Fidelity Global Dividend
Fidelity Global Dividend is a core global income fund that invests in companies which offer a healthy and sustainable dividend yield. The fund aims to pay a regular and growing income itself, while preserving capital. It is unconstrained in terms of where it can invest and may avoid some countries or sectors altogether.
Our Opinion
Fund Manager
Fund Manager
Dan Roberts joined Fidelity in 2011 and has over 15 years of investment experience. He has managed the Fidelity Global Dividend Fund and the Fidelity Global Enhanced Income Fund since their respective launches in January 2012 and October 2013. Before joining Fidelity, Dan was a portfolio manager at Gartmore, managing their UK Equity Income Fund. Prior to that, he spent six years managing equity income portfolios at Aviva Investors. Dan holds a BSc (Hons) in Mathematics from Warwick University and is a qualified Chartered Accountant, a CFA charterholder, and an Associate of the UK Society of Investment Professionals.
Fund Performance
Risk
Quote from the Fund Manager
The characteristics I seek are well sought after, but a willingness to be contrarian and also patient helps us to find them without having to compromise on valuation.
Daniel Roberts
Lead Manager
Investment process
Dan considers himself a value investor, but not in the typical sense. He wants understandable business models with predictable, resilient returns and is happy to pay a fair price for a good company. For ideas, Dan first screens for these characteristics then goes to the analysts (rather than the analysts coming to him) to debate each company’s potential. His accountancy background lends itself to avoiding complex and opaque businesses. Nearly all stocks will be established dividend-payers before they go into the portfolio.
Risk
Even though the fund invests in mostly larger companies, it is very different to its benchmark. It is quite well diversified, both on a global and sector level. It is typically less volatile than the benchmark and tends to outperform in falling markets. Dan manages risk conservatively, focusing on companies with predictable, consistent cash flows and simple, understandable business models with little or no debt on their balance sheets.
ESG
ESG - Integrated
Dan takes an holistic approach to ESG for this fund. He does not explicitly screen the universe for certain industries or characteristics but believes the concept of sustainability is aligned with his fundamental, cash-focused approach. As such, ESG analysis is fully integrated into the risk management element of the process. Much of the fund’s ESG considerations comes from its style, whereby Dan is looking for sustainable returns and enduring competitive advantages which often steer him away from controversial sectors. He also needs companies to have robust governance measures and effective management of the company, including on any social and environmental risks, as a failure to manage these could result in an impact to cashflows further down the line. As such, whilst ESG is not a primary feature, it is borne out in the results of the portfolio, which consistently scores well on both internal assessments and external ratings versus the benchmark.