Trustnet Magazine Issue 17 April 2016 | Page 9

/ HENDERSON / It’s also important to own companies whose business models aren’t necessarily dependent on the economic cycle and hence their income is subject to less volatility dominated by news of dividend cuts from some of the biggest names here. The likes of Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Rolls Royce and Barclays have all announced dividend cuts this year. This can create a large problem for income fund managers, so the question remains: how do you find income in the current environment? Firstly, it’s important to maintain a diverse portfolio. One major criticism of the UK market is that it is overly concentrated in terms of income: the top 10 dividend paying stocks represent over 50 per cent of the total market income. Owning a broad range of companies across a number of different sectors such as pharmaceuticals, telecoms, media and utilities means the Trust isn’t overly reliant on any one sector or company for its ]