Vodafone payout: Why Beagles and Brooke are keeping hold of Verizon

UK equity income stalwarts Clive Beagles and Francis Brooke are bucking the trend and keeping hold of their Verizon shares following the completion of the Vodafone/Verizon transaction.

Vodafone's disposal of its stake in Verizon Wireless, its joint venture with the US carrier, saw Vodafone investors receive a cash payout as well as shares in Verizon as part of the deal. JO Hambro UK Equity Income fund manager Beagles (pictured) said the deal, which has made Vodafone a materially smaller business, marks "the biggest one-off change in the index composition in all the time we have managed funds". While he maintains a position in the Vodafone rump, Beagles acknowledged the demerger process had seen Vodafone's value "run up". By contrast, he sees Verizon as a "very cheap...