Doel looks to mega caps to cover dividend in British Assets

F&C manager Phil Doel adds to holdings in major income-payers like Vodaphone in UK market to support dividend on £441m portfolio.

F&C Investments’ Phil Doel has been increasing his exposure to mega caps in the £441m British Assets trust in a bid to cover its dividend. The dividend has been uncovered during the last two financial years, with the board forced to dip into reserves to pay the 6.1p aggregate payout last year having been hurt by an overweight position in BP. Doel, the group’s director of UK equities who took over the trust last month from Julie Dent, has been boosting exposure to high yielding defensive names. He has been adding to positions in Vodafone, GlaxoSmithKline and British American Tobacc...