UK Investor Magazine

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Nick Britton, Research Director at the AIC, to delve into the AIC’s Dividend Heroes; those investment trusts that have increased their dividends every year for 20 years or more.Get the full list of Dividend Heroes here.We explore the underlying asset classes the AIC’s dividend heroes invest in and why these asset classes are supportive of consistently growing dividends.Nick explains the structural advantages of investment trusts, which allow them to pay and even increase dividends even during periods when the underlying portfolio companies may pause or cut their dividends.We touch on a selection of Dividend Heroes and the characteristics they share, and how they differ in terms of dividend yields and dividend growth.In addition to the Dividend Heroes, the AIC track’s ‘next generation’ Dividend Heroes that have grown their dividend for more than 10 years but less than 20 years. We compare the underlying asset classes of the next generation Dividend Heroes and reflect on the evolution of investment trusts over the years.Find out more about Next Generation Dividend Heroes.

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Martin Connaghan, Co-Portfolio Manager of the Murray International Trust, for a deep dive into the trust and its approach to building a high-conviction global income portfolio.Find out more about the Murray International Trust here.We start by exploring the trust’s geographical weighting and why the Murray International Trust is underweight the United States.Martin provides insight into the trust’s stock selection process and how they blend bottom-up research with positioning for macro influences such as tariffs and AI.We discuss individual portfolio companies, including Broadcom and Taiwan Semiconductor and how the trust has been managing its positions in some of the portfolio’s largest holdings.Martin finishes off by outlining what excites him about the year ahead and what keeps him up at night.

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Gabriel Sacks, Manager of abrdn Asia Focus, for an insightful conversation around the trust and the Asian smaller companies universe. Find out more about abrdn Asia Focus here.We start by looking at the trust’s investment objective and strategy. abrdn Asia Focus aims to maximise the total return to shareholders over the long term from a portfolio made up of quality smaller companies in the economies of Asia, excluding Japan. Of notable interest to investors, we look at the parameters and attributes the managers use to gauge quality. Gabriel provides a fascinating overview of the factors driving the trust’s portfolio weighting geographically, paying particular attention to India and China.We explore key themes of tariffs and AI and how they play into the trust’s approach. Gabriel outlines several of his favourite portfolio holdings and the opportunity for Asian smaller companies in the year ahead. 

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to be joined by Unite Group CEO Joe Lister to delve into the FTSE 100 student accommodation specialist’s recent results and growth plans.We start by exploring the rental growth across Unite Group’s portfolio of student accommodation and the factors influencing demand.Joe explains a shift in Labour’s tone around international students, who make up around 30% of the students that rent Unite’s properties.We look at the company’s committed pipeline of £1.2bn of new properties, drilling down into the specific cities Unite has earmarked for expansion and the features and amenities Unite is providing its students.Unite Group’s dividend rose 5% over the past year; Joe outlines the group’s dividend policy and factors the could drive future dividend growth.Joe finishes off by sharing the three things that excite him the most about the year ahead.

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Mike Maddison, CEO of NCC Group, to the podcast to explore the FTSE 250 cyber security specialist.We explore NCC Group’s growth opportunities as the world becomes increasingly digitalised, and new threats to organisations emerge.Mike explains NCC’s growth strategy and how the business is evolving to meet clients’ demands.The company has recently announced improving margins and a return to growth. Mike provides insight into the key drivers behind the numbers.NCC Group recently announced the extension of a contract with TikTok. We explore this partnership and touch on NCC’s wider customer base.

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Wylde Market CEO Nick Jefferson to the podcast to discuss the company’s crowdfunding campaign and its growth opportunities. Find out more about Wylde Market here.Wylde Market operates as an online farmers’ market facilitating direct transactions between consumers and producers.The business was born out of Nick’s frustrations with supermarkets’ dominance of the UK grocery market and their treatment of food producers. Customers can purchase from multiple vendors across the Wylde Market, receiving their selections in a single sustainable package through nationwide delivery.The business model lends itself to rapid scaling in a growing market as it doesn’t maintain inventory or delivery infrastructure. Wylde Market serves as an intermediary platform connecting consumers seeking diverse, sustainable food options with producers looking to expand their customer base.The company generates revenue by charging a 33% commission on each transaction and is led by an experienced management team with backgrounds in brand development and retail.

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Daniel Kos, CFO of PPHE Hotel Group, to discuss the group’s recent results and future growth plans.PPHE Hotel Group is an FTSE 250 constituent with a market cap of £545m and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The company operates hotels under brands including Park Plaza, Art’otel, and Radisson Red.Daniel outlined their diversified portfolio, highlighting revenue streams across 51 European hotels with particular growth in key metropolitan markets. We discuss recent financial performance and the key drivers of growth of the past year.The discussion highlighted their £300 million development pipeline, with Daniel emphasising how new openings feature enhanced guest experiences that distinguish them from the competition.When questioned about future growth beyond current projects, Daniel explained their opportunistic approach and several cities they had on their watchlist.Daniel outlines PPHE’s progressive dividend policy, which saw a 5% increase to 38p in 2024.We finish by discussing the biggest opportunities and risks for the year ahead.

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Rathbones Investment Management’s Co-Chief Investment Officer, Edward Smith, to the podcast.This episode focuses on Rathbones’ 2025 Outlook and explores the AI trade, DeepSeek’s emergence, Trump tariffs, UK equity valuations, European growth, and China.Explore Rathbones’ 2025 Outlook here.Amidst concerns over Trump’s tariffs, Edward identifies potential opportunities for investors prepared to look beyond the gloom. We examine the US AI rally and explore whether DeepSeek’s emergence threatens to derail the entire global equity market. Edward offers a fascinating insight into the key metrics his team uses to assess the value of AI stocks and technology shares and what recent analysis suggests. When discussing US equity concentration, we consider whether the Magnificent Seven’s market dominance will persist and highlight sectors that could broaden the US equity rally. We compare and contrast the sluggish growth in Europe with the UK’s economic landscape, outlining key differences and assessing relative investment attractiveness between the two markets.The conversation examines China’s evolving role in global growth, questioning whether it still serves as the primary growth engine it once was. Edward identifies alternative geographies he believes are positioned to fill any potential gap left by China.To conclude, Edward offers insights into which markets present the best relative value in 2025 and where they anticipate the strongest growth potential.

The UK Investor Magazine was thrilled to welcome Michael Field, Chief Equity Market Strategist EMEA at Morningstar, back to the podcast to explore the German election and the potential impact on equities.We start by looking at the major influences on the German elections, including immigration and cost of living, and the consensus regarding possible results. Michael outlines investor positioning going into the election and what the main policies investors should be aware of.We explore the sectors that could benefit most, and Michael highlights individual stocks his team have picked out as possible beneficiaries of the election.Elections can dramatically impact equities, and we look at possible market reactions and how the base case result impacts German elections in the immediate and longer-term reaction. To finish off, we explore the alternative scenario in the case Merz’s CDU is not the biggest party and what the fallout could be.