Dividend heroes: the investment trusts that have increased their dividends for 20+ years

Investment trusts can be a good option for income-focused investors – but which trusts have consistently increased their dividends over the past 20 years?

By Dan McEvoy

Twenty investment trusts have increased their dividend payment every year for two decades, according to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC). Ten of these so-called “dividend heroes” have gone a step further, stretching this track record to half a century or more.

Topping the list of these reliable income-paying investment trusts are the City of London investment trust (LON:CTY), the Bankers Investment Trust (LON:BNKR) and Alliance Witan (LON:ALW). All three have increased their dividends for 59 consecutive years.

Last year, Murray International Trust (LON:MYI) became the newest dividend hero, and it has retained its place in the list as it was able to increase its dividend payout in the most recent financial year. 

Stay ahead of the curve with MoneyWeek magazine and enjoy the latest financial news and expert analysis, plus 58% off after your trial.

Two of the trusts on the list – Caledonia (LON:CLDN) and Scottish Mortgage (LON:SMT) – are also constituents in MoneyWeek’s investment trust portfolio, a model we set up over a decade ago to help readers build a global, long-term, “all-weather” set of investments.

“Dividends serve a dual purpose for us,” said Richard Clode, co-manager of the Bankers Investment Trust. “They are an important component of the attractive long-term total returns we aim to deliver to shareholders in combination with capital growth.

“Dividends also provide capital discipline to the companies we invest in as well as to how we invest as we seek out companies that can generate long-term profit and cash flow growth,” Clode added.

Investment trusts have a unique structure which allows them to hold back up to 15% of their income each year in a dividend reserve. This can then be used in years when companies pay lower dividends than expected.

This feature can make trusts particularly attractive to income-focused investors. In periods like the coronavirus pandemic, when swathes of companies cut or paused their dividends, trusts were able to fall back on these reserves to deliver a smooth income stream.

Dividend heroes: which investment trusts have increased payouts for 20 years or more?

The full list of the 20 dividend heroes is below:

Investment trust	Number of consecutive years dividend increased	Dividend yield (%)	5-year annualised dividend growth rate (%)
City of London Investment Trust	59	3.91	2.31
Bankers Investment Trust	59	2.08	4.96
Alliance Witan	59	2.31	14.52
Caledonia Investments	58	2.22	3.79
The Global Smaller Companies Trust	55	1.67	12.03
F&C Investment Trust	55*	1.28	6.10
Brunner Investment Trust	54	1.78	4.50
JPMorgan Claverhouse	53	4.22	4.18
Murray Income Trust	52	4.40	3.15
Scottish American	52	3.15	5.82
Merchants Trust	43	4.85	1.43
Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust	43	0.37	6.15
Value and Indexed Property Income	38	7.08	2.66
CT UK Capital & Income	32	3.80	2.48
Schroder Income Growth Fund	30	4.25	3.13
Aberdeen Equity Income Trust	25	5.69	2.23
Athelney Trust	23	7.41	1.25
BlackRock Smaller Companies	22	3.49	6.25
Henderson Smaller Companies	22	3.26	3.57
Murray International Trust	21	3.63	2.61

^{Source: theaic.co.uk / Morningstar. Data at 12/03/26. * Dividend rise announced on 16/3/2026}

Top dividend heroes in focus: three investment trusts that have increased dividends for nearly 60 years

The three trusts at the top of the list have increased the dividend income they generate for investors for 59 years, consistently raising payouts even through market upheavals like the inflationary 1970s, the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, the global financial crisis of 2008 and the Covid pandemic.

City of London invests in companies listed on the London stock exchange; top holdings as of 28 February include HSBC (LON:HSBA), Shell (LON:SHEL) and British American Tobacco (LON:BATS). Of the three investment trusts that have increased their dividends for 59 consecutive years, City of London has the highest dividend yield, at 3.91%.

Bankers has a global focus, and aims to capture the best 100 stock ideas at any given time. Its largest holdings reflect a tilt towards big tech stocks, with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE:TSM) its three largest holdings as of 28 February.

Alliance Witan also invests globally, with a focus on long-term capital growth and, of course, rising dividend payments. Its top holdings, as of the end of February, are Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Amazon.