Those who want to look past the UK have plenty of options.
19th August 2026
by Dave Baxter from interactive investor
The humble UK equity income fund has done well by investors lately, with some decent returns made and some good payouts still available.
But diversification is still a virtue, and other equity regions can also offer a decent level of income.
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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).
| Fund | Dividend payout (£) | One-year return (%) | Five-year return (%) |
| Henderson Far East Income Ord HFEL | 781.7 | 23.3 | 41.4 |
| Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited AAIF0. | 758.71 | 39.6 | 80.7 |
| JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income Ord JAGI | 541.76 | 52.4 | 61.5 |
| Schroder Asian Income Maximiser Z Inc (B52QVQ3) | 492.36 | 33.7 | 66.8 |
| Guinness Asian Equity Income Y GBP Dist (BDHSRF1) | 396.35 | 11.4 | 46.7 |
| BlackRock Frontiers Ord BRFI | 379.23 | 17.3 | 96.5 |
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.
Having said that, many funds in the region are currently beholden to the fortunes of names like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ADR
that have a huge presence in the market.
Henderson Far East Income’s manager has argued that he is taking a more defensive approach and is less reliant on the AI trade for returns.
This argument was supported by the fund’s performance in a recent sell-off for such stocks.
As the table shows, rivals Aberdeen Asian Income Fund Limited
and JPMorgan Asia Growth & Income Ord
have had a much stronger showing in the last 12 months.
But that has likely come from greater exposure to the three stocks dominating the market, and potentially most exposed to a pullback.
Henderson Far East Income had 14.7% of its portfolio invested in TSMC, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd DR
and SK hynix Inc ADR
SKHY at the end of June.
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.
For those who are interested, we also include BlackRock Frontiers Ord
which invests in riskier “frontier” markets but has generated some good returns in recent years.
It is paying out some income, which might sweeten the deal for investors.
The markets it has the most money invested in are the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.
Europe
Another region with some decent dividends is Europe.
Here, one of JPMorgan’s trusts stands out again thanks to its enhanced dividend policy, while also having generated some good total returns.
| Fund | Dividend payout (£) | One-year return (%) | Five-year return (%) |
| JPMorgan European Growth & Income Ord JEGI | 618.57 | 25.7 | 102.8 |
| UBS MSCI EMU Value UCITS ETF EUR dis GBP UB | 407.27 | 23.9 | 101.2 |
| Montanaro European Income £ Inc (B3Q8KY2) | 347.38 | 4.1 | 12.2 |
| iShares Euro Dividend ETF EUR Dist GBP IDVY | 318.83 | 21.7 | 64.7 |
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
accounting for 7.2% of the portfolio.
Other position sizes are much smaller and some of the top names will be familiar to investors, from Nestle SA
to Siemens AG
The fund has a good spread of regional exposures, with its top allocation (to Germany) accounting for a relatively low 18% of the fund.
Not everyone will be a fan of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a source of a yield but two names do make the cut here.
There’s the UBS MSCI EMU Value UCITS ETF EUR dis GBP
which might owe its decent payout to a 45% allocation to financials stocks, plus the iShares Euro Dividend ETF EUR Dist GBP
The latter has an even higher allocation to the financials sector, at 54% of the portfolio.
American dreams
The US is not an obvious hunting ground for income investors but one fund has done pretty well on this front.
The BlackRock American Income Trust Ord
trust has paid out more than £500 so far this year based on the £10,000 lump sum mentioned earlier.
This is a value fund, benchmarked against the Russell 1000 Value index, and seeks to provide diversification against the Magnificent Seven stocks.
| Fund | Dividend payout (£) | One-year return (%) | Five-year return (%) |
| BlackRock American Income Trust Ord BRAI | 502.19 | 47.8 | 88.2 |
| First Trust US Equity Income ETF A GBP UINC | 240.64 | 27 | 68.2 |
| Schroder US Eq Inc Mxmsr Z Inc £ (BYP24Z1) | 229.65 | 17.7 | 67.5 |
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.
accounts for 6% of the fund, with Apple Inc
on 5% and Microsoft Corp MSFT0.56% on 3.8%.
Other top holdings include Berkshire Hathaway Inc Class B
JPM and Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM).
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.
Here we see a couple of very different names make the table. There’s Schroder Japan Trust Ord
, which nowadays uses an enhanced dividend policy, and Nippon Active Value Ord
| Fund | Dividend payout (£) | One-year return (%) | Five-year return (%) |
| Schroder Japan | 292.67 | 39.9 | 119.9 |
| Nippon Active Value | 269.27 | 4.5 | 107.7 |
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.
The latter, much likes its rival AVI Japan Opportunity Ord
buys into companies further down the market cap spectrum and agitates for changes that should boost returns.
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