Which company tops the list?

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The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has revealed the 20 investment companies most viewed on its website www.theaic.co.uk in the first half of 2021. Traffic to the AIC website was 26% higher than the same period last year and March set a new record for visits to the site, with over 67,000 that month.

The top 5

Scottish Mortgage was the most viewed investment company in the first half of the year. The FTSE 100 constituent has returned 872% over the last ten years.1

City of London came second. The investment company managed by Job Curtis has increased its dividend for 54 years in a row. Completing the top five were Bankers, Murray International and F&C Investment Trust from the Global and Global Equity Income sectors.

Rising dividends

Investment companies with long track records of consistent dividend growth were popular. Eleven of the 20 most viewed companies are dividend hero investment companies, having increased their dividends for 20 or more years in a row. Three are in the next generation of dividend heroes, having raised their dividends for ten or more consecutive years but fewer than 20.

New entries

Four investment companies were new, not having appeared in the most viewed list for 2020. The new arrivals were: Monks (11th), Caledonia Investments (12th), RIT Capital Partners (17th) and JPMorgan Global Growth & Income (19th).

Annabel Brodie-Smith, Communications Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “After 2020 when dividends were decimated by the pandemic, it’s understandable that reliable dividend payers were popular. Investment companies have unique benefits in providing consistent and rising income and this would have been a huge reassurance last year. Some 85% of equity income-paying investment companies increased or maintained their dividends in 2020 despite UK dividends plunging 41%.

“Traffic to the AIC website has continued to increase and March saw a new record for monthly visits. The website has a wide variety of investment company information from performance and portfolios to fees and ESG. It’s good to see more investors using it to help inform their decisions.”

Top 20 most viewed investment companies on www.theaic.co.uk

Most viewed on AIC website

Investment company

AIC sector

Share price total return (%)

01/07/2020

-

30/06/2021

1 year

Share price total return (%)

01/07/2016

-

30/06/2021

5 years

Share price total return (%)

01/07/2011

-

30/06/2021

10 years

Yield (%) at 09/07/2021

1

Scottish Mortgage*

Global

62.8

405.6

871.8

0.3

2

City of London*

UK Equity Income

21.3

29.6

100.6

4.8

3

Bankers*

Global

17.3

114.5

251.9

1.8

4

Murray International#

Global Equity Income

25.0

50.3

86.1

4.6

5

F&C Investment Trust*

Global

25.8

101.3

224.3

1.4

6

Merchants Trust*

UK Equity Income

43.1

70.2

114.9

5.2

7

Alliance Trust*

Global

28.9

108.0

220.3

1.4

8

Edinburgh Worldwide

Global Smaller Companies

37.2

311.0

515.1

0.0

9

Brunner*

Global

30.1

108.4

199.1

2.0

10

Henderson Far East Income#

Asia Pacific Equity Income

9.2

46.3

91.0

7.3

11

Monks

Global

30.2

220.8

319.8

0.1

12

Caledonia Investments*

Flexible Investment

23.0

60.8

142.5

2.0

13

Murray Income Trust*

UK Equity Income

18.5

61.1

105.5

3.9

14

Scottish Investment Trust*

Global

9.3

48.7

102.4

3.0

15

Scottish American*

Global Equity Income

22.4

98.9

190.2

2.4

16

Law Debenture Corporation#

UK Equity Income

51.4

87.3

186.7

3.7

17

RIT Capital Partners

Flexible Investment

38.4

60.9

125.8

1.4

18

BlackRock World Mining Trust

Commodities & Natural Resources

68.3

191.5

34.3

3.3

19

JPMorgan Global Growth & Income

Global Equity Income

33.0

153.3

228.3

3.0

20

Allianz Technology Trust

Technology & Media

30.6

375.0

761.1

0.0

Source: AIC/Morningstar
* Denotes dividend hero investment company – 20 or more consecutive years of dividend growth.
# Denotes investment company in the next generation of dividend heroes – 10 or more years of consecutive dividend growth but less than 20.

 

-ENDS-

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Notes to editors

  1. Scottish Mortgage performance is % share price total return from 1 July 2011 to 30 June 2021. Source: AIC/Morningstar.
  2. The 41% fall in UK dividends is headline dividends which include special dividends. Source: Janus Henderson Global Dividend Index, February 2021.
  3. The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) was founded in 1932 to represent the interests of the investment trust industry – the oldest form of collective investment. Today, the AIC represents a broad range of closed-ended investment companies, incorporating investment trusts and other closed-ended investment companies and VCTs. The AIC’s members believe that the industry is best served if it is united and speaks with one voice. The AIC’s mission statement is to help members add value for shareholders over the longer term. The AIC has 361 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £249 billion.
  4. Disclaimer: The information contained in this press release does not constitute investment advice or personal recommendation and it is not an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity. You should seek independent financial and, if appropriate, legal advice as to the suitability of any investment decision. Past performance is not a guide to future performance. The value of investment company shares, and the income from them, can fall as well as rise. You may not get back the full amount invested and, in some cases, nothing at all.
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