Highland Funds Asset Management has launched the Highland Dividend Equity Fund (ticker:HDFAX). Brookmont Capital Management, LLC (Brookmont) will serve as the fund’s sub-advisor.
The Highland Dividend Equity Fund will employ a strategy of individual common stocks that seeks to provide above-average dividend yields with the potential for long-term capital gains. The strategy will not be limited to a certain "style" or market capitalisation. Rather, it will invest in high-quality stocks that offer attractive valuations with below-market risk profiles, and will avoid making large sector bets or concentrations in individual names.
The fund will choose stocks of companies from all 10 economic sectors as defined by Standard & Poor’s. Initial seed funding is expected to exceed USD15 million.
"We believe investors should be compensated for staying invested in the market, and dividend-paying stocks accomplish this by rewarding investors as well as providing the additional opportunity for capital appreciation," says Neal Scott, Brookmont Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager.
Brookmont’s investment professionals average more than 20 years of experience in asset management. The firm’s successful dividend strategy – which has been used to manage Brookmont’s separately managed account products and will be deployed in the Highland Dividend Equity Fund – has delivered performance results that have continuously surpassed major indices year over year, according to Morningstar.
"Adding Brookmont’s strategy to our platform greatly enhances our goal of offering diverse and alternative mutual funds to all investors," says Joe Dougherty, President of Highland Funds. "Brookmont has consistently ranked at the top of dividend equity managers since it opened its doors nearly four years ago, and we look forward to bringing that track record to work for the benefit of investors."
"There are many different reasons why an investor might want to be in this product – it’s attractive to various types of clients, whether a nonprofit organisation, a businessperson, or a retiree," says Robert Bugg, Brookmont, Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager of the Highland Dividend Equity Fund. "With bond yields being as low as they are, people have embraced dividend-paying stocks as a great way to increase income from their investment portfolio. They’re looking for high quality, low volatility, tax efficiency, and current income. Those are all attributes we expect to see in this new fund."
