Using the Lipper Leaders scoring system to analyse the best performing funds in the IA Global Equity Income sector.   We last looked at Global Equity Income exactly a year ago when we noted its advantages in a rising rate environment, especially when compared to “conventional” global equities. And, it must be said, compared to UK income payers, which we covered last month. Then we noted that if we were in a period where base rates were due to remain higher than over the previous two decades, then dividend paying stocks were more likely to outperform. Given that UK investors

Using the Lipper Leaders scoring system to analyse the best-performing funds in the IA UK Equity Income sector. Dividends are important again, even if investors have yet to be convinced of the importance of the UK equity market as a source for this, despite it paying a higher dividend as a percentage than other stock markets. That’s perhaps understandable, as Global Equity Income has delivered a greater total return over one, three, five, 10, and even 20 years when compared to its domestic peer, even with a lower dividend. Some £2.6bn has been withdrawn from the UK Equity Income sector

Equity income, as your friendly neighbourhood asset manager has no doubt been telling you, is back. But “back” in this instance may not mean back geographically. Rather than returning as UK equity income—a pillar of UK investors’ portfolios for many years—global funds are moving to the fore.   Chart 1: IA UK versus Global Equity Income Fund Flows, 2003 to 2022 (GBPbn) Source: Refinitiv Lipper Note: the above chart covers active, merged, and liquidated funds. It does not include suspended and withdrawn funds, the inclusion of which would amplify both inflows and outflows late last decade.     UK equity

Using the Lipper Leaders scoring system to analyse the best performing funds in the IA Global Equity Income sector.   Equity income, lagging and unloved for so long, seems well positioned for a comeback. There are signs that this may be turning the corner, as consistently negative flows to the UK Equity Income sector have reversed over the three months to the end of July, with these funds taking £493m. Much of the case for equity income rests on how present rather than future cash flows are valued by markets, depending on base rates. From the start of the twenty-first

After years in the doldrums, could equity income be making a return to favour? Indications on the global front suggest that it might. April was something of an unusual month, in that both the Equity Global Income and Equity UK Income Lipper global classifications took net money from UK investors, rather than saw redemptions. Netting £657m, it was the first time that Equity Global Income (or any other equity income classification) had appeared in the monthly top 10 money takers since we began publishing the UK fund flow report in November 2020—indeed, a lot longer than that when we run

Once upon a time, UK equity income funds were a—often the—cornerstone of a domestic investor’s portfolio. But times and fashions change. UK equity funds—and equity income in particular—have suffered years of outflows. In 2021 alone, UK investors dumped £8.2bn worth of equity income funds. With a couple of modest exceptions, the sector’s flows have been persistently negative since the first quarter of 2016. In part, this has been a performance issue, with the British market lagging developed market peers such as the US for years. Another, perhaps more persistent, factor has been investors rebalancing their portfolios away from a strong

U.K. Equity Income was a favourite category for investors, seldom out of the three-top Investment Association sectors. It was solid, dependable, not too racy—the family estate of the equity world. It was something that Dudley Moore’s honest ad man in the 1990 film Crazy People would have described as ‘boxy but good’. Earlier in September, we took a look at how the various U.K. fund sectors had fared over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. U.K. Equity Income has seen notable outflows, which is perhaps counterintuitive when you consider its reputation as a defensive equity play. Given this, and the

The Investment Association (IA) UK Equity Income sector is one of the most popular with Lipper estimates of around £8.5 billion in assets (as of December 2019). It has long been a stalwart for UK equity investors, especially retirees willing to take on some risk to extend their retirement pot, but with the assurance of regular dividends. The recent Woodford fund suspension has cast a spotlight upon equity funds generally, but also income funds and the way that they invest in order to juggle growth and income outcomes. Equity income managers need to juggle growth with income Many investors will