Quote 13
The investor who permits himself to be stampeded or unduly worried by unjustified market declines in his holdings is perversely transforming his basic advantage into a basic disadvantage.
Though he knew that hanging in there isn’t easy:

Quote 14
Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable will power to keep from following the crowd.
But if you ever feel panicked, remember Graham’s sage advice:

It was the renowned scientist and theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn’t … pays it.” These words are reflected by investor Warren Buffett, who is most associated with the basic wealth building strategy.

The concept behind compound interest is simple. Defined by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, “Compound interest is when you earn interest on the money you’ve saved and on the interest you earn along the way.”

Buffett explains it’s power in even simpler terms in his autobiography: a snowball rolling down a long hill, picking up more snow as it gains momentum until it becomes a massive snowball. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO loves compound interest because it works alongside his investing philosophy, and as one of the wealthiest people in the world, the 93-year-old is an example of compound interest’s real-world success.
Here are some of the reasons why compound interest is the “eighth wonder of the world.”

Wealth Grows Exponentially
Compounding increases the value of the money you have invested by getting the interest earned added back or reinvested to the principal, generating even more earnings. This is the concept that makes the snowball grow larger every day. Principal grows faster the more frequent interest is compounded. Compounding works especially well when it’s allowed to build over time, something Buffett learned at an early age.

Save and Invest Early
Compound interest encourages and rewards individuals to start investing early to maximize growth over many years. We all have to start somewhere, and while Buffett is an exception — he bought his first stock at the age of 11 — compound interest uses the power of early action, time and will, which is fundamental to success.

Buffett Loves the Long Game
The key to Buffett’s success is long-term thinking, exemplified in one of Buffett’s most famous quotes about knowing he would reach wealth, yet not being in a hurry to get there. Notoriously patient, the wealth of Berkshire and Buffett is associated with the importance of value growth over time. Berkshire’s portfolio has held onto some stocks for close to 30 years.

Set It and Forget It
One of the great things about compound interest is that it does much of the work without requiring any intervention from the investor. As long as an investment is paying interest, nothing can stop the snowball from doing the work and growing on its own. This aligns with Buffett’s hands-off approach with many of his stocks.

Compound Interest Doesn’t Discriminate
Of course, the more money you start with, the more you’ll make through compound interest over time. You don’t need to start with a lot, though, you just need to start. Regardless of your bank balance, job or background, anyone can build great wealth with time and consistent investing.

Rewarding Patience Through Investing
In an impatient world, investors are looking to get rich quick. Some are fortunate enough to make millions by catching lightning in a bottle; however, compound interest is a proven wealth builder that doesn’t rely on luck. It may sometimes take longer to see the results of your effort, but this doesn’t mean that the effort is going to waste.

With patience and consistency, compound interest can reap great rewards.

Thursday 31 October

abrdn UK Smaller Cos Growth Trust PLC ex-dividend date
AEW UK REIT PLC ex-dividend date
Blackstone Loan Financing Ltd ex-dividend date
Downing Strategic Micro-Cap Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Dunedin Income Growth Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Edinburgh Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
European Smaller Cos Trust PLC ex-dividend date
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd ex-dividend date
i3 Energy PLC ex-dividend date
Invesco Global Equity Income Trust PLC ex-dividend date
M&G Credit Income Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Tritax Big Box REIT PLC ex-dividend date
VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund Ltd ex-dividend date

I’ve took a further £300 ‘profit’ with SOHO.

Cash to re-invest £1,229.00 but let’s see what the budget brings.

I’ve sold the portfolio shares in Foresight Solar for a profit of £103.00 and a total profit of £468.00, bringing the Snowball back to 2 solar Trusts.

I’ve bought for the portfolio 10k of shares in M&G Credit ahead of their dividend xd date this week.

Quote 11
If you, the reader, expect to get rich over the years by following some system or leadership in market forecasting, you must be expecting to try to do what countless others are aiming at, and to be able to do it better than your numerous competitors in the market. There is no basis either in logic or in experience for assuming that any typical or average investor can anticipate market movements more successfully than the general public, of which he is himself a part.
Ultimately, Graham didn’t counsel trying to outmanoeuvre the market. He believed in understanding its nature:

Quote 12
The investor with a portfolio of sound stocks should expect their prices to fluctuate, and should neither be concerned by sizable declines nor become excited by sizable advances. He should always remember that market quotations are there for his convenience, either to be taken advantage of or to be ignored. He should never buy a stock because it has gone up or sell one because it has gone down. He would not be far wrong if this motto read more simply: “Never buy a stock immediately after a substantial rise or sell one immediately after a substantial drop.”
Graham was almost wiped out by the Wall Street Crash but rebuilt his fortune amid the calamity of the Great Depression. He knew a thing or two about holding your nerve:

REGIONAL REIT Limited

(“Regional REIT”, the “Group” or the “Company”)

Solar Panel JV with Sunbird Solar

Regional REIT Limited (LSE: RGL), the regional property specialist, is delighted to announce that it has entered into a joint venture with leading Pan-European solar PV developer, Sunbird Solar International Limited (“Sunbird“), to install solar panels on a number of the most suitable properties within the Company’s portfolio, making the properties more attractive to potential tenants.

Phase one of the installation programme will encompass 19 properties with an aggregate portfolio generation capacity of 4,173 kW and is expected to be completed within a year. Regional REIT will invest alongside Sunbird in the joint venture company called Sugarbird SolarCo (UK) Limited.

The joint venture will enhance the EPC credentials of the respective buildings, supplement and provide on-site green electricity to common parts and continue the ongoing momentum of reducing CO2 emissions by some 713 tonnes across the portfolio.

The annual solar electricity output of this first phase is equivalent to reducing the electricity usage of 1,270 average UK households, further demonstrating our commitment to long term sustainability that will deliver real impact at scale.

Sunbird is a leading Pan-European solar PV developer led by an experienced team of Commercial and Industrial solar specialists with decades of experience in developing, financing, designing, constructing, and maintaining solar and battery energy storage assets.

Stephen Inglis, Head of ESR Europe LSPIM, Asset Manager commented:

“We are delighted to be working with Sunbird on this important programme that reflects the Company’s significant ambition to deliver meaningful environmental enhancements. This important programme will reduce our portfolio’s carbon footprint and enable the properties to benefit from both lower maintenance and energy costs.”

Dave Colley, Director at Sunbird, commented:

“We’re really pleased to be working with Regional REIT on this exciting joint venture of improving the energy efficiency of the portfolio to the benefit of the properties, to the other stakeholders and the benefit of the environment.

Sunbird is able to bring its global experience in developing, engineering, installing and managing rooftop solar plants that are built to the highest standards to deliver green electricity for decades to come.”

Canada Life figures show the 65-year-old with a £100,000 pension pot could buy an annuity linked to the retail price index (RPI) that would generate a starting annual income of £3,896. That’s up from £2,195 in the New Year following a 77% spike in rates this year.
Oct 22.

When u enter your de-accumulation phase, the above might be the option u face. My friend the choice is yours.

How our fund picks can beat the MSCI World by the end of 2024

It has been a forgettable year so far for Trustnet’s fund picks. In January the editorial team selected portfolios we believed had a chance of outperforming markets in 2024, but so far we are not doing well.

As this is my last column of the year – I am soon to be off spending time with my new baby and family – I thought I would take a look at where we stand with two months to go and who I think has the best odds of coming out on top. To do this I am using the probability that any of our funds can catch up to, or overtake, the MSCI World index.

In truth, it looks like a tall task. Our top performers so far this year have made just half the return of the global market index, meaning we should have picked a tracker.. All our funds appear to have little chance of beating the index, but below I will outline the glass-half-full reasons as to how they can turn the tables with two months to go.

Theoretically, the best chance we have to beat the index is senior reporter Matteo Anelli’s  Royal London Sustainable World Trust. has made 8.9% so far this year, still a long way behind the MSCI World’s 16.5%.

With the likes of Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon among its top 10 holdings, the fund will be geared towards the ‘Magnificent Seven’, which implies it is broadly in the same themes as the wider market.

However, it does not own Nvidia. This has been a hindrance this year, but should the semiconductor stock falter, the fund could soon catch up over the next two months.

News editor Emma Wallis’ RTW Biotech Opportunities is next, up 8.7%year to date. Healthcare has been a good place to invest in 2024, but would need a significant boost in the coming two months. Lower rates should help these growth stocks to outperform, while a sell-off in the tech sector would help arrest its relative performance to the index.

The third most likely to outperform, in my view, is Fidelity China Special Situations, the pick of former reporter Jean-Baptiste Andrieux. JB has left Trustnet to become an investment trust analyst, suggesting he is the most qualified of us to deliver these picks. This gives it credibility immediately.

However, the reason I think this is the third most likely to beat the MSCI World by year-end is because of how volatile the market has been in 2024.

Last week, James Klempster, deputy head of Liontrust Asset Management’s multi-asset team, said Chinese equities are still cheap, JP Morgan Asset Management emerging market macro strategist Nandini Ramakrishan added that China’s stimulus measures signify “a new chapter” for emerging market equities.

Last month the People’s Bank of China freed up about ¥1tn in long-term liquidity by reducing the reserve requirement ratio for banks by 0.5 percentage points, allowing them to lend more and support the economy.

The big overhang is the US election, with both presidential candidates likely to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, although Donald Trump is expected to be more punitive. If Kamala Harris wins, this could improve the outlook for Chinese exports, giving the market a boost.

Revealed: the investment trusts yielding 4.5% or more

 Thursday, October 24

AJ Bell

A central bank interest rate cutting cycle is well underway, the Federal Reserve having slashed US rates by 50 basis points and further cuts expected from the Bank of England following August’s 25 basis point reduction. Falling rates mean lower rates on cash and bonds, so investors searching for long-term income and capital growth may feel compelled to research the market for alternative opportunities.

Helpfully, The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has published a comprehensive list of the 26 investment trusts that invest in equities and offer a yield of at least 4.5%. Nearly all of these trusts, 23 out of 26 to be precise, currently trade at a discount to NAV (net asset value), while over half (15) sell on a double-digit discount to their underlying assets.

High income from HFEL

A total of 18 trusts yields 5% or more, while a further eight offer yields of between 4.5% and 5%. Of the aforementioned 26 trusts, the highest yielding is Henderson Far East Income (HFEL) at 10.3%. Managed by Janus Henderson Investors’ Sat Duhra, the trust aims to provide a growing annual dividend and capital appreciation from a diversified book of Asia-Pacific-based firms, with top 10 holdings including from world’s biggest memory chips and smartphone maker Samsung Electronics and the globe’s largest contract chip manufacturer, TSMC.

Henderson Far East Income is one of the AIC’s ‘next generation’ dividend heroes – trusts that have increased the dividend for 10 or more years in a row but fewer than the 20 required for ‘dividend hero’ status – having hiked the shareholder reward for 16 consecutive years. The board has an increased willingness to dip into the trust’s revenue reserves to support future payments. Duhra has reduced the trust’s exposure to China, which drove underperformance in full year 2023, and increased positions in India and Indonesia.

Also trading at a premium, and offering a 7.4% yield, is Chelverton UK Dividend Trust, which has outperformed Henderson Far East Income on a 10-year share price total return basis, having generated 85.4% versus the latter’s 50.5% haul.

Steered by David Horner and Oliver Knott, Chelverton UK Dividend aims to deliver a high and growing income by investing in mid and small caps outside the FTSE 100 and returned to a position where the dividend is being paid entirely from the current year revenue surplus after costs. In the future, the board plans to increase dividends by a level in excess of prevailing inflation and use any surplus to replenish the trust’s revenue reserves.

Company	AIC Sector	Yield (%)	Discount/premium (%)	10-year share price total return (%)
British & American	Global Equity Income	8.5	−34.8	-36.6
Marwyn Value Investors	UK Smaller Companies	9.9	−51.3	-30
Premier Miton Global Renewables	Infrastructure Securities	6.9	−16.0	14.8
Blackrock Latin American	Latin America	7.1	−14.2	16.3
UIL	Flexible Investment	8.1	−34.9	38
abrdn Equity Income	UK Equity Income	7.2	−4.6	38.7
Henderson Far East Income	Asia Pacific Equity Income	10.3	2.4	50.5
CT Global Managed Portfolio Income	Flexible Investment	6.4	0.6	56.3
CT UK High Income	UK Equity Income	6.4	−11.2	62.3
Henderson High Income	UK Equity & Bond Income	6.3	−8.2	72.5
Shires Income	UK Equity Income	5.8	−8.2	76.4
European Assets Trust	European Smaller Companies	6.8	−13.0	79.5
Chelverton UK Dividend Trust	UK Equity Income	7.4	2.8	85.4
Blackrock World Mining	Commodities & Natural Resources	6.1	−6.0	128
Lindsell Train	Global	6.7	−20.7	179.5

Table: Shares magazine. Source: AIC/Morningstar (to 27 September 2024)

Help from the heroes

Almost a quarter of the highest yielding investment trusts are fully fledged AIC dividend heroes with at least 20 years of unbroken dividend growth under their belts. They include City of London, the UK Equity Income sector stalwart offering a gateway to large international companies. City of London has achieved 58 years of consecutive dividend hikes, the longest streak amongst the dividend heroes, and upped its year-to-June 2024 payout by 2.5% to 20.6p, ahead of UK CPI (consumer price index) inflation, while revenue reserves increased by 5.8% to 9.4p.

With more than half a century of dividend increases to its name is JPMorgan Claverhouse, on 51 years of undisturbed payout growth, while the Simon Gergel-managed Merchants has notched up over four decades of unbroken dividend growth. Sue Noffke-steered Schroder Income Growth Fund and the Manny Pohl-managed Athelney Trust sit on 29 years and 21 years respectively.

The highest yielding dividend hero is abrdn Equity Income Trust, which offers a 7.2% yield and a dividend which it has increased for 23 years on the spin. While manager Thomas Moore has been finding a number of opportunities across the UK stock market of late, NAV performance has lagged the FTSE All-Share index over the past five years, with factors such as a greater allocation to mid-caps than peers at play.

Going global for income

While 11 of the 26 trusts yielding at least 4.5% emanate from the AIC’s UK Equity Income sector, there are two trusts from each of the following sectors – UK Smaller Companies (Marwyn Value Investors, Athelney), Flexible Investment (UIL and CT Global Managed Portfolio Income) and Asia Pacific Equity Income (Henderson Far East Income and abrdn Asian Income Fund).

Income seekers can also gain exposure to high-yielding trusts targeting other key regions of the globe. BlackRock Latin American offers a 7.1% yield, but this reflects a poor 10-year share price total return of 16.3% delivered in what remains a volatile region, while European Assets is focused on the earnings and dividend growth potential of continental small caps.

Elsewhere, trading on a 5.3% yield is abrdn Asian Income Fund, which offers a diversified entrée into Asia. Canadian Income is an AIC North America sector constituent trading on a double-digit NAV discount with a 4.5% yield.

Disclaimer: These articles are for information purposes only and are not a personal recommendation or advice. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you originally invested.

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If u want to own any of the above Trusts that yield less than 7% but knowing that a yield of 7% doubles your hard earned in ten years, u may have to pair trade your choice with a higher yielder by splitting your investment.