Fund of the week: A solid bet for income-seekers

With income hard to come by, many investors are looking to global income funds for decent dividends. One in particular should be on their shopping list.

Of the 26 unit trusts investing globally for income, "none has done better over the past year than Artemis Global Income", says Jeff Prestridge in The Mail on Sunday. The fund, worth £110m, generated a 25% return over 12 months. It is a relatively new unit trust and has delivered a return of 51% since its launch in 2010.

Unlike some of his peers, the fund's manager, Jacob de Tusch-Lec, enjoys a "full global remit" and invests in 80 companies across 20 countries, says Prestridge. Financial adviser Brian Dennehy notes that it was also one of thefew equity income funds to increase its payout last year.

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However, success in 2012 was boosted by a "risk rally" in cyclical stocks, particularly in the European periphery, says FTAdviser.com, and the fund still has a large European exposure.

Tusch-Lec fears he may struggle to deliver the same return this year as the markets have "rallied too far" while the underlying economies are still in poor shape. He has sold off stocks that have peaked, such as Italian toll-road operator Atlantia and French construction firm Bouygues.

Meanwhile, Tusch-Lec has been adding to holdings in Asian real-estate investment trusts (Reits), such as Mapletree Logistics, which may benefit from low interest rates when inflation rises. He is also bullish on the US housing market, which he believes shows signs of recovery. Overall, this is still a solid fund for income-seekers.

Contact: 0800-092 2051.

Artemis Global Income Fund top ten holdings