The board of MURRAY INTERNATIONAL TRUST PLC (MYI), a large British investment trust dedicated to investments in worldwide equities, has been planning for manager Bruce Stout’s end-June 2024 retirement for a long time. He and the trust’s other two co-managers, Martin Connaghan and Samantha Fitzpatrick, have worked together for many years and they all share the same investment philosophy, so following Stout’s departure it will be business as usual. MYI returned to a covered dividend in FY22 following a two-year period where the trust’s income was negatively affected by COVID. Although real (above inflation) dividend growth is unlikely in the current high inflation environment, the trust has maintained its progressive dividend policy with annual dividend increases for the last 18 consecutive years. MYI offers an attractive 4.6% dividend yield, which is higher than those of its peers in the AIC Global Equity Income sector. In April 2023, the trust undertook a 5:1 share split to increase liquidity.
