The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has launched a set of tools and guides to assist income investors in their research and analysis.
Via ‘Income Finder’ investors can build a virtual portfolio of income-paying investment companies, track dividend dates and calculate their potential annual income.
The suite of tools is made up of four sections – Income Builder, Dividend Diary, My Income Portfolios and Guides and Glossary.
The first allows investors to create a portfolio and see the dividends paid on an interactive 12-month graph.
The graph shows information including the average monthly income and the number of months when no income is paid. This can be viewed for the past 12 months and for any of the past three calendar years.
Dividend Diary shows every investment company dividend payment date for each month from January 2016, helping investors find investment companies that are paying income in the months when they need it.
The dividend data is updated as investment companies announce new payment dates and investors have the option to include or exclude special dividends in their search.
Meanwhile, the income portfolio section provides additional information, such as the dividend cover, five-year dividend growth and the payment frequency.
Ian Sayers, chief executive of the AIC, said: "Income is a top priority for many investors. We have launched Income Finder to help our investors easily research income-paying investment companies, with clear graphs and images to see how much cash they would have received over the year and when dividends are paid.
"Investors can tailor their income portfolio to suit their needs, whether this is making sure they receive income in time for Christmas or ensuring they get a steady stream of dividends every month.
"Last year, there were a record number of visitors to our website and we hope Income Finder will be a useful tool to help inform investors’ choices."
The tool is available to all investors and is free to use once registered.
Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at Rowley Turton, said: "For those relying on natural income any tools that allow them to better understand the income distributions from investment companies will clearly be welcome."
Chris Salih, research analyst at investment fund ratings agency FundCalibre, added: "We really like this new set of tools.
"Income investors - particularly those that are taking the income rather than reinvesting it - should find it very useful. Being able to construct a portfolio and see payments and payment dates will help to regulate their income payments and make planning a lot easier."
