The search for income is one of the major investment themes of the post-financial crisis era.
For those who need that income to live on, building a portfolio that pays out monthly is highly desirable.
In previous articles FE Trustnet looked at the pay-dates of investment trusts and equity income funds, providing a guide to the best options in each months.
Here we look at the pay dates of five-crowned funds in the various mixed asset sectors.
Monthly
Being able to hold bonds gives managers of multi-asset funds an advantage in providing a regular pay-out.
There are a number of top-rated funds that pay out in every month of the year, including FE Alpha Manager Ian Spreadbury’s Fidelity Moneybuilder Balanced portfolio, which is currently yielding 4.04 per cent, according to data from FE Analytics.
The fund is the second-best-performer in the IMA Mixed Investment 40%-85% Shares sector over three years with returns of 35.6 per cent.
Performance of fund versus sector and benchmark over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
The £300m fund is also the third-best performer over five years with returns of 50.21 per cent.
Other top-rated funds to pay out monthly are Fidelity Multi Asset Income and Premier Multi Asset Monthly Income, yielding 1.99 per cent and 4.16 per cent respectively.
There are also four options in the IMA UK Equity & Bond Income sector, an area which many investors overlook.
FE Alpha Manager Ariel Bezalel, better known for the hugely popular Jupiter Strategic Bond fund, has run the £81m Jupiter Monthly Income fund since March 2011.
The fund is currently yielding an impressive 4.5 per cent, according to data from FE Analytics.
Threadneedle Managed Income and Threadneedle Monthly Extra Income are two other options, yielding 3.78 per cent and 3.7 per cent.
The final option is HSBC Monthly Income, managed by Diana Rau and Sophie Sentilhes, which is currently yielding 3.67 per cent.
January, April, July, October
The highest-yielding fund that pays out in these months is the boutique TB Wise Income fund, which currently yields 5.2 per cent, according to FE Analytics.
The £23.7m fund of funds portfolio is run by Tony Yarrow and has a steep ongoing charges figure of 2.13 per cent.
It is, however, a top-quartile performer in the IMA Flexible Investment sector over one and three years, making 33.3 per cent over the latter time.
Performance of fund versus sector over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Premier Multi-Asset Distribution, in the IMA Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares sector, pays 4.16 per cent, while investors can also choose Aberdeen Managed Distribution from the same sector. The latter yields 3 per cent.
In the IMA UK Equity Bond & Income sector, M&G Extra Income offers a yield of 4.21 per cent, while JPM UK Equity & Bond Income yields 3.35 per cent.
Henderson Multi Manager Diversified, which sits in the IMA Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares sector yields 2.5 per cent.
CF Stewart Ivory Invest, CF Canlife UK Equity and Bond Income and Consistent Practical pay out in April and October only.
February, May, August, November
There are only three five-crowned funds with these months as their quarterly pay dates: CIS UK Income With Growth, Hargreaves Lansdown Multi Manager Equity & Bond and Newton Managed Income.
Newton Managed Income has the highest yield according to FE Analytics, paying out 4.36 per cent to investors.
FE Alpha Manager Tim Wilson’s £88m fund has almost doubled the returns of the average fund in the sector over the past three years, making 30.18 per cent as the sector has grown 16.9 per cent.
Performance of fund versus sector over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Hargreaves Lansdown Multi Manager Equity & Bond is yielding 3.15 per cent while CIS UK Income & Growth – run by the Co-operative Group – is yielding 3.9 per cent.
Henderson Cirilium Dynamic pays out in February alone, while CIS Sustainable World Trust and Jupiter High Income pay out in May and November.
March, June September, December
The highest-yielding fund to pay out in these months is Marlborough Extra Income, which is currently yielding 4.72 per cent.
The tiny £11.9m fund has been run by Nigel Beidas and Matthew Rainbird since March 2009, and over the past three years has made 38.49 per cent, more than all but one of the 14 other funds in the IMA UK Equity & Bond Income sector.
Performance of fund versus sector over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
IM Matterley Regular High Income, managed by Chris Evans and Chris Harris, pays out 4 per cent and is also the top-performing fund in the IMA Mixed Investment 0%-35% Shares sector, having made 44.7 per cent over that time.
There are eight funds in the IMA Mixed Investment 20%-60% Shares sector with these pay-out dates, including Aviva Distribution, CIS Sustainable Diversified, Jupiter Merlin Income and Kames Ethical Cautious Managed.
Scottish Widows Dynamic Income and Scottish Widows Momentum also pay out in these months, as do T Bailey Discovery Balanced and the HSBC Income Fund of Funds.