Financial journalist Jeff Prestridge has outlined a ten-fund investment strategy designed to deliver steady dividend income and long-term capital growth over the next decade. Drawing on 40 years of personal investing experience, Prestridge selected funds that investors can buy and hold without needing to micro-manage their holdings or trade daily.
Prestridge acknowledged that his early investing years were marked by financial mistakes, including selling investments at a loss after buying assets he should have avoided. In the early 1990s, after winning a journalism award, he received a cash prize that had to be invested in a Barclays fund. He placed the entire sum into a high-risk Japanese warrants fund and lost the lot, describing the event as a salutary lesson.
Now in his senior years, Prestridge described himself as a patient, self-styled boring investor and Steady Eddie who avoids chasing quick profits or investment fads before they collapse. He keeps cash in Cash ISAs, a UK tax-free savings account, to cover financial emergencies and fund holidays booked by his travel-mad partner, Leonie, but relies on funds to beat cash returns.
Rather than buying individual company shares such as technology giants Nvidia and Meta, Prestridge prefers gaining broad exposure to major businesses through diversified funds. He holds his investments inside tax-friendly UK wrappers, including stocks and shares ISAs and self-invested personal pensions, known as SIPPs. He advised investors to reinvest their dividends into additional shares, describing dividend compounding as one of the wonders of the investment world.
To identify core holdings, Prestridge suggested checking best fund lists from investing platforms such as AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown, and Interactive Investor, alongside comparative tools provided by the Association of Investment Companies and Trustnet. He outlined five key criteria for core funds: a steady five- and ten-year performance record, annual charges closer to 0.5 percent than 1 percent, growing asset size, an income orientation, and a clear investment team strategy.
However, Prestridge cautioned that even top-performing funds can fail, citing the spectacular collapse of the Woodford Equity Income fund as a warning against complacency. He recommended a core-and-satellite portfolio structure, where heavyweight core investments are complemented by satellite funds that target specific market sectors or investment themes.
Seven global funds for international diversification
Prestridge divided his choices into seven global funds and three UK funds, pointing out that geographic diversification is essential for solid portfolio management. While UK investors often maintain a home bias toward dividend-paying banks, energy firms, and tobacco companies, the London Stock Exchange is increasingly overshadowed by financial markets in the US and Asia.
His primary global recommendation is the 7.3 billion pound HSBC FTSE All-World Index tracker, which charges an annual fee of 0.13 percent. The fund allocates 60 percent of its portfolio to US assets, offering exposure to the magnificent seven technology leaders: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla, alongside a 1.3 percent dividend yield.
According to Trustnet figures, the HSBC All-World tracker achieved an overall five-year return of 74 percent. Its discrete one-year returns over the past five periods were 22 percent in the year to August 20, 2026, 12 percent, 23 percent, minus 3 percent, and 7 percent. Prestridge noted that while the fund benefits from the boom in artificial intelligence, it does not protect against a potential crash if the AI bubble bursts after a year of market warnings.
To complement index trackers, Prestridge picked three global investment trust heavyweights with annual dividend growth records spanning at least 55 years: Alliance Witan, Bankers, and F&C. Fund sizes range from 1.4 billion pounds for Bankers to 6.5 billion pounds for F&C, with all three paying quarterly dividends and Bankers charging a competitive annual fee of 0.51 percent.
Over five years, total returns reached 53 percent for Alliance Witan, 44 percent for Bankers, and 67 percent for F&C, while ten-year returns stood at 189 percent, 188 percent, and 216 percent respectively. Alliance Witan divides its assets among independent global managers, Bankers allocates funds to teams within Janus Henderson, and F&C, managed by Columbia Threadneedle as the UK's oldest investment trust, maintains an 11 percent exposure to high-risk private equity assets.
For income-focused investors, Prestridge recommended Artemis Global Income, managed by Jacob de Tusch-Lec, and M&G Global Dividend, managed by Stuart Rhodes. Over the past decade, Artemis and M&G returned 263 percent and 183 percent respectively, comfortably beating the global equity income sector average of 141 percent.
Artemis charges 0.83 percent annually and pays semi-annual dividends, while M&G charges 0.66 percent, pays quarterly dividends yielding just over 2 percent, and holds Microsoft as the only magnificent seven stock in its top ten holdings.
His final global choice is Templeton Emerging Markets, which focuses on Asian economies including South Korea, Taiwan, and China. The fund holds positions in semiconductor manufacturer TSMC and consumer electronics giant Samsung Electronics, maker of the Galaxy smartphone. It produced a 246 percent ten-year return, charges just under 1 percent annually, paid a recent annual dividend of 3.25p per share, and trades at a share price under 3.20 pounds.
Three UK funds targeting domestic dividend yield
Turning to domestic equities, Prestridge chose the HSBC FTSE 100 Index tracker as a low-cost foundational holding. Charging an annual fee of 0.1 percent, the tracker generated a 122 percent total return over ten years while capturing dividend income from the UK's 100 largest public companies.
For active UK stock selection, Prestridge named Aberdeen Equity Income, a listed investment trust with 25 consecutive years of dividend growth. The trust is in growth mode after absorbing the assets of the Aberdeen Shires trust, charges 0.84 percent annually, pays a quarterly dividend yielding close to 5 percent, and invests outside the FTSE 100.
His final selection is the 2 billion pound JO Hambro UK Equity Income fund, managed by Clive Beagles, James Lowen, and Josh Herson. The fund delivered a 146 percent return over ten years, outperforming the peer group average of 95 percent, while charging 0.73 percent annually and paying quarterly dividends yielding about 4.7 percent.
Prestridge praised Beagles as one of the most passionate UK equity investors he has interviewed over his 40-year career. Investors can share their own core fund choices with Prestridge by emailing [email protected].
