The Diverse Income Trust plc (LON:DIVI) has announced that its Factsheet for the month ended 31 March 2026 is now available.
Manager commentary
We believe the key defining feature of the Diverse Income Trust (and the Premier Miton UK Multi Cap Income Fund which we also run to a similar objective) is their unusually broad investment universe.
Following the Iranian conflict in March, the oil price rose considerably. Hence, this month the three best performers in the Trust’s portfolio were all energy companies – specifically small and medium sized energy companies – Diversified Energy, BlueNord and Ithaca Energy.
During the globalisation decades, stock markets were routinely buoyant and returns like these were typically unremarkable. Even during economic setbacks, with inflation being benign, central banks could often inject additional market stimulus at will, which kept the stock market momentum up.
With a shift towards more nationalistic policies however, inflationary pressures have become more unsettled. In time, it may be less easy to borrow at will, and hence businesses where their spending or outgoings exceed their income could be put under pressure. When debt is tight, companies that run out of ready cash are often obliged to sell their best operations at a time when they are likely to receive a lower price for them.
Meanwhile, companies that continue to generate healthy cashflows are in a stronger position, which means they then have extra advantages. Over recent quarters, we are not surprised that income paying companies have outperformed. It is nothing more than the new nationalistic market trend that we anticipated.
We also anticipate that the new nationalism pattern of return is now set to last for decades. The earnings growth of companies that pay an income will outpace most others in our view, with the UK stock market potentially entering a performance supercycle.
We are remarkably upbeat about the prospects of the strategy.
Gervais Williams & Martin Turner
31.03.2026
