We highlight the four things investors need to know about UEM’s investment story.

1. The trust aims to generate an attractive long-term total return from a portfolio of emerging market infrastructure and utility equities.

Utilico Emerging Markets Trust (UEM) is focused on global infrastructure megatrends in emerging markets. Managers Charles Jillings, Jacqueline Broers and their team at ICM Investment Management invest primarily in operational infrastructure and utility companies in emerging markets, which are benefiting from long-term growth trends. These businesses are generally underpinned by established regulatory frameworks supporting predictable and sustainable cash flows. UEM’s portfolio provides a relatively low-beta exposure to emerging markets. The trust has outperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets Index over the long term. Since the company was formed 21 years ago in July 2005, UEM has generated annual NAV total returns of c 10%.

2. The managers employ a diligent bottom-up stock selection process seeking undervalued companies with long-term growth potential.

Stocks are selected on a bottom-up basis following thorough fundamental research (including the construction of a detailed financial model and valuation targets) from an investible universe of more than 1,000 companies. The managers take a long-term approach avoiding short-term stock market noise and are benchmark agnostic. This is clearly evidenced by the trust’s modest technology exposure versus around a 45% index weighting, while Brazil is UEM’s largest geographic exposure at around a quarter of the portfolio versus a less than 5% index weighting. The managers and their team travel frequently, meeting with company managements and visiting their businesses. They are supportive of UEM’s investee firms in terms of their capital requirements by participating in follow-on equity offerings, and the trust is often among their largest international shareholders.

To mitigate risk, there is a series of internal investment guidelines in place (as a maximum percentage of gross assets at the time of investment): individual investment 10%; single country 35%; individual sector 30%; unquoted investments 10%, although new investment in these companies will only be made in exceptional circumstances and currently make up c 1.5% of the portfolio; and top 10 holdings 60%.

3. Each of the trust’s holdings can be classified under one of four megatrends.

ICM has identified four long-term growth megatrends in emerging markets and each of UEM’s around 80 holdings can be classified under one of these categories: social infrastructure is a result of urbanisation and a rising middle class, which is driving demand for better quality services; energy growth and transition is based around energy security, decarbonisation and investment in energy to support strong economic growth; digital infrastructure is growing to support rapid digital adoption across society; and global trade is being fuelled by structural growth drivers, geopolitical dynamics and shifting supply chains.

4. UEM has a progressive dividend policy.

More than 80% of the trust’s investee companies pay dividends, supporting UEM’s attractive yield. The trust pays regular quarterly dividends and the total annual distribution, which has been fully covered since FY16, has been increased or maintained every year since the 2005 launch. UEM is the only fund in the AIC Global Emerging Markets sector with a 10-year record of consecutive higher annual dividends, making it an AIC next-generation dividend hero.

Published 23 July 2026