Frikkee urges caution on 2012 dividend forecasts

Newton's Tineke Frikkee is taking a more cautious view than consensus on UK dividends in 2012, forecasting growth of around 8% for the year.

This is 3% below recent forecasts for the market from Capita Registrars, which estimated UK dividends will rise 11% to £75bn this year after reaching record highs in 2011. To reflect her more cautious outlook for the year, Frikkee has raised her cash weighting from zero to 5% on the £2.4bn Newton Higher Income fund. “We would rather get results out of the way and have money in the bank. We have cut back some financials and companies with a bit more exposure to Asia. We have also reduced some of our smaller positions,” she said. Frikkee said her less optimistic prediction is based o...