The Merchants Trust (MRCH) is a concentrated portfolio of mainly larger UK companies, with a focus on producing a high income along with capital and income growth. It uses the FTSE 100 index as a performance measure, although around one-third of portfolio holdings are outside the index. Stock selection is mainly bottom-up but manager Simon Gergel assigns holdings to broad themes, including mega-caps and cyclical recovery or turnaround situations. The trust has raised its ordinary dividend in each of the past 33 years. A move from a premium to a discount over the past six months could be viewed as a buying opportunity, particularly as MRCH has one of the highest yields in the UK Equity Income peer group, at c 5%.

13 Jul 2015
UK equity 'best ideas' with 5% dividend yield

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UK equity 'best ideas' with 5% dividend yield
Merchants Trust PLC (MRCH:LON) | 546 -5.5 (-0.2%) | Mkt Cap: 809.7m
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13 Jul 2015 - Author:
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The Merchants Trust (MRCH) is a concentrated portfolio of mainly larger UK companies, with a focus on producing a high income along with capital and income growth. It uses the FTSE 100 index as a performance measure, although around one-third of portfolio holdings are outside the index. Stock selection is mainly bottom-up but manager Simon Gergel assigns holdings to broad themes, including mega-caps and cyclical recovery or turnaround situations. The trust has raised its ordinary dividend in each of the past 33 years. A move from a premium to a discount over the past six months could be viewed as a buying opportunity, particularly as MRCH has one of the highest yields in the UK Equity Income peer group, at c 5%.