M&G North American Dividend

M&G North American Dividend is a bottom-up, concentrated fund that scours the region for companies that can reliably grow their dividend. They view this as a great indicator of companies that have effective capital discipline and believe that dividend growth over time positively correlates with share price appreciation. The fund looks to provide a higher total return (the combination of capital growth and income) than that of the S&P 500 index over any five-year period, while also providing an income stream that increases every year.

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Our Opinion
Fund Managers
Key Facts
Fund Performance
Risk
Company Description
Investment process
ESG

Our Opinion

This is a very solid fund, managed by an experienced manager in John Weavers, who has delivered excellent long-term performance with impressive consistency. We like their well-defined investment approach that seeks to benefit from income investing to drive long-term capital appreciation and compounding returns.

Fund Managers

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Fund Managers

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John Weavers, Lead manager John Weavers has been the lead manager on this fund since April 2015. John joined M&G as a graduate in 2007 and worked as an analyst in the equity research team, before joining the income team in January 2012. In January 2016, he was appointed co-deputy fund manager of the M&G Global Dividend fund, and has been the deputy fund manager for the M&G Global Listed Infrastructure fund since its launch in October 2017. He graduated from Oxford University with an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Stuart Rhodes, Deputy manager Stuart Rhodes joined M&G in 2004 as a global equity analyst after graduating from Bath University with a degree in business administration. He has managed the M&G Global Dividend strategy since its launch in July 2008. In April 2015, he became deputy manager of the M&G North American Dividend strategy and in January 2019, deputy manager of the M&G Global Themes strategy. Stuart is a CFA charterholder.

John Weavers, Lead manager John Weavers has been the lead manager on this fund since April 2015. John joined M&G as a graduate in 2007 and worked as an analyst in the equity research team, before joining the income team in January 2012. In January 2016, he was appointed co-deputy fund manager of the M&G Global Dividend fund, and has been the deputy fund manager for the M&G Global Listed Infrastructure fund since its launch in October 2017. He graduated from Oxford University with an honours degree in politics, philosophy and economics and is a CFA charterholder.

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Stuart Rhodes, Deputy manager Stuart Rhodes joined M&G in 2004 as a global equity analyst after graduating from Bath University with a degree in business administration. He has managed the M&G Global Dividend strategy since its launch in July 2008. In April 2015, he became deputy manager of the M&G North American Dividend strategy and in January 2019, deputy manager of the M&G Global Themes strategy. Stuart is a CFA charterholder.

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Key Facts

Asset type Equity

Annual Income (Historic) -

Sector North America

Gearing-

Fund Size-

Fund Manager Start Date 28 Oct 2015

Ongoing Charges Figure (OCF) -

Payment Date(s) Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct

Annual Management Charge (AMC) -

Fund Performance

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Risk

The equity risk team at M&G plays a crucial role in the management of the North American Dividend fund, though the ultimate responsibility for investment decisions lies with the fund manager. The team conducts in-depth risk analysis, providing key insights into the fund’s absolute and relative risk allocation, identifying unintended risks - such as macroeconomic factors or sector exposures - and assessing the fund’s investment style to ensure alignment with the manager’s stated approach.

Monthly meetings between the fund manager and the equity risk team facilitate ongoing portfolio monitoring and the assessment of potential new holdings. Before new positions are added, the team evaluates their impact on the overall risk budget, considering factors such as active risk, investment style, liquidity, market capitalisation, and exposure across countries, sectors, and individual stocks. Given the fund’s bottom-up investment approach, the team expects stock selection to be the primary driver of risk within the portfolio.

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Risk: 65

Company Description

Founded in 1931, M&G Investments employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, including 350 investment specialists. The company was formerly owned by Prudential plc but de-merged in 2019 to become listed on the London Stock Exchange. It focuses primarily on fixed interest and equities but also invests in multi-asset and real estate. Many of its fund managers have been with the company for more than 20 years. Managers are given the freedom to implement their own style on funds.

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Fund Performance

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Risk

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The equity risk team at M&G plays a crucial role in the management of the North American Dividend fund, though the ultimate responsibility for investment decisions lies with the fund manager. The team conducts in-depth risk analysis, providing key insights into the fund’s absolute and relative risk allocation, identifying unintended risks - such as macroeconomic factors or sector exposures - and assessing the fund’s investment style to ensure alignment with the manager’s stated approach.

Monthly meetings between the fund manager and the equity risk team facilitate ongoing portfolio monitoring and the assessment of potential new holdings. Before new positions are added, the team evaluates their impact on the overall risk budget, considering factors such as active risk, investment style, liquidity, market capitalisation, and exposure across countries, sectors, and individual stocks. Given the fund’s bottom-up investment approach, the team expects stock selection to be the primary driver of risk within the portfolio.

Company Description

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Founded in 1931, M&G Investments employs more than 2,000 people worldwide, including 350 investment specialists. The company was formerly owned by Prudential plc but de-merged in 2019 to become listed on the London Stock Exchange. It focuses primarily on fixed interest and equities but also invests in multi-asset and real estate. Many of its fund managers have been with the company for more than 20 years. Managers are given the freedom to implement their own style on funds.

Investment process

The investment strategy is built on the belief that companies with a strong track record of dividend growth offer attractive long-term returns. Dividends serve as a reliable indicator of financial discipline, ensuring that businesses reinvest capital wisely while maintaining shareholder value. Historically, companies known as "dividend achievers" — those that have increased dividends for 25 consecutive years or more — have outperformed the S&P 500, reinforcing the link between sustainable dividend growth and share price appreciation.

The fund follows a disciplined three-stage investment process: company screening, fundamental research, and portfolio construction. Initially, the fund filters a North American universe of 4,000 stocks – to pass this stage companies must be valued at $1bn or more and pay a dividend. This reduces the universe to 2,000 stocks.

Following this, fundamental research further narrows the selection down by evaluating companies based on their long-term dividend track record, capital discipline, return on invested capital and long-term growth potential. The fund prioritises companies with consistent dividend growth and ensures that these dividends result from strong business fundamentals rather than short-term policies. Regular meetings with company management help assess alignment with shareholder interests. This process results in a refined investable universe of around 200 stocks.

The final stage, portfolio construction, involves selecting 40 to 50 stocks based on valuation and their fit within the broader portfolio.

Risk

The equity risk team at M&G plays a crucial role in the management of the North American Dividend fund, though the ultimate responsibility for investment decisions lies with the fund manager. The team conducts in-depth risk analysis, providing key insights into the fund’s absolute and relative risk allocation, identifying unintended risks - such as macroeconomic factors or sector exposures - and assessing the fund’s investment style to ensure alignment with the manager’s stated approach.

Monthly meetings between the fund manager and the equity risk team facilitate ongoing portfolio monitoring and the assessment of potential new holdings. Before new positions are added, the team evaluates their impact on the overall risk budget, considering factors such as active risk, investment style, liquidity, market capitalisation, and exposure across countries, sectors, and individual stocks. Given the fund’s bottom-up investment approach, the team expects stock selection to be the primary driver of risk within the portfolio.

ESG

ESG - Integrated
M&G believes that ESG factors significantly impact long-term investment outcomes and aims to achieve the best risk-adjusted returns for clients by integrating ESG criteria into investment decisions. This approach is applied across all asset classes and sectors, considering ESG factors as essential components of the investment process. The investment teams engage in regular dialogues with company executives to ensure alignment with long-term shareholder interests. M&G’s stewardship & sustainability team assists fund managers with ESG issues; coordinates stewardship and responsible investment activities; engages with companies on governance and sustainability matters; manages voting responsibilities at shareholder meetings; and maintains constructive dialogues with company management to uphold long-term shareholder responsibilities.

Related Insights

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