Sharesify’s countdown of the most-viewed trusts of 2025 on the website of The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) concludes with the big reveal.
Leapfrogging JPMorgan Global & Growth & Income (JGGI) into the number one spot was City of London (CTY), the UK Equity Income sector’s biggest trust.
Large and liquid, with more than £2.9 billion of total assets, City of London garnered the most views during a year in which it delivered a near-30% share price total return.
The fund is popular with investors for its record-setting annual dividend increases as well as the diversification it provides across almost 80 holdings.
City of London trades at a 1.7% premium to NAV (net asset value).
| Share price: 560p | Premium: 1.7% |
| NAV/share: 550.6p | Yield: 3.8% |
Dividend Hero par excellence
Managed by the experienced Job Curtis alongside deputy David Smith, City of London invests in UK equities. It is an AIC dividend hero, having increased its dividend for the last 59 years.
That is the longest track record of any investment trust. Offering an attractive 3.8% yield, the trust has increased the annual dividend consecutively since 1966, the year Bobby Moore lifted the World Cup.
Curtis and Smith target long-term income and capital growth. Their cautious investment strategy is well suited to extending City of London’s run of progressive dividend increases.
Top 10 holdings include banking giant HSBC (HSBA), oil and gas company Shell (SHEL), consumer goods goliath Unilever (ULVR) and defence contractor BAE Systems (BA.).
Roughly 60% of the revenues earned by portfolio companies are derived outside the UK, which results in useful diversification, even though the companies are predominantly listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Kepler Trust Intelligence says City of London has established itself as the leading trust in the UK Equity Income sector. This is ‘a result not only of its long history of dividend increases over the past 59 years, but also because it has delivered good total returns to shareholders too.’
It has ‘won investors’ confidence over time, issuing shares and growing organically so that it now dominates the UK Equity Income sector in terms of size, meaning good liquidity for investors and low charges.’
City of London’s ongoing charges of just 0.36% are the lowest in the sector.
Learn more about the trust here: https://www.janushenderson.com/en-gb/uk-investment-trusts/trust/the-city-of-london-investment-trust-plc/
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