The Merchants Trust (MRCH) is a very well-established trust investing in UK equities, primarily in higher-yielding, large-cap companies, which aims to produce high income and long-term growth in capital and income. While recent months have been a difficult period for investing in this area, the manager sees good value in the portfolio across a range of themes. MRCH ranks highly in the AIC UK Equity Income sector in terms of dividend yield (c 6.0% vs 4.5% sector average) and the annual dividend has increased in each of the last 34 years, providing investors with an important source of total return in an environment of low earnings growth. The latest annual dividend was more than covered by income.
