After the war-related sell-off in March, global stock markets recovered some ground in April, with company earnings remaining robust and hopes of a ceasefire deal between the US and Iran beginning to rise.

IFSL Evenlode Income rose +3.5% compared to a rise of +2.8% for the FTSE All-Share and +4.1% for the UK All Companies sector. The strongest contributors were Intertek, RELX and LSEG. Intertek had an eventful month, announcing strong first quarter trading and the sale of its two smallest divisions, and then a takeover approach from EQT, which the board is recommending to shareholders. RELX and LSEG released reassuring first quarter updates, with RELX reiterating full year guidance for strong growth and LSEG increasing revenue guidance following strong first quarter growth. The main negative contributors to return were GSK, Reckitt and CME Group. After a strong recent run, GSK’s share price reacted negatively to the first quarter results announcement despite strong +9% earnings growth and management reaffirming full year guidance. Reckitt delivered slightly soft sales growth in the first quarter mainly due to the weak cold and flu season, but management expect growth to improve over the rest of the year and reiterated full year guidance. CME Group released strong first quarter results and reiterated full year guidance.

In terms of portfolio changes, we reduced Halma and AstraZeneca, which have performed well over the past year. We increased exposure to several existing positions, including Informa, Integrafin, Reckitt, Rotork and Unilever.

The portfolio offers a free cash flow yield of over 6% and so the valuation is back to about where it was when we launched the fund in 2009. This is in stark contrast to the global stock market, where valuations have expanded sharply over recent years. The portfolio is a diverse list of excellent British-based global and domestic market leaders that are growing at a good rate, generating large amounts of cash flow and buying back their own shares. The dividend yield is approximately 3%, and the buy-back yield is 2%, giving a total shareholder yield of 5%. On top of this, aggregate operating profit is currently forecast to be +9% for 2026, following +8% growth last year.