‘A hung parliament is better than Corbyn for investors’

This fund is no stranger to these pages due to its popularity with readers of The Daily Telegraph, looking for steady returns from British companies. When we last interviewed manager Job Curtis in September 2018 the fund had increased its annual dividends for 52 years. That figure now stands at 53.

Mr Curtis tells Telegraph Money what has changed at the £1.6bn fund. He discusses British stocks enjoying a potential Brexit bounce, explains how the General Election in December will affect investors and how the fund acheives a secure 4.6pc yield.

HOW DO YOU PICK STOCKS?

There are two sides to my philosophy. First, I am looking at companies that can both grow dividends and invest enough for the future, because if they can’t then profits won’t grow and the dividend won’t either.

The second chimes with my conservative character. I prefer large stocks with low levels of debt, that will ideally not fall as much during a run on the market.

WHAT MAKES YOU DIFFERENT FROM YOUR RIVALS?

We are more interested in FTSE 100 businesses, whereas others try their hands at smaller companies. Although we own some FTSE 250 stocks.

Our income record is the best of any fund, and charges are among the lowest for actively managed funds.

WHO IS THE FUND FOR?

It is not for someone looking for a fund that might excel over one year but those willing to invest for a long time.

YOU HAVE INCREASED YOUR STAKE IN FTSE 100 FIRMS: WHY?

The fund now has 78pc in FTSE 100 stocks, versus 70pc a year ago. Some of my FTSE 250 stocks did very well and got promoted into the FTSE 100, and I just added to some others that I like.

Job Curtis, manager of the City of London Investment Trust, tells Sam Barker what worries him about the forthcoming election

YOU WERE NOT WORRIED ABOUT BREXIT A YEAR AGO – IS THAT STILL THE CASE?

The fund is mainly in London-listed companies with global operations, so I am relatively sanguine about how Brexit affects them.

Things shouldn’t be too bad for the domestic businesses I own, either. When it looked like a Brexit deal could be on the cards we saw a bounce in the share price of Lloyds. This showed that if we do get a deal, there is scope for domestic firms to do better.

The market is out of favour with most investors, so in general, any resolution should mean share prices improve.

HOW WILL AN ELECTION AFFECT THE PORTFOLIO?

A Jeremy Corbyn-led Labour government would be negative for the market. Policies leaking out from the manifesto are fairly anti-business.

It would also be bad for certain sectors, such as utilities, as they may be nationalised. But there is a lot of legal evidence that a government would have to pay a fair price, which could offset the harm to investors.

The fund is predominantly invested in global companies, so any damage a Corbyn government could inflict would be limited. A hung parliament or a Conservative majority would be fine.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST INVESTMENT?

Diageo has done extremely well for me. I bought a lot of it in 2005 when it sold its food business and decided to focus on alcoholic beverages. It is still an immensely strong company, and the biggest in beers and spirits in America which is a huge market. It also owns the Guinness brand.

As of the end of last week, the value of our holding in Diageo was £62m and we bought it for £15m.

AND YOUR WORST?

Vodafone. There has been a huge increase in demand for mobile phones,

£1,000 invested in July 1991 would be worth £7,081 today