JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (JGGI ) has lifted its annual dividend target by 23.6% to 22.8p per share after fund managers Timothy Woodhouse, Helge Skibeli and James Cook delivered another year of ‘outstanding returns’.  

Chair Tristan Hillgarth said that since taking up the ‘enhanced policy’ of paying out 4% of net asset value (NAV) each year in 2016, the £2.7bn trust’s shareholders had seen a 613% dividend increase, with 2024 the ninth consecutive year in which the payout had grown.

‘This growth is a function of the outstanding returns our portfolio managers have generated over this period, assisted by the fact they are unconstrained by the requirement to achieve a certain level of income,’ he said. ‘This allows them to select the “best” stocks rather than those that fit a specific income profile.’

The 4%-yielder will pay four dividends of 5.7p this financial year, the first in October.

The firm’s flagship investment trust has been one of the top performers in the global equities sector this year, with strong shareholder returns driving demand to maintain a premium rating and allow the board to issue shares on several occasions.

NAV jumped 28% over the 12 months to 30 June, beating the MSCI All Country World index benchmark’s 21%, according to Morningstar data, driven by large weightings to hardware technology stocks, including Microsoft, Amazon and Nvidia, as well as income stocks such as US oil company Exxon Mobil, which is a top 10 position.

Over the period, shareholder returns totalled 29% and traded at an average 1.2% premium.

Since adopting the enhanced dividend policy in 2016, the NAV has returned 283%, roaring ahead of the benchmark’s 161%. It currently leads the small AIC Global Equity Income sector over one, five and 10 years, with a 317% total return in the past decade.

The trust has swelled its assets from £723m more than three years ago following mergers with Scottish Investment Trust, JP Morgan Elect and, most recently, JPMorgan Mult-Asset Growth & Income (MATE). It is also believed to have pitched itself as a merger candidate for Witan (WTAN ) but was beaten by its multi-manager rival Alliance Trust (ATST ).