Fund of the week: Top pick for global income-seekers

Steady sources of investment income are getting harder to find. So it's easy to see the attraction of Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust's "mouthwatering combination of income and capital growth for its 100,000-strong army of private investors", says Jeff Prestridge in The Mail on Sunday.

Founded in 1868, the oldest investment trust in existence boasts an impressive dividend track record, having raised payments every year for the past 42 years. This year, true to form, manager Jeremy Tigue will be increasing payments by 5.9% to 9p, following a 19.7% hike in 2012.

Only four investment trusts have a better track record of delivering consecutive income growth over the past 40 years, notes the Daily Mail, and F&C has nowalso switched to more regular quarterly dividend payments. The trust has also delivered returns of 19% over one year, 37% over three years and 52% over five years, according to Trustnet.com. The ongoing charge is a reasonable 0.9%.

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Originally launched to give investors access to international investments, the trust has exposure to over 600 quoted and unquoted stocks in 35 countries. Recently, Tigue's strategy has been to take the fund back to its original overseas roots.

With the aim of diversifying the trust's income, in January he cut its home market exposure from 33% to 22%, switching out of UK shares and into a global portfolio of higher-yielding shares outside the British market.

By 2018, Tigue aims to trim the fund's UK exposure to 15% and increase its American holdings from 25% now to 35%. That makes this trust a good option for income-seekers looking for international exposure.

Contact: 020-7628 8000.

Foreign & Colonial Trust'stop ten holdings