high income. The trust already had a strong history of either maintaining or increasing its ordinary dividend, having done so every year since 1998, as well as regularly paying out special dividends. For the 2024 financial year, the trust has paid out 7.42p per share, equivalent to a yield of 2.6% based on the share price as of 30/10/2024. This is an 18% premium to the most recent published yield of the trust’s benchmark, as well as the wider MSCI ACWI Small Cap Index which yields 2.1%.
In the year leading up to the announcement of the dividend policy on 30/11/2021, AAS had an average discount of 11.6%. This was at an average discount to the sector average of 2.5%. In the year following the announcement, AAS’s average discount was actually wider at 12.6%, though this was closer to the sector average at -1.2%. This suggests that whilst the enhanced discount policy did not lead to the trust trading at a narrower discount in absolute terms, it may have improved the trust’s rating versus its peers.
AAS: DISCOUNT VERSUS SECTOR
Source: Morningstar
To see if this has had a similar effect over a longer time period, we have looked at the discount history of two trusts that have had enhanced dividend policies for many years and analysed how their discounts have fared versus peers. Firstly, there is Montanaro UK Smaller Companies (MTU). This trust adopted a quarterly dividend equal to 1% of NAV in 2018, with the explicit goal of trying to increase the appeal to retail investors and therefore narrowing the discount.
Here, the impact is very stark. In the ten years before the enhanced dividend policy was declared on 25/07/2018, MTU traded at an average discount to the peer group of 4.3%, but in the six-plus years since, this has narrowed significantly, with the average discount since just 0.1%. In fact, the trust traded at a premium to the sector for much of the period, including several periods where this premium was in the double digits relative to the sector. More recently, some short-term weakness in the share price has meant the trust’s rating is currently trading in line with peers, which we would argue could be seen as an opportunity. Furthermore, as is the case with many trusts using an enhanced dividend policy based on NAV, it means the yield investors may receive is actually a little higher than the headline rate because of the discount. Whilst MTU pays a dividend equivalent to 1% of NAV per quarter, the current historic yield is 4.6% due to the trust’s double-digit discount.
MTU: DISCOUNT VERSUS SECTOR
Source: Morningstar
Our final example is EAT. As the pioneer of the approach, this trust has the longest track record available. The trust first started paying dividends from capital in 2001, which was allowed due to its dual listing in London and the Netherlands. At the time, HMRC had a rule against paying dividends from capital reserves, though this was removed in 2012, opening up the strategy to others. EAT’s management team primarily focus on mid- and small-cap European equities, though the dividend policy is to pay annual dividends of 6% of the closing NAV of the preceding financial year in four equal payments. This headline rate is nearly double that of the index at 3.1% as of 30/09/2024 and vastly ahead of its peers which range from 2.83% to 0.78% according to Morningstar.
We have shown EAT’s discount track record going back to May 2008 in the chart below. This shows that the trust’s discount has traded at a premium to the sector average for almost the entire time. Only a short period in late 2020, soon after the COVID vaccine was announced, did the sector trade at an average discount narrower than EAT. We believe this is a strong indication that enhanced dividend policies do have a positive effect on narrowing discounts. This is particularly impactful in the European smaller companies sector as there are no other trusts operating a similar approach, meaning EAT is a clear differentiator in this regard. That said, we note that EAT has slipped to a wider discount than the peer group in the past few months. This is one of the longest sustained periods of relative weakness in the past 16 years. Whilst this arguably reflects some performance headwinds, it could be seen as an opportunity for long-term investors, especially as it has pushed up the historic yield to over 7%.
EAT: DISCOUNT VERSUS SECTOR
Source: Morningstar
Conclusion
The practice of boosting the natural yield of a portfolio by paying dividends from capital is a clear demonstration of the flexibility and benefits of the investment trust structure. It increases the appeal of several asset classes to a wider range of investors and can make for useful tools for blending uncorrelated income streams as part of a wider portfolio.
Furthermore, over the long term, as we have shown it can prove useful in helping narrow a trust’s discount, especially versus peers, although it is not enough on its own to prevent wider macro factors affecting a trust’s discount. However, the wide discounts seen across the investment trust sector at present mean that the yields on offer look even more attractive due to many of them being calculated on a trust’s NAV. Moreover, the challenges seen in the wider economy have meant that many trusts are trading at wide discounts and several trusts with enhanced dividend policies are not trading at the premium rating they historically have done. This arguably creates an opportunity for long-term investors. With interest rates beginning to come down, those on a wider discount could soon benefit from improved optimism, whilst their elevated and reliable yields will only look more attractive on a relative basis.
Enhanced dividend strategies are growing in popularity, what do they offer investors?
Ryan Lightfoot-Aminoff
Disclaimer
This is not substantive investment research or a research recommendation, as it does not constitute substantive research or analysis. This material should be considered as general market commentary.
The growing prevalence of enhanced dividend strategies has been one of the investment trust industry’s low-key emerging trends in the past few years. Pioneered by European Assets (EAT) in 2001, this typically involves taking a contribution from the trust’s capital to top up the portfolio’s underlying revenue in order to boost the income paid out to shareholders. A tweak to the UK rules in 2012 has led to a steady increase of trusts adopting this approach, with over 20 now offering some level of enhanced dividend. With this approach growing in popularity, we look at what it offers boards and managers, how investors can benefit, and whether there are implications for a trust’s discount.
The case for an enhanced dividend
The enhanced dividend strategy works by using a portfolio’s capital reserves to supplement the underlying income a portfolio generates and then paying this combined amount out to investors. It’s important to note that neither capital nor revenue reserves are pots of cash, a point that is often misunderstood. What we are talking about is accounting identity. Portfolio income is, in an equity investment trust, typically reinvested in the portfolio, and an amount is added to the revenue account. When a dividend is to be paid, the manager will sell some investments to raise the actual cash to be paid out, and then write down the revenue account. It’s the same process when paying from capital, meaning investments are sold to raise funds, except there is no requirement for the cash to be ‘raised’, or debited, from the revenue account.
To provide clarity to investors, many trusts implementing an enhanced dividend policy will set out an income goal for the year, such as Invesco Asia (IAT) who adopted a policy in 2021 to pay out 2% of NAV every six months. In the years since its adoption, IAT’s dividend per share has been on average just over double the earnings per share, showing that investors are receiving an income of almost double what they would have if such a policy wasn’t in place.
Whilst the income benefits for shareholders may seem obvious, an enhanced dividend policy also provides some perks when it comes to capital returns. With the trust’s income effectively taken care of, the managers have more freedom to invest in what they believe are the best opportunities from a total return perspective, without being beholden to income targets. This helps reduce the conflict managers may find themselves in when deciding whether to invest in stocks with high future growth potential or those offering high yields today. This could help improve the overall performance of the trust in the long term, as managers are under less pressure to generate income in the near term which may come at the expense of future capital growth.
With several trusts now offering attractive yields, despite investing in asset classes that are not typically high-yielding, income hungry investors have a wider range of asset classes to choose from. This not only creates opportunities for better portfolio diversification but also means investors are less reliant on traditional income asset classes such as bonds or value equities. JPMorgan has been one of the biggest adopters of enhanced dividend policies, which have been implemented in five trusts in their range. This includes trusts investing in China and UK smaller companies, not areas famed for their income potential. However, the enhanced dividend strategy has meant that these trusts could be useful for income investors and enable them to create a more diverse portfolio.
Moreover, this could provide style diversification benefits too, as several trusts with enhanced dividend policies are run with a growth mindset, meaning their portfolios will consist of very different companies to the value-orientated ones typically in an income portfolio. One example is JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI). Through a series of mergers and strong performance, JGGI has grown to one of the largest trusts in the global sector and is managed with a strong growth bias. This has led to top ten holdings including Microsoft, Nvidia, and Meta, which are unlikely to populate income portfolios. Despite this, the trust’s enhanced dividend policy of paying out at least 4% of the NAV per annum has meant it could have appeal to both income and growth investors. It also means income investors can balance JGGI’s growth bias with more traditional income assets in a portfolio, whilst still generating a good income.
Some trusts, such as JPMorgan UK Small Cap Growth & Income (JUGI), use the NAV at the end of the previous financial year to set the amount for the next four quarterly dividends, meaning investors can be more certain of what they will receive in absolute terms, although as the NAV may rise or fall throughout the year. On the other hand, some trusts, such as IAT, will calculate the dividend amount based on the NAV at different points in the year, meaning the amounts can fluctuate.
CT Private Equity Trust (CTPE) has a slightly different approach, with dividends set through a strict formula which has been consistently applied since 2012. The dividend formula gives shareholders a highly predictable and secure income stream, with the annual dividend set at a rate equivalent to 4% of NAV, based on the average of the last four quarterly NAVs. However, if in any quarter this figure implies a reduction in the dividend, the quarterly dividend payable will be maintained. A result of this approach is that CTPE is now a ‘next-generation dividend hero’, having increased its dividend for ten or more years.
For trusts that follow any of these approaches, it is not hard to see that the dividend itself is not as reliant on the prevailing dividend environment, as is the case in more traditional income portfolios. This was best demonstrated in the early days of the COVID pandemic, when many companies suspended their dividends which put a strain on many income-focussed mandates, particularly in the open-ended space. However, almost all equity income investment trusts managed to maintain or grow their dividend. This was either by using revenue reserves or in the case of trusts with enhanced dividend policies, capital reserves. As such, enhanced dividend strategies can also support income resilience which may be particularly attractive during periods of market weakness.
The case against
One of the criticisms of an enhanced dividend strategy is that it arguably comes at the cost of long-term growth. By selling shares to pay out to investors as income, enhanced dividend strategies are effectively just returning capital to investors in another form. The argument goes that by doing so, it means managers are clipping profits and not allowing their best positions to run. This effect is particularly troubling during periods of market weakness, where managers are in effect compounding capital losses by selling assets at depressed valuations to pay dividends. Whilst the outcome of maintaining a dividend may provide comfort in the short term, it arguably damages the long-term growth potential.
Furthermore, returning capital to shareholders in the form of a dividend may have tax implications for investors. This is especially true of individuals or retail shareholders as the dividend allowance of £500 is considerably less than the capital gains allowance of £3k (as of the time of writing). However, we note that this is not an issue for those holding these assets in a tax-efficient wrapper such as a SIPP or ISA.
Do dividends determine discounts?
Despite the potential drawbacks, adopting an enhanced dividend policy can help differentiate a trust and potentially increase its appeal to a wider pool of investors. As such, one of the reasons often touted for adopting an enhanced dividend policy has been as a way of narrowing a trust’s discount. It is a tool often used as an alternative to share buybacks which might have negative effects such as reducing the size of the trust. One might argue that a narrower discount could be seen as a judgement on the debate above by the market as a whole: if the discount narrows, the pro argument has won.
To see whether enhanced dividend policies influence discounts, we have looked at the discounts of trusts using an enhanced dividend policy against the average of their peer groups. We have concentrated the analysis on trusts operating in publicly-listed equities due to the complications of other structures. Of these trusts, just over half trade at a premium to their peers, with an average discount of 1.6% narrower than the average for the peer group. This basic analysis suggests to us that an enhanced dividend policy may have a small positive impact on the trust’s rating.
NextEnergy Solar Fund, a leading specialist investor in solar energy and energy storage, is pleased to announce its second interim dividend of 2.11 pence per Ordinary Share for the quarter ended 30 September 2024, in line with its previously stated target of paying dividends of 8.43p for the financial year ending 31 March 2025.
The interim dividend of 2.11 pence will be paid on 30 December 2024 to Ordinary Shareholders on the register as at the close of business on 15 November 2024. The ex-dividend date is 14 November 2024.
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The Snowball
Just 2 Trusts to declare a dividend for 2024, then it will be time to start again for 2025.
Investing in the US: your choices and key points to consider
Dan Coatsworth
Invest with AJ Bell
Investing in the US: your choices and key points to consider
The US is home to the world’s biggest and most successful companies. Investors have made good money over the past decade or so from owning US stocks and funds, and it’s easy to understand why the region remains popular.
It won’t always do well, and there are risks around politics and economics. Yet investors with a long horizon might see merit in keeping part of their portfolio in the US. The big question is how to get exposure.
It’s important to consider your risk appetite when deciding how to invest in the US. A more cautious person might prefer to choose funds as they provide diversified exposure, spreading risks over a portfolio of companies so if something bad happens to one of them, the rest function as a cushion.
More experienced investors may prefer to choose their own stocks or pick certain funds based on their manager’s record. Someone who doesn’t want to spend time selecting investments or monitoring them in the future might prefer the low-cost, straightforward option of a US tracker fund. We’ll now run through the options in more detail.
Investing in the US via actively managed funds
Many investors are happy to pay an ongoing management fee for someone else to do all the hard work, pick stocks and manage a portfolio. Actively managed funds present investors with an opportunity to do better than the market. In the US, that typically means beating the S&P 500, Nasdaq or Dow Jones index.
It’s hard for a fund manager to beat the market year in, year out and eventually most managers will go through periods of underperformance. That’s just the nature of investing. As always, there are some that do better than others.
For example, among the funds that have outperformed, Axa Framlington American Growth has returned 286% over the past 10 years. That beats the 264% return from the S&P 500 index of US shares, according to FE Fundinfo data up to 22 October 2024. Its strategy is to provide long-term capital growth for investors by investing in a fairly concentrated portfolio of approximately 70 US stocks. The fund’s holdings include Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, UnitedHealth and Booking Holdings.
As another example, CT North American Equity has outperformed the S&P 500 on a five-year basis, returning 114% versus 111% from the index. With circa 110 holdings in the portfolio, the fund has big exposure to technology, consumer products and financials.
Accessing the US market via low-cost passive funds
Investors who want to keep charges as low as possible may prefer to use an ETF or tracker, both of which fall under the category of ‘passive’ funds.
One of the most popular US-focused passive funds with AJ Bell customers is Vanguard S&P 500 ETF. It tracks the S&P 500, which features 500 big companies traded on the US stock market, including Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Netflix and Walt Disney. The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF charges 0.07% a year, which is only a fraction of what you might expect to pay for actively managed funds. For example, Axa Framlington American Growth charges 0.81%.
An alternative to ETFs is to buy a tracker fund. These are cheaper to buy and sell but not necessarily cheaper to own. ETFs are classified as shares so you pay £5 to buy and sell. In comparison, trackers are classified as fund, which only cost £1.50 to buy or sell.
L&G US Index Trust is one of the most widely held US tracker funds among AJ Bell customers and has an 0.1% annual management charge. So, it is cheaper to buy, but has a more expensive ongoing charge. L&G US Index tracks the performance of the FTSE USA index, which is a basket of approximately 550 large and medium-sized companies in the US, including iPhone maker Apple, tech giant Microsoft, electric vehicle seller Tesla and weight-loss drug specialist Eli Lilly . These are just two examples of US-focused ETFs and trackers funds; there are more available on the AJ Bell platform.
The main US market indices
There are three main alternative US market indices to the S&P 500 used by ETFs and tracker funds.
The Nasdaq 100 is a basket of 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the US. Nearly two-thirds of the index is made up of technology companies, making Nasdaq 100 ETFs or tracker funds a popular choice for investors seeking tech exposure. You’ll find the world’s best-known tech firms in the index including Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
The Dow Jones index features 30 big companies from the US stock market including payments group American Express, sporting shoes maker Nike and grocery chain Walmart. Anyone investing in a Dow Jones ETF or tracker fund should recognise that the underlying portfolio is more concentrated than a Nasdaq 100 or S&P 500 fund.
Only tracking 30 names means any setbacks to one or more companies in the portfolio could have a noticeable impact on the overall performance of the Dow Jones ETF or tracker fund. The same principle applies if there is good news lifting one or more holdings. In contrast, the Nasdaq 100 and S&P 500 funds have more holdings and risks are spread more widely.
Another way of getting exposure to the US is to invest in a fund tracking the Russell 2000 index, which is a basket of 2,000 smaller companies.
You aren’t limited to these products. For example, you might wish to invest in US-focused ETFs and tracker funds that target specific styles of companies, such as those which offer high dividend yields or those which possess high earnings growth characteristics.
Operational capacity reaches 845MW / 1,207MWh and tolling update
Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc (LSE: GRID), the UK’s largest fund investing in utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), is pleased to announce the energisation of one new project and the energisation of battery duration augmentations on two existing projects adding 55MW and 176MWh of capacity to the operational portfolio. These projects are:
– Elland, a 50MW / 100MWh new project near Leeds, was energised on 1 November.
– Penwortham B, an augmentation to the original Penwortham site, was energised on 30 October, resulting in the project duration increasing to two hours (50MW / 100MWh)
– Nevendon B was energised on 23 October. The augmentation has increased the capacity of the site from 10MW / 7MWh to 15MW / 33MWh.
This increases the operational capacity of the portfolio to 845MW / 1,207MWh from 790MW / 931MWh at 30 June.
In terms of tolling, the Company is also pleased to report that, of the 568MW announced as being contracted into tolling agreements with Octopus Energy, 260MW are now onboarded. Further capacity is expected to enter the agreement shortly, linked largely to operational timings on the remaining portfolio in construction.
Further updates will be provided as projects are commissioned and/or are onboarded into tolling.
Ben Guest, Fund Manager of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc & Managing Director of Gresham House New Energy, said:
“These updates will have a positive impact on revenues as more capacity translates into proportionately more revenues while tolling contracts have been struck at levels that remain above current merchant levels, increasing revenue per MW. Five of the seven augmentation projects planned for the year have now been completed, demonstrating the ability these projects have in rapidly bringing new capacity online.”
The most consistent income payer in the sector is City of London (CTY), holds the impressive distinction of delivering increased dividends for the longest consecutive period of any trust in the wider sector. Its 58-year track record of annual dividend increases underscores one of the key advantages of investment trusts – the ability to use income reserves to ensure smoother dividend payouts, even during tough market periods.
In our view, CTY’s record is remarkable, even though underlying earnings haven’t risen every year. CTY has had made effective use of the investment trust structure, which allows it to retain up to 15% of each year’s income in reserve. This reserve can then be drawn upon in leaner years to smooth dividends if revenues subsequently fall. For instance, when companies worldwide were forced to cut or suspend dividends during the pandemic, CTY was able to maintain its record of consecutive increases, despite a significant fall in revenue, as shown below.
DPS & EPS
Aside from consecutive dividend increases, we think CT Private Equity (CTPE) stands out as a differentiated player in the income/dividend space. The private equity sector is experiencing wide discounts, prompting some boards to announce formulaic capital allocation policies that seek to allocate a proportion of future realisation proceeds towards capital returns through buybacks. However, the board of CTPE generally sees the dividend as a more equitable way of returning capital to shareholders, and whilst it has bought back shares on occasion, the preference is to return capital through a strict, formulaic approach to paying dividends. Consequently, this focus, alongside the managers’ investment process, has resulted in a historic dividend yield of 6.5%, attractive versus peers in the sector but also the wider trust sector.
Moreover, by favouring dividends as the primary means of returning capital we think CTPE provides a more predictable and transparent flow of income, particularly valuable for income-focussed investors who prioritise regular payouts over potentially unpredictable gains from buybacks. Furthermore, whilst buybacks can help manage discounts in the short term, they do not necessarily build long-term value in the same way that consistent dividend payments can. A risk worth bearing in mind is the illiquidity of the underlying assets, which, depending on the timing of the company’s other cash flows, may see CTPE use debt to fund the dividend, in turn increasing the gearing.
If we look at LWDB a Trust to have in your buy list if/when Mr. Market gives u the chance.
If we look at the red line for six years u haven’t made any gains.
Then again at the blue line another six years.
But by sitting u have achieved the holy grail of investing of having a share in your portfolio a zero cost that provides income after u take out your stake to re-invest in a higher yielding Trust.