In this interview, Charles Jillings, who along with Jacqueline Broers manages Utilico Emerging Markets (UEM), which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary, discusses why he thinks global investors should consider an allocation to emerging markets. He also highlights that a continuation of long-term growth trends, such as urbanisation, contributed to strong emerging markets performance in 2025. Jillings then focuses on what UEM offers investors in terms of exposure to utility and infrastructure assets, which are high-conviction, quality businesses with strong management teams. More than 80% of UEM’s portfolio companies pay a dividend, which enables the trust to pay its own shareholders a rising covered dividend. UEM has just become an AIC next-generation dividend hero as it has achieved a 10-year record of consecutive dividend increases.

Jillings explains the four growth megatrends that are represented in UEM’s portfolio: social infrastructure, energy growth and transmission, digital infrastructure and global trade. He highlights the trust’s strong absolute and relative performance versus the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. This is just used as a reference as there is minimal overlap between the index and UEM’s portfolio. Jillings concludes by sharing his bullish outlook for emerging markets in 2026, which is based on lower interest rates, higher commodity prices and attractive valuations.

Listen on your preferred podcast player below:

• Apple Podcast
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Zencastr

About Bull, Bear & Beyond: Each episode features candid conversations with senior executives and from our own team of experts from across industries, exploring strategy, innovation, and the opportunities shaping their markets and 60-second pieces are a compressed summary of content designed to convey our message in a single, easily shareable hit.

In this interview, Charles Jillings, who along with Jacqueline Broers manages Utilico Emerging Markets Trust (UEM), which has just celebrated its 20th anniversary, discusses why he thinks global investors should consider an allocation to emerging markets. He also highlights that a continuation of long-term growth trends, such as urbanisation, contributed to strong emerging markets performance in 2025. Jillings then focuses on what UEM offers investors in terms of exposure to utility and infrastructure assets, which are high-conviction, quality businesses with strong management teams. More than 80% of UEM’s portfolio companies pay a dividend, which enables the trust to pay its own shareholders a rising covered dividend. UEM has just become an AIC next-generation dividend hero as it has achieved a 10-year record of consecutive dividend increases.

Jillings explains the four growth megatrends that are represented in UEM’s portfolio: social infrastructure, energy growth and transmission, digital infrastructure and global trade. He highlights the trust’s strong absolute and relative performance versus the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. This is just used as a reference as there is minimal overlap between the index and UEM’s portfolio. Jillings concludes by sharing his bullish outlook for emerging markets in 2026, which is based on lower interest rates, higher commodity prices and attractive valuations.

How to invest in the UK’s social impact REITs

Unlocking investment opportunities in blockchain equities

Unlocking investment opportunities in blockchain equities

In this interview, Grant Foley, group CFO and COO of Braemar, delivers an investor update on the company’s strategic transformation from traditional ship broking to a diversified maritime services platform. He addresses the challenging H1 results, which saw revenues decline 16% amid rate pressures, while highlighting the resilience demonstrated by the securities division’s 9% growth. Foley outlines Braemar’s comprehensive 2030 strategic framework targeting £200m in revenues, a 15% operating margin and significant expansion of the regulated securities business, while addressing investor questions about market fragmentation and consolidation opportunities.

Braemar operates as a global maritime intermediary with 19 offices in 13 countries, facilitating cargo movement across all vessel types including tankers, specialised tankers, dry cargo and offshore vessels, alongside a substantial sale and purchase division. The company has strategically diversified beyond core ship broking into regulated securities products within the energy space. With the recent launch of a UK Organised Trading Facility (OTF) and regulatory expansion into Europe and Dubai planned for 2026, Braemar is positioned to capture value from the highly fragmented ship broking market. Led by experienced management focused on operational excellence, new geography expansion, strategic hiring and targeted M&A, Braemar offers investors diversified exposure to global trade flows with multiple growth vectors across both traditional and emerging maritime service lines.

Unlocking investment opportunities in blockchain equities

Unlocking investment opportunities in blockchain equities

Unlocking investment opportunities in blockchain equities

In this episode, our director of content, investment trusts Milosz Papst provides an overview of Law Debenture Corporation which aims to achieve a higher rate of total return than the broad UK stock market through investing in a diversified portfolio of primarily UK equities. He discusses the unique symbiotic relationship between the company’s investment portfolio and its independent professional services (IPS) business and how this drives performance. The regular flow of income that IPS generates, well ahead of its share of net assets, provides the portfolio managers with much greater freedom to balance the requirements for immediate income with the goal of growing capital values over time. He also comments on the company’s recent interim results, with a strong absolute and relative performance from the portfolio and continued growth in IPS. He elaborates on the main contributors to performance, including Rolls-Royce which is a good example of how Law Debenture Corporation can successfully invest in companies not paying a dividend at the time of investment thanks to the regular income from IPS. Finally, he discusses the company’s current portfolio positioning as sentiment towards UK equities begins to improve.

Listen on your preferred podcast player below:

• Apple Podcast
• Spotify
• YouTube
• Zencastr

About Uncovering Trusts: Uncovering Trusts is a podcast run by Edison analysts, which is released every two weeks. Subscribe to hear analyst interviews on how investment trusts maximise returns while managing risks for investors.