North American Income (NAIT)

North American Income (NAIT) is an actively managed portfolio of approximately 50 large-cap US equities with the objective of producing a growing dividend as well as capital appreciation. Whereas the core proposition is equity income, any investor experiencing a sense of discomfort over the highly concentrated nature of the S&P500 could find NAIT a great way to access a different group of successful US companies.

NAIT currently yields 3.2% and over the last ten years has increased its Dividend at an annualised rate of 6.8%, well ahead of inflation. NAIT’s dividends are paid from a mixture of ‘natural’ dividend income and options income in an approximately 80/20 ratio. The trust also has a buffer to help cover any potential shortfall, with revenue reserves equivalent to more than one year of dividend payments. NAIT is moderately Geared, currently c. 6%, and uses low-cost long-term debt.

Performance over the last five years is ahead of the benchmark Russell 1000 Value Index’s 65%, with NAV and share price total returns of 67% and 81% respectively (figures to 15/05/2026). The higher share price total return is a measure of discount narrowing, with the current discount standing at about 3%. NAIT’s board has shown a strong commitment to share buybacks to support this, which we look at in the Discount section.

NAIT is Managed by Fran Radano and Jeremiah Buckley. Fran first managed NAIT between 2015 and 2024. That year, NAIT’s board made the decision to award the management contract to Janus Henderson and Jeremiah was appointed as portfolio manager in August 2024. Fran subsequently moved to Janus Henderson and joined Jeremiah as co-manager. So, whilst there is long-term continuity in the core proposition, this has evolved to encompass a broader spread between higher-yielding mature businesses and lower-yielding growth stocks, taking advantage of the broad global research resources of the Janus Henderson equities business.