JP Morgan trust joins exclusive dividend heroes club

JP Morgan’s Claverhouse Investment Trust has increased its total dividend for the 50^th year in a row.

In an announcement to the stock exchange, the £462m trust declared a fourth quarter interim dividend of 10.5p per share, bringing the total pay out to shareholders to 33p per share for the year to 31 December 2022.

This comes despite a 5.08% hit to net asset value (NAV) for the year. In 2021, however, NAV grew 24.31%.

The trust seeks to invest in the long-term potential of UK large-cap stocks, while the board’s dividend policy is to increase pay outs at a rate close to or above inflation over a run of years.

The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) labels trusts with 20 or more years of consecutive shareholder pay out increases as ‘dividend heroes’. However, Claverhouse joins an exclusive club of just eight investment trusts with half a century of consecutive dividend increases.

City of London IT and Bankers Investment Trust top the list with 56 years of consecutive pay out rises.

Holding back revenues in good times

Simon Crinage, head of investment trusts at JP Morgan, said: “Together with the board, we are delighted to be celebrating JPMorgan Claverhouse Investment Trust’s 50th consecutive annual dividend increase.

“Alongside careful stock selection, Claverhouse shareholders have benefitted from its investment trust structure, which has allowed the company to hold back a proportion of revenues in good times, to increase the dividend in difficult periods. Claverhouse continues to benefit from strong levels of revenue reserves, which have been built up over a number of years.”

William Meadon, Claverhouse investment manager, added: “We know that our shareholders value consistent growth in their income, so we are delighted to have delivered Claverhouse’s 50th consecutive increased annual dividend.

“While the short-term outlook across markets remains challenging, income streams from dependable dividend payers should provide some welcome certainty for investors. Furthermore, the universe of companies currently paying healthy dividends is broad, including domestically focused and multinational companies, which gives an important layer of diversification to our investor portfolios.”

AIC dividend heroes

See also: ‘Magnificent seven’ trusts record 50 years of annual dividend hikes