The SNOWBALL will lose around £500 of income when NESF cut their dividend.

The yield will still be above 7% so can still contribute to the current plan.

This income will have to be replaced so It’s unlikely the intended/hopeful purchase of some Dividend Hero’s will complete.

Dividend Policy Change:

·    Following the completion of this year’s target dividend of 8.43p, the Company will transition from a progressive dividend policy to a percentage‑based dividend policy, targeting a 75% distribution of operating free cashflows, post debt servicing and portfolio and fund operating expenses. The new dividend policy is expected to free up approximately £40m of operational free cash flows over the next five years, unlocking capital for the Company to strengthen its balance sheet through additional debt repayments while also supporting future Net Asset Value growth opportunities. Following the sale of the final phase, the current capital recycling programme, during which 100MW of operational assets were successfully sold, and also reflecting the impact of lower power prices, the estimated dividend range for FY26/27 would be 4.0p to 4.6p per Ordinary Share, which is the equivalent to a c.7% to c.8% dividend yield as at 10 March 2026.

·     Cashflows that are not distributed to shareholders will be used to accelerate debt reduction and redeploy capital into higher‑yielding opportunities such as repowering and co‑located energy storage to support long-term growth.

·    The Company is on track to meet its current full-year target dividend of 8.43p per Ordinary Share for the financial year ending 31 March 2026.

I’ve bought for the SNOWBALL a further 5893 shares in TRIG for 4k filling to a full position.

Not buy advice, the trade only for the dividend.

I’ve bought for the SNOWBALL 20711 shares in SDCL Efficiency Income for 10k, mainly for the dividend and as a possible future pair trade for the SNOWBALL

We consider the outlook for energy, diversifers such as gold, inflation and valuations.

9th March 2026

by Dave Baxter from interactive investor

Escalating conflict in the Middle East comes with a huge humanitarian cost but it also, unavoidably, raises big questions for markets.  

And while we might feel reluctant to trade too much in response to such an event, it’s at least worth understanding how it can affect your portfolio, now and in future. 

US and Israeli forces first launched air strikes in Iran on 28 February and we’ve seen some massive gyrations in markets since then. The potential knock-on effects for portfolios deserve consideration. 

Back to the energy mix 

The most eye-catching move so far has been for the oil price, which has soared amid concerns of disruption to supply. The price of Brent Crude oil surged as high as $119 a barrel in early trading today, marking its highest level since 2022. Ahead of the air strikes, it was trading at just below $70 a barrel. 

This has a few effects. It is, of course, good for conventional energy funds. Performance data from 28 February to 6 March 2026 shows the

 iShares Oil & Gas Explr&Prod ETF USD Acc GBP  SPOG

having returned around 5%, with 

Guinness Global Energy Y GBP Acc on 3.7%. 

It also offers a sliver of hope for beaten-up renewable energy funds, such as ii investor favourite Greencoat UK Wind  UKW

A higher energy price, and a fresh focus on investing in renewables to secure energy independence for the likes of UK, could drive better sentiment (and returns) for the sector. 

Inflation and rates 

But if it lasts, a higher oil price becomes a problem if it feeds into higher inflation. 

I should note that some specialists have so far dismissed this as a major worry. But if things worsen we could find that further interest rates cuts are off the table for now – something that hurts the prospects for bonds, but also potentially for equity funds with a growth investment style.  

Managers on funds such as Scottish Mortgage Ord  SMT

will hope the companies in their portfolio have truly adapted to a world of higher rates as they claim they did in 2022. 

If inflation and rates stay higher, bond yields also stay higher. This has a knock-on effect for “alternative” assets whose value is pretty closely correlated to government bonds.  

A higher energy price could bolster renewables but higher gilt yields are still unhelpful for infrastructure fund

from Renewables Infrastructure Grp  TRIG

 to HICL Infrastructure PLC Ord  HICL

as they are for property investment trusts.  

But as with growth companies, we may find that such portfolios are more robust in the wake of 2022: property investment trusts, for one, have undergone significant consolidation in recent years. 

Watch your diversifiers 

I note that fresh inflation talk does not bode well for the likes of government bonds, which explains why they have tended to sell off.  

The average fund in the Investment Association’s (IA) UK Gilts sector has lost around 2% over a week or so, while the yield on the 10-year UK government bond has risen from around 4.3% to almost 4.8%. Yields move inversely to prices. 

Those who piled into gold and silver in the last few months have also had a rough week. Prices for both tumbled between 28 February and 6 March, while funds such as BlackRock World Mining Trust Ord  BRWM

 and Jupiter Gold & Silver I GBP Acc (BYVJRH9) suffered double-digit losses.

The sight of bonds and gold selling off alongside stock markets is not exactly welcome, but at least there are explanations.  

The US dollar has strengthened, something that doesn’t bode well for gold, while any prospect of higher interest rates would make the opportunity cost of holding the metal greater.

But it’s worth remembering that the drop also likely relates to the fact that some investors need liquidity (or have to meet margin calls after other assets fell in value) – prompting them to take profits on it as a recent winner. Geopolitical uncertainty should also keep driving demand for safe-haven assets like this. 

On a similar note, this is a good time to look at how traditional defensive funds, from Ruffer Investment Company  RICA

 to BH Macro GBP Ord  BHMG

have fared, and how they are positioned. 

A reset for valuations 

Last year was a bit of an everything rally, with equities and gold enjoying huge gains. But those gains do leave plenty of room for a fall, meaning some of your favourite markets, funds and shares have seen a big pullback. 

We already have a few examples. South Korea’s Kospi index, which delivered phenomenal gains in 2025 and has a notable presence in all manner of global funds (from AVI Global Trust Ord  AGT

 to Artemis Global Income I Inc), plummeted over the course of a week, although the narrative of corporate reform driving returns there is presumably unchanged.  

Shares in Europe, the emerging markets and Japan had a bad week or so, as did the FTSE 100, while some popular funds like Seraphim Space Investment Trust Ord  SSIT

 suffered surprisingly heavily since the onset of the conflict. Meanwhile, banking shares, a big driver of returns for many funds last year, were showing weakness this morning amid concerns of a knock for economic growth.

We recently noted that investors should avoid knee-jerk reactions when things seem uncertain. That can certainly apply here –although market shifts might also present a small buying opportunity on some of your favourite funds. 

I would like to re-position the SNOWBALL for long term growth and dividend growth. There is 40k of cash, which will have to invested otherwise the SNOWBALL will suffer a loss of income of around 3k.

IF the oil price stays high I would like to buy the following shares

MRCH

CTY

SEIT

LWDB

SUPR

IF the oil price stays high the yields on the above may improve and the SNOWBALL could invest at a blended yield of 7%.

The first xd dates, apart from LWDB which is un-important, are a few weeks away, so there is time for the market to fall and the new financial year is also still just under a month away.

I will start to re-invest by buying SEIT and finalise the position in TRIG, which will leave around 26k to re-invest.

Thursday 12 March

abrdn Diversified Income & Growth PLC ex-dividend date
BlackRock Throgmorton Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Gabelli Merchant Partners PLC ex-dividend date
Henderson Smaller Cos Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Real Estate Credit Investments Ltd ex-dividend date
Safestore Holdings PLC ex-dividend date
Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Ltd ex-dividend date
Tritax Big Box REIT PLC ex-dividend date
VPC Specialty Lending Investments PLC ex-dividend date

I’ve sold the SNOWBALL shares in TFIF for a loss £238.00.

As the new trading year starts next month I can afford to miss out on some income as I re-balance the SNOWBALL into hard assets, rather than loans, especially as April is a thin month for income from dividends.

The situation could change very quickly and then the SNOWBALL would have to be re-assessed.

£40,902 of cash for re-investment of which 4k is for re-investing in TRIG.

I’ve sold the SNOWBALL shares in DIG, for a loss of £347.00.

It was always a high risk trade buying late in a prolonged bull run, the intention is to improve my stable of shares (Cheltenham this week) by buying a dividend hero share as a replacement.

How CTY traded during the Covid market crash.

The worry was that companies would not be able to continue to pay their dividends at the same rate. You must remember that CTY has reserves for that scenario.

The yearly dividend before the crash was 19.0p and the yield 4.3%

The dividend after the crash 19.05p and the yield was 6.75%

The current dividend is 21.3p

To receive a yield of 5% the price would have to fall to around 400p.

The current price is 507p.