Murray Income Trust (MUT) invests in high-quality, mainly UK-listed stocks. It has achieved both its dividend and capital growth objectives over the long term. The trust boasts 50 years of continually rising dividends. It paid a dividend of 37.5p per share in FY23 (ended 30 June 2023 (FY22: 36.0p)), and the board has indicated the dividend will rise to at least 38.0p in FY24. This represents a prospective yield of 4.5%. Late last year the company decided to take action to allow shareholders to access dividend income more quickly and more evenly throughout the year, by smoothing quarterly dividend payments. MUT has also delivered absolute gains and outperformance of the market and most of its peers over the longer term, returning an annual average of 6.1% in NAV terms over the 10 years ended 31 March 2024, versus an average market gain of 5.8% pa. The trust’s managers view UK equities as very attractively priced at current levels and expect the portfolio’s quality holdings to outperform as and when UK stocks return to favour with investors.
