The Russian invasion of Ukraine has rocked the global economy, and the market is currently experiencing higher levels of volatility which will lead investors to seek out ‘safer’ investments.
The Liontrust Global Dividend might be a one such fund to consider if you’re looking for a fund with a respectable yield and protection from the present geopolitical market volatility.
The £350 million fund states that its objective is to generate income with the potential for growth over five years or more.
Liontrust Global Dividend yields 2.21% and has consistently stayed ahead of the IA Global Equity Income benchmark since January 2019.
The fund has delivered 62.1% for investments over the past five years, compared to the 35.2% level for the benchmark.
Liontrust Global Dividend has the majority of its holdings in US, Chinese and UK equities at 63.7%, 10.2% and 7.3%, respectively.
The remainder of Liontrust Global Dividend’s portfolio is compiled from 5.3% Canadian, 5.2% French, 4% New Zealand, 2% Spanish and 1.4% Swedish equities, with 0.2% holdings in money market and Russian equities.
The fund is mostly shielded from the current geopolitical volatility, although the Chinese holdings may be a concern.
However, with Chinese stocks rebounding on the Hang Seng after the promise of stimulus by the Chinese government, it may provide investors with a balanced opportunity for capital appreciation.
The fund boasts shares in a wide selection of high-performing companies, such as Roper Technologies, accounting for 3.7% for the portfolio, Constellation Software at 3.6% and UnitedHealth Group Incorporated at 3.6% of the portfolio.
Roper has increased its annual dividend payments year-on-year consistently for the past 28 years as of 2020, with its last reported payout hitting 56c per share.
Constellation Software announced a $1 dividend per share in 2021 and UnitedHealth Group paid $5.3 billion to shareholders in 2021, representing a 15% annual increase.
A high level of diversification and holdings in high-performing companies with consistent dividend returns makes Liontrust Global Dividend a reasonably safe bet in a highly volatile market.
