Rathbone Income eyes leaner dividend growth in 2022 after bumper year

Outsized one-off payments to dissipate next year

The return of banking dividends, higher oil prices and enormous special payouts from the mining sector have marked a notable return to form for UK equity income, but investors should prepare for a leaner 2022, according to Rathbone Income fund manager Carl Stick.

Rathbone Income saw a 19% cut to dividends paid across its portfolio in 2020 as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, compared to the 40% suffered by the broader UK market, and Stick is expecting to "make up lost ground" this year. The £838m AUM fund, which is also managed by Alan Dobbie, allocates 20.4% of its portfolio to financial services, with Lloyds Banking Group and Legal & General representing its largest and fifth-largest positions, respectively.  Rathbone Income has therefore been buoyed by the return of dividends to the banking sector, as well as improvements ...