Let’s pick a high yielding share from the list below to research, we will use brokers comments as a starting place.
AI
Short answer: REFI is not an obvious buy, but it is an unusually high‑yield, high‑risk niche REIT whose valuation now looks cheap only if you believe credit losses will stay contained and cannabis‑sector regulation will improve.
Below is the decision‑ready breakdown, grounded in the latest filings and market data you saw above. (Not financial advice — just analysis.)
🧩 What REFI actually is
Chicago Atlantic Real Estate Finance (REFI) is a commercial mortgage REIT that lends almost exclusively to cannabis operators who cannot access traditional bank financing. This niche gives REFI:
Very high loan yields (often 12–18%)
Very high credit risk
Regulatory uncertainty
Limited competition
📉 Current valuation & yield
Share price: $10.67
Dividend yield:17.6% (extremely high)
P/E:7.8× (cheap vs mortgage REIT peers)
High yield + low P/E usually means the market expects credit losses or dividend cuts.
📊 Latest financials (Q2 2026)
REFI’s Q2 numbers show stable but pressured performance:
Net income: $7.47m
EPS: $0.34 (down from prior quarters)
Dividend: $0.47 (again exceeding EPS)
Portfolio yield: still strong (fixed/floored loans)
Credit loss provision: small but rising
Key issue: REFI is not covering its dividend with earnings. That is the biggest red flag.
⚠️ Risks you must weigh
1. Dividend sustainability risk (HIGH)
They are paying out more than they earn. This is the classic precursor to:
dividend cut
share price drop
re‑rating of the stock
2. Sector credit risk (HIGH)
Cannabis operators are:
capital‑starved
often unprofitable
exposed to regulatory swings
prone to defaults
REFI’s filings show rising credit‑loss provisions.
3. Regulatory overhang (MEDIUM)
Federal reform could:
massively help borrowers (good)
compress loan yields (bad)
REFI itself says 2026 could be “one of the more important periods in the history of the company.” Translation: big regulatory uncertainty.
4. Leverage rising
Long‑term debt has climbed from ~$98m to ~$140m in 2026. Higher leverage + stressed borrowers = more risk.
⭐ Reasons someonemightbuy it
You want very high income and accept the risk of a dividend cut.
You believe cannabis regulation will improve.
You think credit losses will stay modest.
You like niche lenders with strong collateral discipline.
❌ Reasons someone would avoid it
Dividend not covered by earnings.
Borrower quality is fragile.
Rising credit provisions.
High leverage.
Sector is volatile and politically unpredictable.
Reliable dividends to date
Cannot be held in a UK ISA, so not a consideration for the SNOWBALL, especially as you may see your cash go up in smoke.
The above only for research not buy or sell advice. I have deleted the top ten yielding shares on a risk basis.
After due diligence, one or two could be bought as part of a pair trading strategy, where you split your capital between a high risk high yielder and a lower yield less risky Trust.
With high yielding shares you are most probably going to make a capital loss if you exclude the earned dividends.
Global income funds (whose top holdings we recently analysed) are one option, but so are portfolios with a more granular approach.
Here, we set out some of those names focused on a specific market that have made big recent payouts – and how the options available differ.
To give a rough sense of the dividends delivered, we have screened for the funds in a given region that would have paid out the most so far this year, had you invested a £10,000 lump sum in late December 2025.
This is just a snapshot of how different funds have fared, but does give us a sense of what’s on offer.
Asia and the emerging markets
The UK market is known for its impressive dividend yields, and it’s Asia and the emerging markets that have competed best on this front.
Plenty of funds offer chunky yields – and have also generated some stellar returns in the last year thanks to an artificial intelligence (AI)-led market rally.
If we look at those funds with higher payouts in 2026 we are immediately met with a familiar name.
stands out with a payout of almost £780 – and certainly has a fanbase thanks to its almost 10% share price dividend yield.
The trust’s shares tend to trade on a small premium to net asset value (NAV) and it’s consistently among the most popular investment trusts among ii customers (as judged by real-time buys).
Note: Dividend payout is YTD in 2026, based on £10,000 lump sum invested in late December 2025. Source: FE Analytics, 18/08/26. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
As we’ve written before, the trust is not without its failings.
It tends to lag its rivals in the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) Asia Pacific Equity Income sector pretty notably by total returns, meaning investors are sacrificing a good chunk of overall performance in the name of bigger dividends.
That figure came to around 34% for Aberdeen Asian Income, and to 34% for JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income (if at the end of July for the latter).
Note that different forms of income investing are on display here.
The JPMorgan trust uses an enhanced dividend policy, paying out a set proportion of NAV over a year and being less reliant on companies paying it dividends.
Meanwhile, both Schroder Asian Income Maximiser Z Inc (B52QVQ3) and Henderson Far East Income write covered call options, giving other investors the right to the gains on a stock above a certain price, for a fee.
That means they generate extra income but do sacrifice some capital gains in rising markets.
Note: Dividend payout is YTD in 2026, based on £10,000 lump sum invested in late December 2025. Source: FE Analytics, 18/08/26. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Some AI momentum can be seen in the composition of this fund, with semiconductor stock ASML Holding NV
Note: Dividend payout is YTD in 2026, based on £10,000 lump sum invested in late December 2025. Source: FE Analytics, 18/08/26. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
It also uses BlackRock’s “Systematic Active Equity” investment process, which in its own words “combines human insight with the power of big data, machine learning and AI”.
This process involves analysing vast amounts of data and seeking to exploit market inefficiencies and create a diversified portfolio.
In practice, the fund doesn’t stray too far from its value-oriented benchmark and also has plenty of Magnificent Seven exposure.
Note, again, that the likes of income ETFs and “maximiser” funds do generate some income, if much less.
Japan
The Japanese market has continued to generate great returns this year but dividend generation still remains relatively modest, at least from the funds available to UK investors.
Note: Dividend payout is YTD in 2026, based on £10,000 lump sum invested in late December 2025. Source: FE Analytics, 18/08/26. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
Dividend income is on offer from some troubled names, writes Dave Baxter.
27th August 2026
by Dave Baxter from interactive investor
Once a fashionable part of the investment universe, so-called alternative assets have run into all manner of problems in recent years.
Higher interest rates, combined with issues specific to the investment trust space, have dealt a bad hand to funds focused on areas such as renewable energy infrastructure, property and (to some extent) private equity.
And with plenty of disruption and consolidation still occurring here, bargain hunting for alternatives trusts has become a risky business.
And yet these assets stand out most notably on the income front.
At a time when gains in equity markets have pushed down the dividend yields available, alternatives still offer some juicy numbers.
Many come with yields in either the double digits or the high single digits.
Even if overall performance is poor, some investors would argue that they are getting “paid to wait” through such chunky payouts.
There’s plenty going on with those names that do yield a lot, and many such funds are already in the process of winding up. Here, we look at some of the high yielders that are still active and assess their prospects.
Be wary of wind-downs
Investors can very easily look at investment trust share price dividend yields, for example using the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) website.
But it’s good to remember that high yields can be a sign of trouble, and that some of the funds standing out here are either in some sort of trouble, or looking to wind down.
A glance at some of the names with the highest yields confirms this.
which comes with a 14.5% yield but has struggled on the performance front and is now facing calls to wind down from the US activist Saba Capital, as one example.
The fund has not dodged the issues blighting its sector, with a recent trading statement pointing to a 4.4% drop in portfolio net asset value (NAV) for the first half of 2026, thanks to the effect of rising bond yields and falling near-term power prices.
Iain Scouller, an analyst at Canaccord Genuity, described the update as “disappointing”.
“There is no update on any portfolio sales, and we suspect shareholders would like to see a Bluefield Solar style take-private transaction,” he said.
“However, we think that is easier said than done and if an offer materialised for Foresight Solar, it would probably be at a much higher discount than the 9% for Bluefield Solar Income Fund BSIF given Foresight’s poorly performing non-UK assets.”
Source: AIC, 26 August 2026. Past performance is not a guide to future performance.
The trust has had some good fortune in recent times: its NAV was slightly up over the first half of this year and its level of dividend cover has improved. That’s good news after a 2025 in which low wind speeds hurt performance.
Given their reliance on one technology or energy source, the specialist renewables funds can be pretty volatile.
But the more diversified names also offer good yields even if they face a similar challenge, to sell assets at a decent price and reduce debt levels.
which launched something of a turnaround plan in late 2025 aimed at selling assets, buying back shares and reducing debt, as well as investing in higher-returning assets.
The fund, which has around half its portfolio in solar assets and most of the balance in onshore and offshore wind, has seen its NAV fall in the second quarter of 2026 and has continued to see its shares struggle.
and even Renewables Infrastructure Grp TRIG shares in the last year, in part thanks to investors paying more attention to the sector amid conflict in the Middle East.
But investors should pay close attention to how the funds are invested and how, for example, their plans to offload assets are progressing. TRIG has argued that it is doing well on that front, as it seeks to win over investors in the wake of last year’s botched attempt to merge with HICL Infrastructure PLC Ord HICL
On the portfolio composition note, Foresight Environmental Infrastructure stands out for being especially well diversified.
While some of the generalist funds tend to mainly invest in solar and wind, this fund has quite a mixed portfolio. Wind accounts for 23% and solar makes up 11%, but the fund also focuses on anaerobic digestion, biomass, energy from waste and hydro power.
Beyond renewables
Those tired of the renewables sector can bag some big yields elsewhere, from sectors with very different prospects.
First, it’s worth noting that debt funds continue to offer some big yields, with the popular TwentyFour Income Ord TFIF
both in the table. These funds have, unusually enough, managed to combine a high yield with strong total returns in recent years.
But investors are certainly paying a price for this, with shares in both trading at a premium to NAV.
The TwentyFour Income portfolio offers exposure to various forms of debt, from collateralised loan obligations to asset-backed securities and residential mortgage-backed securities. The fund also diversifies by the maturity, credit quality, and geography of the debt it holds.
There is an appeal to such a sector, and it should offer diversification to equities and other assets. But investors may well worry about the idiosyncratic risks that could come with such esoteric assets.
Like some of its rivals, it does pay out a dividend, although this can be a fraught model because this can sometimes involve paying from capital, and from an illiquid asset class.
The fund has also had a tough few years, and an update published today showed that its NAV had fallen by 8.6% on a total return basis in the first half of this year. However, the board argued that realisation activity, or the level of asset sales, “remained robust”, accounting for some 14% of net assets during this period.
As is often the case with seeking out the highest yields, investors will encounter some troubled names. But these might present a buying opportunity for the brave, and patient, individual.
The SNOWBALL has a comparator share VWRP, where 100k was nominally invested on the same day as the SNOWBALL started. The comparison being what you would receive if instead of having your own Snowball, you decided to retire using the 4% rule or to buy an annuity.
Current value of VWRP £171,792, not too shabby.
An annuity is a huge gamble with your retirement plans as there is no way of knowing what interest rates will be when you retire.
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.
Current annuity on £171,792 > £12,025 but you have to surrender all your capital, so not an option for the blog.
Using the 4% rule a ‘pension’ of £6,871.00.
The SNOWBALL will earn income of 12% this year on seed capital > 12k.
If we now jump forward ten years, the SNOWBALL will have income of 24% on seed capital, hopefully in less than ten years.
VWRP would need an equivalent value of £600k. GL with that, if that’s your plan.
Fortunately for you and me, the financial markets aren’t 100% efficient. And some corners are even less mature and less combed through than others.
My name is Brett Owens and I’m an unabashed dividend investor.
These corners provide us contrarians with stable income opportunities that are both safe and lucrative.
There are anomalies in high yield. In an efficient market, you wouldn’t expect funds that pay big dividends today to also put up solid price gains, too.
We’re taught that it’s an either/or relationship between yield and upside – we can either collect dividends today or enjoy upside tomorrow, but not both.
But that’s simply not true in real life. Otherwise, why would these monthly payers put up serious annualized returns in the last 10 years while boasting outsized dividend yields?
For example, take a look at these 5 incredible funds that pay monthly and soar:
This is the key to a true “Monthly Payer Portfolio” – banking enough yields to live on while steadily growing your capital. It’s literally the difference between dying broke and never running out of money!
But I’m NOT suggesting you run out and buy these funds.
Some have been on my watchlist and in our premium portfolios over the years, but I mention them only as examples of the potential ahead.
I’ve crunched the numbers after the changes to the SNOWBALL and the first fcast for 2027 is £11,524.
All subject to change.
The next dividend for NESF is for the favourable summer months and after the dividend is earned the share may have to be sold, although there may be news before then as they are winding down/up.
To be added to the dividend fcast will be dividends from the cash re-invested, for the remainder of this year around 4k which should equate to income to be added to the total for next year of another £300.
If the SNOWBALL earns 12k next year, as this is re-invested there will be some more income from the cash re-invested.
The target is the total for the year 2031. As always expect the unexpected.
I’ve bought for the SNOWBALL 10256 shares in PHP for 10k.
Current yield 7.3%. The plan is to collect the next dividend and then re-invest in a higher yielder to achieve next year’s target.
Next xd date early October.
Barclays raises Primary Health Properties target to 115 (110) pence – ‘Overweight’
When the American market opens, I’m going to add 1k to PMT.
Very high risk but the SNOWBALL is ‘risk on mode’ until it achieves repeatable earnings of 1k a month/3k a quarter. When that target is achieved the risk for the SNOWBALL will be lowered. To achieve 12k of income the SNOWBALL needs to earn more dividends to buy more shares to earn more dividends.
I’ve sold the SNOWBALL’s AIRE shares for a loss of £9.00. The bid from AEW could still happen but it’s not certain and also a lot of water has to pass under a lot of bridges, even if it happens.
Whilst making a capital gain can mean buying more shares that pay a dividend, having banked the dividend from AIRE, it’s currently ‘dead’ money.
On 16 July 2026, the Company announced that it was considering a possible all-share offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Alternative Income REIT plc (“AIRE”) (the “Possible Offer”). Following Glenstone’s public statement that it would not support an offer from AEWU and subsequent attempts to engage with Glenstone to discuss the merits of AEWU’s proposals, notwithstanding the indicated support from the board of AIRE, AEWU confirms that it does not intend to make a firm offer for AIRE.
