Trusts with the highest yields for investments

For investors looking for consistent dividend payments, investment trusts are a useful tool

We examine the investment trusts with the highest dividend yields available right now.

Consider investing in an investment trust if you're searching for a dependable source of dividend yields to supplement your portfolio.

Investment trusts have been one of the most well-liked investment funds for many years, and some of the most enduring have endured for many years because of their consistent dividend yield.

The methods they use to accomplish this are specific to investment trusts.

The director of communications for the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), a trade association that advocates for investment trusts, Annabel Brodie-Smith, states that "they can retain some of the income they generate each year in reserve for a future year."

"This means they can smooth dividends over time which helps investment trusts maintain long track records of reliable dividends," Brodie-Smith is adding.

This ability allows certain investment trusts to continue raising their dividend yield year after year, something that other types of investment funds lack.

Investment trusts can increase the dividends they pay to investors by pulling additional levers.

"Investment trusts have the option to distribute a portion of their capital returns as dividends, which can increase their yields," Brodie-Smith says.

In order to gear upmake bigger investmentsthey can also borrow money.

"If performance is good, gearing can increase performance, including dividends, but if performance is bad, it can act as a drag," says Brodie-Smith.

Current investment trusts with the highest yields.

These 11 investment trusts have the highest yields as of August 18, 2025, according to research from wealth manager Stifel.

Source: AIC through Stifel.

An annual dividend payment of a predetermined portion of the net asset value (NAV) is made by trusts indicated by an asterisk in the above table.

The research's authors, William Crighton, vice president of investment funds equity research at Stifel, and Iain Scouller, managing director of investment funds, stated that "usually, they pay out around 4 percent to 6 percent of NAV and at times when NAVs fall, the dividends will automatically be cut."

The top-performing investment trusts focus on foreign markets, particularly the US and Asian stock markets.

The list also includes several well-known UK equity income trusts, such as City of London, which ranks 23rd, Merchants, and Abrdn Equity Income, according to Scouller and Crighton.

A dividend yield is what?

The amount that an investment trust (or any stock) pays out in dividends each year, expressed as a percentage of the share price, is referred to as its dividend yield.

Thus, an asset that pays out more income to investors than the cost of ownership is generally indicated by a high dividend yield.

"We believe the yields on these trusts are relatively attractive for those investors who are willing to take equity risk," Scouller and Crighton write in their report about investment trusts.

Before purchasing an investment trust, however, investors should take into account other factors besides dividend yields. The investment trust's sectoral or regional focus, the management team's strategy and approach, the premium or discount at which it trades, and the management fees paid are additional factors.

Investment trusts' shares trade at prices that may not correspond to the value of their assets (net asset value, or NAV) because they are closed-ended funds. Investment trusts that trade at a premium (positive in the third column of the above table) are those whose market capitalization (market cap) exceeds their net asset value (NAV), whereas those that trade at a discount (negative in the table) are those whose market cap is less than their NAV.