Investment Trust Dividends
2025 is now a wrap, having achieved the fcast and the target.
Income of around £11,986. Now it’s time to turn to 2026.
Current expected quarter dividends £2,395.00
Total for 2026 £9,584.00.
While it’s possible that some dividends may be held or cut, some dividends will increase gently. To the total you have to add income as the dividends are re-invested, which should mean the Snowball should meet its fcast and its target.
HENDERSON FAR EAST INCOME LIMITED
Dividend
We declared four interim dividends in respect of the year ended 31 August 2025. These amounted to 24.90p per ordinary share, an increase of 1.2% over the prior year and maintaining our 18 year track record of increasing dividends.
The dividend has been substantially covered by portfolio revenues with a contribution of only £1.5m from reserves. A return to corporate dividend growth in the region gives us confidence that our long-term dividend growth opportunities remain very much intact for the future.
GREENCOAT UK WIND PLC
Initial response to the Government consultation on changes to inflation indexation in the Renewables Obligation scheme, market backdrop and capital allocation update
Renewables Obligation Consultation
On 31 October 2025, the UK Government published a consultation on potential changes to the inflation indexation in the Renewables Obligation (“RO“) scheme. The RO consultation has two options (noting that the consultation also invites suggestions for alternative options):
1. Switch the indexation on the RO buy-out price from the Retail Price Index (“RPI“) to the Consumer Price Index (“CPI“) from March 2026;
2. Freeze the current RO buy-out price until CPI catches up with RPI, in effect as if the RO buy-out price had always been inflated by CPI. Thereafter, CPI would apply. By the Government’s estimates, the catch up would occur around 2034/5 and so the RO buy-out price would remain frozen until then.
Based on the information available, initial calculations by the Investment Manager indicate that the impact of option 1 would reduce the latest reported NAV per share of the Company by 2.4p and option 2 by 10.6p.
The overarching policy aim is to reduce consumer bills given the costs of the RO are ultimately levied on consumers. By the Government’s own calculations, option 1 would save “approximately £3 per year for an average UK household” in 2030/31.
Whilst we draft our full response to the consultation, as well as engage directly with Government and peers, the Board and Investment Manager felt it helpful to set out some of the arguments we will make on behalf of investors and consumers.
Investors have made good faith investments into UK renewable energy projects based on stable, government-backed, inflation-linked support. Retrospective revision to the RO will inevitably erode investor confidence. The listed renewables market is a bellwether for investor sentiment and, in the five trading days that followed the Government’s announcement, the six largest UK listed renewable funds[1] saw their combined market cap fall by circa £400 million / 5%.
Investor confidence is also expressed through the cost of capital; we anticipate that investors will demand a higher return on new investments to compensate for the risk of further Government intervention. A small increase in the cost of capital would substantially increase the cost to consumers of new renewable energy projects and can reasonably be expected to outweigh the purported savings to consumers and so serve to increase, rather than decrease, bills.
The role of renewables in the UK electricity market
UK electrical demand is, conservatively, set to increase by 30% by 2035, driven by the electrification of transport, heat and the expansion of data centre capacity. This sits against a backdrop of scheduled plant retirements in the next decade, with a quarter of the UK’s nuclear fleet and 20% of the gas fleet set to retire.
Renewable energy projects, in particular onshore wind and ground-mounted solar, remain the cheapest and quickest to build forms of new generation in the UK. It is therefore vital to retain investor and consumer support for renewable energy projects.
The renewable energy sector must also show what it has done, and can do, to reduce bills for consumers.
Specifically, renewables can further reduce consumer bills in the near term. The Review of Electricity Market Arrangements consultation included discussion of a voluntary Contract for Difference, where existing generators could agree to a fixed electricity price below the prevailing wholesale price. Generators and investors would receive price certainty through a scheme that is voluntary, and consumers would enjoy a price lower than the current market level without volatility.
Depending on take up, we estimate that this could reduce consumer bills by £30 per annum for an average UK household – substantially more than the proposed changes to RO indexation. It could also be delivered relatively quickly. Investors could expect such an arrangement to be value neutral.
We will continue to engage with Government on this, and other ways, so that the sector and Government can work together to reduce bills whilst maintaining investor confidence.
Market Backdrop and Capital Allocation Update
Notwithstanding the impact of the RO Consultation on sentiment towards the listed renewables market, the Board and the Investment Manager are fully engaged and actively working to improve the Company’s overall attractiveness for shareholders.
The fees for the Investment Manager are already fully aligned with shareholders by reference to market capitalisation, which continues to be unmatched by peers, and disciplined capital allocation remains a key priority, in particular:
· UKW reiterates its 10.35p dividend target for 2025, representing an annual distribution to shareholders of approximately £225m;
· In the past 12 months, UKW has completed £222m of assets disposals at NAV with proceeds allocated to debt repayment and share buybacks;
· As at 10 November 2025, UKW had completed £198m of share buybacks from its announced £200m total buyback programme. Share buybacks completed to date have added 1.7p per share to NAV.
As the Company approaches completion of its £200m total buyback programme, it is working towards further asset disposals, with a range of potential buyers. Furthermore, underlying asset cashflows are expected to increase as we enter the seasonally higher winter cash generation period and UKW continues to benefit from structurally high forecast dividend cover.
The Board and Investment Manager remain confident in their ability to allocate excess capital across further buybacks and de-gearing whilst maintaining strategic flexibility for the Company. This puts the Company in a position of strength from which to assess future capital allocation priorities.
Lucinda Riches, Chairman of UKW, said:
“The Board and the Investment Manager recognise the complexity of the market and are committed to enhancing the Company’s long-term attractiveness for our shareholders.
We will continue to navigate this market backdrop through strong sector leadership and disciplined capital allocation. Our attractive proposition and track record since IPO positions us well and we are resolutely focused on doing the right thing for shareholders.”
NextEnergy Solar Fund Limited
(“NESF” or the “Company”)
Potential Impact of UK Renewable Obligation Certificate and Feed in Tariff Consultation
On 31 October 2025, the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (“DESNZ”) published a consultation regarding potential changes to the indexation of Renewable Obligation Certificates (“ROC”) and Feed-in Tariffs (“FiT”). The consultation presents two options that could potentially affect NextEnergy Solar Fund’s Net Asset Value (“NAV”).
What are the ROC and FiT schemes?
The UK’s ROC and FiT schemes were designed and introduced by the UK Government to encourage investment in renewable electricity generation by providing long-term certainty of stable inflation-linked revenues. The ROC scheme supports large-scale generators by awarding certificates for each megawatt-hour of renewable electricity produced. Energy suppliers are obliged to buy the ROCs, providing a guaranteed and predictable source of income for generators. The FiT scheme helps smaller-scale generators by paying for both the electricity they generate and any surplus they export to the grid based on inflation-linked pricing set by the UK Government. These schemes have been instrumental in making renewable energy projects in the UK financially viable. Both schemes have now closed to new applicants and been replaced by newer schemes like Contracts for Difference.
How does ROC and FiT indexation work?
Currently, both ROC and FiT schemes adjust payments for inflation using the Retail Price Index (“RPI”). Both are calculated using the previous year’s RPI and applied from 1 April each year. As previously announced (and already reflected in the Company’s NAV), RPI will be retired as a measure of inflation from 2030 and the ROC and FiT schemes will instead use the Consumer Price Index (“CPI”). As a measure of inflation, RPI has historically been higher than CPI.
What does the consultation propose?
DESNZ proposes to change the current approach to indexation of the ROC and FiT schemes. Two potential options are proposed, both summarised below.
What are the two proposed options in the consultation and what is the estimated impact on NESF, if either is adopted?
As of 30 June 2025, approximately 50% of the Company’s total revenues were derived from the UK’s ROC and FiT schemes.
Option 1 – An immediate switch to CPI indexation from RPI:
| • | What it means: The UK Government would change the inflation measure for ROC buy-out prices and FiT prices from RPI to CPI, effective from April 2026. |
| • | How it would work: Annual ROC and FiT prices would continue to be adjusted in line with inflation but would be linked to CPI instead of RPI. |
| • | Potential impact on NextEnergy Solar Fund if this option was adopted and applied to the 30 June 2025 NAV: |
| Estimated impact on NAV per Ordinary Share | Estimated % impact on NAV | |
| Option 1 | c. -2p | c. -2% |
Option 2 – An immediate, temporary freeze to the ROC and FiT prices:
| • | What it means: The UK Government would temporarily freeze the ROC buy-out prices and FiT prices, effective from April 2026. |
| • | How it would work: ROC buy-out prices and FiT prices would be fixed temporarily at their current rate. The UK Government would calculate ‘shadow’ price schedules for ROC buy-out prices and FiT prices as if CPI had been the relevant measure of inflation from 2002. No further inflation-linked increases would be applied to ROC buy-out prices or FiT prices until the relevant ‘shadow’ price reaches the current rate. From that point onwards, annual indexation would resume in line with CPI. |
| • | Potential impact on NextEnergy Solar Fund if this option was adopted and applied to the 30 June 2025 NAV: |
| Estimated impact on NAV per Ordinary Share | Estimated % impact on NAV | |
| Option 2 | c. -8p | c. -9% |
Investors should note that these are proposals around which the UK Government is currently consulting, and there is no certainty that either proposal will be implemented.
Investors should also note that the Company’s estimations currently consider only the direct impacts of the potential changes to the Company’s ROC and FiT revenues and are based on the limited information published by the UK Government in the consultation documentation. At this stage it is not possible for the estimations to take into account countervailing impacts of the investment uncertainty introduced by the proposals, such as increases in wholesale power prices caused by increases in the cost of financing the planned increase in UK renewable generation capacity.
Thursday 13 November
Baillie Gifford Japan Trust PLC ex-dividend date
BlackRock American Income Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Fidelity Asian Values PLC ex-dividend date
Fidelity Emerging Markets Ltd ex-dividend date
GCP Infrastructure Investments Ltd ex-dividend date
Greencoat UK Wind PLC ex-dividend date
ICG Enterprise Trust PLC ex-dividend date
International Public Partnerships Ltd ex-dividend date
Majedie Investments PLC ex-dividend date
Murray Income Trust PLC ex-dividend date
New Star Investment Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Octopus Renewables Infrastructure Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd ex-dividend date
PRS REIT PLC ex-dividend date
Schroder BSC Social Impact Trust PLC ex-dividend date
Target Healthcare REIT PLC ex-dividend date
I’m reluctant to post the portfolio for the Snowball as always it’s about buying shares to earn dividends to buy more shares that pay dividends. So although a share is currently in the portfolio, I might not buy today using the current information in the Market.
I’ve bought for the Snowball 13651 shares in TRIG.
They go xd Wednesday for 1.89p. By buying just before the xd date it may be possible to receive 5 dividends in just over a year, which would equate to a yield of around 12%. There would be a trading decision to take then but
27 June 2025
Disclosure – Non-Independent Marketing Communication
This is a non-independent marketing communication commissioned by The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG). The report has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on the dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research.
TRIG’s managers position for growth.
Overview
The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) is one of the leading trusts in the renewable energy infrastructure sector, having a large portfolio of institutional quality assets of significant size and scale, which is diversified geographically and by technology. The renewables sector, of which TRIG is a large constituent, has been facing a challenging backdrop for sentiment, with the significant rise in interest rates around the world the main culprit. Despite progress on sales of assets since 2022, with c. 10% of the portfolio sold at prices above or in line with NAV, TRIG has not yet been able to reduce its short-term borrowings as much as planned. Further transaction activity would also serve to usefully validate TRIG’s NAV.
As we discuss in the Gearing section, TRIG has announced that for the first time it is in the process of arranging longer-term corporate-level debt, which will mean it can pay back the majority of the short-term debt, as well as give it more flexibility to deploy capital in the future—either re-investing in the existing portfolio to boost returns, investing in the development pipeline, or further share buybacks. The board is carefully monitoring the respective attractions of each, focussed on making the trust’s capital work hard and generate value for shareholders.
As we discuss in the Portfolio section, drawing down this debt will also enable the team to bring forward investment to accelerate growth in capital and income. TRIG has a significant development pipeline that could take the proportion invested in battery assets up to c. 10% – 15% if fully built out. Battery assets complement wind and solar assets in that their revenues benefit from the price volatility of intermittent generation, and so as the portfolio mix changes, the portfolio can potentially receive higher returns on invested capital.
Analyst’s View
With scale and a strong balance sheet, TRIG is in a good position to continue to provide a resilient income stream. The company recently held a capital markets event, which demonstrated that the combined expertise of InfraRed and RES working together on the trust is a clear advantage, with the breadth and depth of resources working to maximise returns for shareholders clearly evident.
Drawing down structural company-level debt is a new step for TRIG. As well as enabling the repayment of some of the short-term borrowing facility, it will also enable the team to bring forward investment to accelerate growth in capital and income. This should result in higher revenues and higher NAV over the long term than would otherwise be the case. Buybacks clearly help address the discount and are accretive over the short term, but on their own, do not help the long-term trajectory of the company.
There are other benefits too. TRIG has a real opportunity to enhance diversification and earnings by building out a bigger portfolio of battery projects through its in-house developer, Fig Power. The first of TRIG’s battery development projects is due to energise this year. If further assets are successfully developed, they will increasingly complement the cashflows from TRIG’s wind and solar assets, meaning an enhanced revenue stream from the portfolio as a whole. These factors, and others that we discuss in the Portfolio section, mean that TRIG remains amongst the highest quality offerings in its sector, offering an attractive and resilient dividend yield of 8.5%, currently trading on a significant discount to NAV.
Net Asset Value update – Q2 2025
TRIG announces an estimated unaudited Net Asset Value as at 30 June 2025 of 108.2 pence per share, a decrease of 4.5 pence per share in the quarter principally due to a reduction in revenue forecasts (-4.4p).
Dividend cover for H1 2025 was 2.2x gross or 1.0x net after the repayment of £105m portfolio-level debt across the Group. A further c. £85m portfolio-level debt is scheduled to be repaid in H2 2025.
The Board reaffirms the dividend target for 2025 of 7.55p per share for FY 20251. Low generation as a result of particularly poor wind speeds in H1 can be expected to impact H2 cash flows meaning that covering the FY 2025 dividend may be tight.
01/08/25
LTAFs promise virgin territory for investors seeking exposure to private markets, but isn’t there something there already?
Pascal Dowling
Updated 21 Sep 2025
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.
To the people of the lush Northeastern Woodlands the news that America, in all its abundance and beauty, had been discovered by a group of bedraggled, hungry God-botherers – too weird even for Britain in 1620, when the head of state spent much of his time writing a detailed manual on how to deal with the witches he believed had delayed his wedding – must have been quite confusing.
Likewise for those of us with any experience of investment trusts, the news that we will soon be able to invest in illiquid assets via a fund structure which allows the manager to invest for the long-term, without worrying about the need to meet redemptions, and with a low minimum investment, seems somewhat like a non-story.
For the benefit of those at the back of the wigwam, Long Term Asset Funds (LTAFs) are a new form of open-ended fund, designed to provide access to illiquid, long-term assets like private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, and property – collectively termed as private markets – and equipped with structural mechanisms specifically designed to protect them from redemption pressures faced by OEICs and unit trusts.
In effect their defining feature is that they are semi-closed-ended funds. Withdrawals are limited to specific times and frequencies; you cannot simply sell up when it suits you. When you can sell, limits on the amount of money that can be redeemed, charges for redemption and even refusals are all at the discretion of the manager, who will make these decisions with the long-term success of the portfolio as their priority.
Last week Hargreaves Lansdown published an article outlining the benefits of the new LTAF structure to private investors, among whom are SIPP investors on the HL platform, who can now buy two LTAFs managed by Schroders Capital. Next year ISA investors will also be able to but LTAFs in a tax efficient manner.
Diversification (that old chestnut), the fact that they can be held in a tax efficient SIPP or (as of next year) ISA wrapper, and a ‘low minimum investment threshold’ were among the benefits described in the article.
The headliner, though, for those considering these new vehicles was ‘the chance to invest in private investments that were previously only available to large institutions. These could be sectors shaping our future, like renewables, fintech, biotech, and artificial intelligence’.
The new opportunities outlined here may seem like familiar ground for investors in Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) (among whom I am counted) and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG), both of which hold a Kepler Alternative Income Rating thanks to their success in delivering a steady or growing dividend without running down the NAV and both of which are invested in illiquid private assets in the renewables space.
Shareholders in International Biotechnology Trust (IBT), too, might be tempted to argue that they were here already. The trust has shifted its focus to smaller companies in the sector this year in anticipation of an M&A boom – and has the ability to invest up to 15% into unquoted assets via a tie up with SV Health Advisers, where COVID tsar Kate Bingham calls the shots.
IBT has delivered solid returns since inception in 1994, and significantly outperformed the biotech sector under the stewardship of Ailsa Craig and Marek Poszepczynski since they took the reins in 2021.
NB Private Equity Partners (NBPE) is explicitly and solely focused on private markets, offering exposure to a portfolio of 76 private companies, across a wide variety of sectors, via co-investments alongside 48 private equity sponsors, and even retail giant Scottish Mortgage (SMT) has shifted heavily toward unquoted stock in recent years. The Baillie Gifford flagship counts more than fifty private companies among its holdings including SpaceX – the single largest holding in the portfolio.
Via investment trusts ordinary investors have for a long time had access to a structure which allows them to invest in private markets which were ‘previously available only to large institutions’ – since 1868 in fact, when Foreign & Colonial was established “to give the investor of moderate means the same advantages as the large capitalists”.
What’s more, liquidity is better for investment trusts – I can sell my shares in NBPE instantly – and charges are, by and large, lower or at par than they are likely to be via an LTAF. I can also buy private markets assets at a discount, because investment trust shares may trade at a discount to NAV.
So why all the fuss?
There has, over the years, been much talk of the inevitable ‘death’ of investment trusts as an industry – outgunned by and unable to keep up with the more retail-friendly, modern competition.
With Saba still prowling the alleys around Threadneedle Street, the arrival of LTAFs has been added to the ledger as another potential existential threat for an investment trust industry ‘under seige ’. Newspapers like this kind of headline.
And, truly, there is scope for LTAFs to flourish. Kepler’s own Tom Trotter – a partner at the firm – is an expert on the new structure, having orchestrated a study of the sector this year. He says: “Momentum seems to be building with now 150+ELTIFs and 26 LTAFs approved and investable. More broadly, unregulated evergreen structures have been gaining real momentum, and there are now reportedly over 500 funds available, offering access to some of the largest and best-known private markets managers globally.
“Estimates suggest there is approximately $700bn now invested in these evergreen strategies. While a big number, it only represents about 5% of invested capital in private markets, highlighting the potential for this part of the market to grow.”
But perhaps the real growth opportunity for LTAFs is not in edging out retail investors from investment trust share registers, and the threat for investment trusts does not lie in losing ground there. Instead, it is a matter of horses for courses.
A key issue which has faced the investment trust sector in recent years is the problem of liquidity that they present for very large institutional owners. An individual wealth manager twenty years ago might run a portfolio for his rich client with twenty idiosyncratic stocks in it, each chosen by hand (I like to imagine before a boozy lunch at Sweetings then the early train home to West Sussex – but I digress). Today, it is far more likely that the wealth manager will be choosing from the same list of stocks as everybody else in his or her company, approved by a central research function, and then probably doing some mindfulness and a two hour ayurvedic spin class before crying themselves to sleep in a flatshare in Romford.
This means far more money is moving in the same direction at the same time. In that scenario there simply isn’t enough daily liquidity in the shares of many investment trusts for them to be practical targets for investors of this scale and so, for this type of investor, LTAFs may well be of more interest.
So, while the writing may not be on the wall for investment trusts, which remain a far more flexible, affordable and straightforward means to gain exposure to private markets for ordinary investors on small budgets, there is certainly scope for LTAFs to add value for some larger investors – and we will be watching developments closely.
UKW shares hit by ROC consultation, but fundamentals remain undimmed.
William Heathcoat Amory
Updated 07 Nov 2025
Disclosure – Non-Independent Marketing Communication
This is a non-independent marketing communication commissioned by Greencoat UK Wind (UKW). The report has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and is not subject to any prohibition on the dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has launched a consultation on proposed changes to the inflation indexation used in the Renewable Obligation (RO) and Feed-in Tariff (FiT) schemes. Some trusts have provided guidance on the potential impact on NAVs, but this has hit share prices across the renewables sector. Discounts to NAV have widened.
In summary the consultation suggests two options:
It is important to realise that this is only a consultation, and not necessarily an inevitable change. This is not the first time that a consultation on this has been initiated, with a previous consultation in 2023 focusing on a potential migration of ROCs to a fixed price certificate, which included consultation on ROC indexation. The net result of this previous consultation was that no amendments were made to indexation (or anything else).
It is fair to say that the UKW and the wider industry will be engaging in the consultation, and the UK government will be very aware of the potential impact of any changes on future investment in renewable energy development. With the results of the AR7 auction round due to be announced over the next months, we imagine the government will not want to dent the enthusiasm of developers, given this is a key step towards the UK’s net zero transition.
Whilst this recent news has added to the already challenging backdrop for Greencoat UK Wind (UKW), the share price move seems extreme, such that the worst outcomes would appear to be more than accounted for by the current share price discount to NAV. In fact, UKW’s shares now trade below the original IPO price more than twelve years ago, despite the experienced management proving the quality of the asset class and demonstrating how their conservative approach has delivered strong NAV total returns since inception. Backing up this conservative approach is the robust dividend cover, which has allowed UKW to continue to increase the level of the dividend in-line with, or ahead of, UK RPI every year since IPO.
If either proposal in the consultation were implemented, it would clearly reduce the NAV total returns that Greencoat UK Wind (UKW) would earn in the future, and would likely translate into a one-off hit to NAV. However, whilst UKW is clearly 100% exposed to the UK government subsidy regime (rather than other geographies), it has a mix of revenues streams across ROCs, other subsidy schemes (such as CfDs) and market power prices. It is only the indexation mechanism on the RO and not the value of the certificate itself that is up for debate within the consultation. The potential negative effects will also be mitigated by the relatively short remaining life of the ROCs in the portfolio (average remaining duration c. 7yrs). UKW also derives a significantly lower proportion of its revenues from the Renewables Obligation than solar peers, and so we would expect UKW to be significantly less affected than many in the listed peer group.
Fundamentally, UKW appears resilient. Certainly, if either of these proposed options is implemented, this does not help the headwinds the UKW currently faces. UKW’s gearing is slightly above the company’s preferred range. A lower NAV will mechanically increase gearing, and the uncertainty of these proposed changes will likely make further asset sales at NAV (the proceeds of which could be used to repay borrowings) harder to achieve in the short term.
However, UKW’s structurally high dividend cover means that it still has options to deploy surplus cashflows towards new investments, buybacks or reducing debt. We note that UKW continues to buy shares back, illustrating the confidence the board has in strength of the balance sheet. Currently, UKW offers an attractive dividend yield of 10%, given the shares trade on a discount to NAV of c. 30%. In our view, the sell-off on the announcement of the proposed changes to ROC tariffs are arguably overdone. This is not the first time ROCs have been consulted on, and the pullback is pricing in an overly negative scenario for a decision that is far from certain, and still subject to input from key stakeholders. Even then, UKW’s conservative approach means there are considerable levers to pull in order to mitigate a sizeable amount of their potential impact.
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