Threadneedle US equity head: Back to the 1980s for banks

US financials' increasing attraction to income investors makes the US equity income landscape reminiscent of that seen in the 1980s, according to Threadneedle head of US equities Diane Sobin.

Sobin (pictured), who runs the £100 Threadneedle US Equity Income fund, said financials' increasing payouts put her in mind of the market structure seen at the start of her career, when the sector was home to many of the US's most attractive dividend-paying stocks. Then, financials were seen as the primary sector for income outside of utilities and real estate investment trusts, and Sobin foresees the sector becoming more attractive once again as dividend growth begins to come through post-financial crisis. The manager is overweight the sector within her portfolio; financials account ...