Low returns are endemic. Interest rates have been at historic lows for almost a decade and central banks’ money-printing operations have pushed up bond and equity prices, squeezing yields to minute and often negative levels.
So the existence of a group of high-yield stocks are ripe for closer inspection. Analysts at Liberum, the investment bank, have put together a compelling analysis of the best shares to hold for a good-value dividend yield. They note that the FTSE All Share yield is an unexciting 3 per cent, but add that a significant proportion of companies are paying out twice that.
Needless to say, some of those dividend yields will prove illusory. The shares, in other words, will be priced on the expectation of a dividend cut.