BlackRock Income & Growth (BRIG)

BlackRock Income and Growth (BRIG) has either raised or held its Dividend every year since Adam Avigdori took the helm in 2012, an unbroken run that held firm even through the pandemic. That record owes much to Adam and co-manager David Goldman's bottom-up, style-agnostic approach, whereby they place great emphasis on cash-generative businesses with durable free cash flow and disciplined balance sheets. The total dividend for the year to October 2025 rose 1.3% to 7.70p, and with healthy revenue reserves in support alongside income already earned, BRIG looks on track for another year of growth in 2026. At the time of writing, BRIG offers a net dividend yield of 3.3%, above the broader UK market but below its peer group average.

Portfolio activity has been high over the past year, with the managers building exposure to electrification and power infrastructure through new positions in Eaton and United Utilities. There were also several changes within its financial allocation: selling Ashmore following a strong run, ICG on growing concern around private credit and exiting NatWest entirely in favour of Barclays, where the managers see stronger earnings and cash-return momentum.

Performance over the 12 months to 03/09/2026 was positive in absolute terms, with NAV up 16.3%, but lagged the FTSE All-Share's 21.5% climb, as narrow index leadership and volatility from the Middle East conflict left BRIG's domestically focussed, quality-tilted portfolio out of favour. That dynamic has weighed on the five-year numbers too, with BRIG's NAV total return around 19 percentage points behind the index. However, the managers’ process has delivered real resilience at points, protecting more on the downside in 2020 and outpacing the index in 2023, when their tilt to quality returned to favour.

At the time of writing, BRIG trades on a 11.5% Discount, wider than its 10.3% five-year average.