At launch Henderson International Income Trust (HINT) is the only investment trust in its sector comprised entirely of non-UK investments. If you already hold UK equities either by holding shares directly or in other collective investments, HINT will provide international diversification to your income stream. It targets an initial yield of 4% from a focused portfolio of 40-60 stocks. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency fluctuations and you may not get back the amount originally invested.

Henderson International Income Trust plc seeks to provide a high and rising level of dividends as well as capital appreciation over the long term from a focused and internationally diversified portfolio of securities outside the UK.

• The Trust delivers diversification of income away from the UK and as such is the only international income investment trust in the Global Growth and Income sub-sector comprised entirely of non-UK securities.
• HINT utilises a team approach where specialist income managers in different geographical regions are brought together under the Lead Manager Ben Lofthouse.
• Therefore not only is exposure to the world's fastest growing economies provided, but also exposure to companies which are forecast to grow their dividends quickly.

• This portfolio may hold only 40-60 stocks. If one of these investments declines in value, this can reduce the portfolio's value more than if it held a larger number of investments.
• Most of the investments in this portfolio are not made in Sterling, so exchange rates could affect the value of and income from your investment.
• Global portfolios include a small weighting to Emerging Markets, usually less than 10%, which tend to be less stable than more established markets and can be affected by local political and economic conditions, reliability of trading systems, buying and selling practices and financial reporting standards. Full details of risks.

Global equity markets fell during April, as mixed economic data led investors to doubt the strength of the global economic recovery. In Europe, for example, Spain returned to recession, while in the US, gross domestic product (GDP) growth came in below expectations at 2.2% for the first quarter. At the company level, however, the first quarter reporting season has started well, with companies often managing to achieve rising margins and earnings despite modest top-line sales growth.

Amongst the top performers during the month was Home Depot, the US home improvements retailer, which continued to rise following improvements in US housing data. The holding in Home Depot was reduced slightly after a strong run. Integrated oil and gas company Total was amongst the weakest performers during the month; its shares fell as a result of uncertain changes to the corporate tax rate due to the French elections.

During the month the exposure to the US was increased; the existing positions in General Electric, Kellogg, and Och-Ziff Capital Management were added to. Within the telecommunications sector, the position in AT&T was switched into Verizon Communications, on the expectation of stronger earnings growth from the wireless division at Verizon. Within the Asian portfolio, the position in Sun Hung Kai properties was sold due to uncertainties surrounding the management team. A new position was added in Cheung Kong Holdings, a leading property developer in Hong Kong, as it has a strong property development pipeline at a compelling discount to its NAV (net asset value).

Despite the ongoing macroeconomic volatility, at the corporate level there continues to be margin progression and earnings growth, as companies remain proactive in taking out costs and allocating capital efficiently. Pfizer, for example, is continuing to reduce its cost of goods sold whilst conducting a share buyback programme, helping to offset downward pressure on earnings from its patent expiry. This is a theme we are seeing across a number of companies held within the portfolio, and it gives us confidence in the sustainability of profits going into the rest of 2012.

Ben Lofthouse
April 2012