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Guinness European Equity Income Fund

The Guinness European Equity Income strategy targets income and capital growth and provides exposure to dividend-paying companies in Europe (excluding UK).

Overview

The Guinness European Equity Income strategy targets income and capital growth and provides exposure to dividend-paying companies in Europe (excluding UK).

The European region includes a diversified mix of developed, high-income economies and is home to around 700m people. Europe has been close to the centre of all aspects of globalisation and has world-leading companies in almost all sectors of the market. Europe also has a large proportion of high-quality companies; businesses that can generate persistently high returns and that have demonstrated they can weather a variety of economic storms – and it is companies with these characteristics that are best placed to pay consistent and growing dividends.

Dividend-paying companies are well known to outperform the market in the long term, and companies that grow their dividend year-on-year even more so. Rising dividend payments can also protect against inflation over long periods.

In Europe, there is a well-established dividend paying culture going back to the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company became the first company to pay a dividend. Companies have been committed to distributing profits to shareholders in this way ever since, reflecting not just history but also good capital discipline on the part of management teams.

Europe is not just a place for your summer holiday

Will James, co-manager of the Guinness European Equity Income strategy, argues that Europe's economic and market backdrop make it an attractive destination for equity investors.

Investment Team

High quality funds are run by high quality people.

We are proud of our collegial culture, with teams across the business benefiting from each other’s expertise as they target long-term returns for investors.

Nick Edwards

Nick Edwards

Portfolio Manager, European Equity Income

Will James

Will James

Portfolio Manager, European Equity Income

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Guinness European Equity Income Fund

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How to Invest

We aim to make it simple to invest in our funds. All our funds are open to direct investment via an application form. They are widely available on investment platforms and are eligible for UK investors’ ISAs and SIPPs.

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Investment Case

Although the Fund is designed to invest in dividend-paying companies, our starting point in selecting our investment universe is to identify companies with consistently high return on capital. Specifically, we look at companies that have a return on capital of greater than 8% in each of the previous eight years. Our analysis shows that such companies are highly likely to continue to do so in the future – meaning they will continue to create shareholder value. On average, only 3% of European listed companies achieve our criteria, and we then exclude those less than $0.5 billion in size or with weak balance sheets. This gives us a pool of around 200 companies from which to build our portfolio.

In-depth proprietary modelling of a company’s cash flow, capital budgeting and potential for dividend growth is combined with a subjective analysis of its business model to identify candidates for inclusion in the final portfolio. By selecting companies from a broad range of industries, countries, and market capitalisation we aim to create a well-diversified portfolio which can provide a reasonable dividend yield and growing income stream at an attractive valuation relative to the broad market.

The portfolio is concentrated, with 30 broadly equally weighted holdings. This structure ensures limited stock-specific risk, sell discipline and independence from any benchmark. It also precludes a long tail of small holdings and keeps the portfolio focused on our best ideas.

Why invest in the European Equity Income Fund?

The Fund is designed to provide investors with exposure to global equities through a high conviction, low turnover portfolio of consistently profitable dividend-paying companies.
 

Focus on consistent high return on capital

Consistent high return on capital is a good indication of a company’s ability to pay healthy dividends. The Fund invests in companies that are unusually consistent in generating returns on capital above their cost of capital.

Growth and income

Our approach to dividend investing is to focus on companies that can sustainably grow their dividend into the future, rather than simply looking for companies with a high dividend yield.
 

High conviction

The Fund typically invests in just 30 companies, with each company having a broadly equal weighting. This provides a good balance between the benefits of diversification while also allowing each company to add meaningfully to performance. We don’t have a long tail of small positions and by definition we can never just ‘hug’ the benchmark index. Please see our white paper on this topic for more information.
 

Fundamentally driven

We focus on ‘bottom-up’ stock selection rather than trying to make decisions based on an expected outlook for the world economy. We like to invest in good companies that have, in the short term, fallen out of favour, but that have previously shown an ability to weather most economic environments over time.
 

Low turnover

We prefer to invest over the long term. We also recognise the increased costs of trading in and out of companies unnecessarily. Typically we will hold a company in the portfolio for between 3 and 5 years.
 

Repeatable and independent

Our team have developed an investment process that is clear, robust, transparent, and scalable. Their approach filters out much of the noise and hype that surrounds companies to focus on the true signals that drive company valuations. By performing their own company research and analysis, using their own proprietary modelling systems, the managers try to avoid some of the behavioural biases associated with being unduly influenced by market sentiment.

The case for a European Equity Income Fund

"Dividends make a gradual but potent contribution to long-term returns."

 

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Investment Case - Guinness European Equity Income Fund

The European region includes a diversified mix of developed, high-income economies, and is home to around 700m people. Europe has gone through a turbulent time since the 2008/09 banking crisis, both politically and economically. However, due to its diversity, size and exposure to the global market, Europe has navigated this period better than some less developed regions.

The European region includes a diversified mix of developed, high-income economies, and is home to around 700m people. Europe has gone through a turbulent time since the 2008/09 banking crisis, both politically and economically. However, due to its diversity, size and exposure to the global market, Europe has navigated this period better than some less developed regions.

Europe has been close to the centre of all aspects of globalisation and has world-leading companies in almost all sectors of the market. Europe also has a large proportion of high quality companies; businesses that can generate persistently high returns and that have demonstrated they can weather a variety of economic storms – and it is companies with these characteristics that are best placed to pay consistent and growing dividends.

Dividend-paying companies are well known to outperform the market in the long term, and companies that grow their dividend year-on-year even more so. Rising dividend payments can also protect against inflation over long periods.

In Europe, there is a well-established dividend paying culture going back to the 17th century, when the Dutch East India Company became the first company to pay a dividend. Companies have been committed to distributing profits to shareholders in this way ever since, reflecting not just history but also good capital discipline on the part of management teams.

"There is a long-term investment opportunity in Europe. But opportunity and risk in this region are inseparable, for better or for worse. The key is identifying proven companies and constructing a portfolio best positioned to take advantage of that opportunity."

 

Factsheets

 

 

 

Fund English French German Spanish Italian
Guinness European Equity Income Fund Download Download Download Download Download

 

To see the Responsible Investment Factsheets, please click here

Updates

 

 

 

Document
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
March 2025
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
November 2024
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
October 2024
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
July 2024
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
April 2024
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
October 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
July 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
April 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
October 2022
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
July 2022
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
April 2022
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
October 2021
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
July 2021
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
April 2021
Document
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
January 2025
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
January 2024
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
January 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
January 2022
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
December 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
November 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
January 2023
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
December 2022
GUINNESS EUROPEAN EQUITY INCOME FUND
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KIIDS

 

 

Fund Class ISIN English French German Spanish Italian Swedish Finnish
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C EUR Acc IE00BGHQDW50
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C EUR Dist IE000AHX6WT2

KIDS

 

 

Fund Class ISIN English French German Spanish Italian Swedish Finnish
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C EUR Acc IE00BGHQDW50
Guinness European Equity Income Fund Y EUR Dist IE00BYVHW126
Guinness European Equity Income Fund Y EUR Acc IE00BYVHW019
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C EUR Dist IE000AHX6WT2
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C GBP Dist IE000N9K9CQ4
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C USD Dist IE000RAMYLN7
Guinness European Equity Income Fund F GBP Dist IE00BGHQF300
Guinness European Equity Income Fund I USD Acc IE00BMYPN382
Guinness European Equity Income Fund I USD Dist IE00BMYPN499
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C GBP Acc IE00BVYPNS63
Guinness European Equity Income Fund C USD Acc IE00BVYPNT70
Guinness European Equity Income Fund Y GBP Acc IE00BYVHVZ98
Guinness European Equity Income Fund Y USD Acc IE00BYVHW233
Guinness European Equity Income Fund Y USD Dist IE00BYVHW340

Documents

 

 

 

Document

Guinness Quality Equity Income Brochure

Guinness Asset Management Funds plc - Prospectus

Guinness Asset Management Funds plc - Target Market Assessment

Guinness Asset Management Funds plc - UK Reporting Fund Status 2023

Guinness European Equity Income - Responsible Investment Factsheet

Europe - a Destination for Income

European Equity Income - Sustainability-Related Disclosures

European Equity Income Fund – SFDR Pre-contractual Disclosures

European Equity Income Fund - Approach to Responsible Investment and ESG

Fund Supplement

Guinness Asset Management Funds plc - Application Form

Fund Facts

For information on the Fund’s current investments, please see the latest factsheet available on the literature tab above.

The Guinness European Equity Income strategy is also available to UK investors as a UK-domiciled vehicle denominated in GBP: the WS Guinness European Equity Income Fund.
 

 

Launch Date
Fund managers (start date)
Nick Edwards (30/09/2020)
Will James (15/01/2024)
Benchmark
MSCI Europe ex UK
IA sector
IA Europe ex UK
Structure
OEIC (UCITS)
Domicile
Ireland
Underlying currency
US Dollar
Pricing
Daily, forwards
Valuation
2300 Dublin time
Deal cut off time
1500 Dublin time
Administrator
Waystone Fund Administrators (IE) Limited
Custodian
Brown Brothers Harriman
UK Reporting Fund status
Yes
ISA Eligible
Yes

Share Classes

For full information on the share classes available for investment please refer to the Key Investor Information document.

 

Class OCF Max Initial Charge Min Investment ISIN SEDOL Bloomberg
F GBP ACC 0.35% 0% 0 IE000YNWUZY0 BQS8J11 GUEQIFG ID
F EUR Acc 0.35% 0% 0 IE000A0PQ631 BQS8J22 GUEQFEA ID
F EUR dist 0.35% 0% 0 IE000IUDXQX3 BQS8J33 GUEQIFE ID

Share Prices

The Funds are priced every working day at 23.00 Dublin time and updated here the following day.

 

Guinness European Equity Income - Webcast - Covering Q1 2024

Date: April 16, 2024 11:00 AM [BST]Will James

The utility of looking elsewhere for dividends

Guinness European Equity Income Fund Manager Will James explains why income investors should look…

Trustnet - The European equity funds that have ticked (just about) all the boxes since 2021

Trustnet finds out which funds are topping IA Europe ex UK sector on a wide range of performance…

Citywire - Veteran PM joins Guinness European equity income fund

Will James, who has 20 years’ experience, will work alongside Citywire A-rated Nick Edwards on the…

Portfolio Adviser - Guinness GI hires Premier Miton European equity income manager

Will James will co-manage the Guinness European Equity Income fund 

Investment Week - Guinness adds co-portfolio manager to European Equity Income fund

Will James joins from Premier Miton 

Guinness European Equity Income Fund - Webcast - Covering Q3 2023

Date: Oct 13, 2023 11:00 AM [GMT+1]Nick Edwards

Guinness European Equity Income - Webcast - Covering Q2 2023

Date: Jul 13, 2023 11:00 AM [GMT+1] Nick Edwards

Guinness European Equity Income - Webcast - Covering Q1 2023

Date: Apr 12, 2023 11:00 AM [GMT+1] Nick Edwards

 

Guinness European Equity Income Fund is an equity fund. Investors should be willing and able to assume the risks of equity investing. The value of an investment and the income from it can fall as well as rise as a result of market and currency movement; you may not get back the amount originally invested. Further details on the risk factors are included in the Fund’s documentation, available on our website.​ Past performance does not predict future returns.

Source: FE fundinfo. Investors should note that fees and expenses are charged to the capital of the Fund. This reduces the return on your investment by an amount equivalent to the Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF). The current OCF for the share class used for the fund performance returns is  0.89%. Returns for share classes with a different OCF will vary accordingly. Transaction costs also apply and are incurred when a fund buys or sells holdings. The performance returns do not reflect any initial charge; any such charge will also reduce the return.