Fidelity is set to expand its equity income offering with the launch of the Fidelity Global Dividend Fund managed by Daniel Roberts. With an unconstrained portfolio of around 50 best ideas from around the world, the fund seeks to invest in companies which provide a combination of capital growth and income growth. This will provide investors with a gross yield around 25 per cent above the yield of the MSCI All Countries World Index which is expected to equate to an estimated fund yield at launch of 4 per cent, says Fidelity.

By managing the yield at a portfolio level, Mr Roberts will aim to strike a balance between stocks with a high yield today and those which have a lower yield now, but the potential for substantial future dividend growth.
He will look for companies which offer sustainable dividend growth coupled to a good downside protection which should be afforded by a healthy balance sheet, valuation support, the fundamental strength of the business or ideally a combination of all these.
He will apply the same investment approach he has followed throughout his career, making use of Fidelity's global research team to explore the global universe.

While there are 460 companies in the FTSE All Share (ex Investment Trusts), there are around 2,500 in the MSCI All Countries World Index**. This broader universe affords greater opportunity for both stock selection and diversification.
Fidelity says that for example, an investor restricted to the UK has only a handful of stocks to choose from in some important income sectors such as pharmaceuticals, telecoms and oil. By casting the net wider, it is possible to add value by investing in the best sector opportunities wherever the underlying stock happens to be listed.
In addition, by investing globally, it is also possible to access sectors that are under-represented in the UK, such as IT. Likewise, sectors which are represented but offer little prospect of income become viable options, such as banking stocks, where UK listed companies have little or no yield when compared to their Australian counterparts.
Dan Roberts, portfolio manager, Fidelity Global Dividend Fund, said: "As I have done throughout my career, I invest in stocks where there is a good margin of safety, providing a degree of capital protection in volatile markets, and where progressive distribution policies give the potential for sustainable dividend growth. I aim to deliver a combination of strong long-term returns with lower volatility than the broader market and income growth ahead of inflation."
Ben Waterhouse, head of retail sales at Fidelity, added: "We have seen huge demand for equity income products in this current environment of low economic growth and market volatility. Fidelity has offered equity income funds to UK investors for over 30 years, and launching a global fund is a natural extension to our already successful suite of products. Daniel has a proven track record and coupled with access to our global network of analysts, we believe we have a competitive edge in evaluating opportunities for income around the world."
Daniel Roberts has more than 10 years of investment experience and joined Fidelity in November 2011. Prior to joining Fidelity, he was a portfolio manager at Gartmore, where he managed their UK Equity Income Fund until the company was acquired and restructured by Henderson. Before that, he spent six years managing UK equity income portfolios at Aviva Investors, including the Aviva Investors UK Equity Income Fund.