Henderson High Income Trust is designed for investors seeking high income derived mainly from UK companies. This may particularly suit the retired, or those approaching retirement age.

Henderson High Income Trust plc invests in well-known UK companies with good yield prospects. It aims for sustainable high income with prospects for long-term growth. It invests in a diversified portfolio combining both larger and smaller companies, with fixed interest securities.

• The Trust delivers a yield, currently in excess of 5%, significantly higher than normally available through UK equities (Source: Morningstar as at 28/03/2013).
• It invests in well known and smaller UK companies with good yield records or prospects.
• The Trust was launched in 1989 at 100p – total dividends paid since launch are 165.9p representing an average annual dividend yield of 7.6%. Please remember that past performance is not a guide to future performance.
• It carries a low Ongoing Charge* of 0.85% (Annual Report and Accounts 2012).

*The total expenses for the financial year (excluding performance fee), divided by the average daily net assets, multiplied by 100.

• If a fund is a specialist country-specific or geographic regional fund, the investment carries greater risk than a more internationally diversified portfolio.
• Some of the investments in this portfolio are in smaller companies shares. They may be more difficult to buy and sell and their share price may fluctuate more than that of larger companies. Full details of risks.

Market returns were tempered towards the end of the month following news of a Cyprus banking bailout by the EU and IMF that included a tax on banking deposits which briefly raised fears once again over the Eurozone crisis. Despite this news, the equity market still recorded a rise for March as a whole, with the FTSE All-Share Index up 1.4%.

Both banks and mining companies lagged the market while pharmaceuticals and telecoms outperformed. The Trust benefited from its overweight position in Vodafone after the share price rose on press speculation the company was looking at ways to monetise their stake in Verizon Wireless.  Elsewhere the Trust’s positions in marine solutions company, James Fisher & Sons and house builder Persimmon aided performance. James Fisher announced strong results while Persimmon was supported post George Osborne’s budget, which highlighted his initiatives to free-up mortgage lending. Within the life insurance sector, holdings Legal & General (L&G) and Standard Life positively surprised on their dividends, with L&G raising their final payment by 20% and Standard Life announcing its intention to pay a 12.8p special dividend.

The Trust has performed well during the first quarter of the year in terms of capital growth and we remain focused on finding companies with good dividend growth prospects.

Alex Crooke
March 2013