Investors Need More Devoted Dividend Paying Names Like Alliance Trust

Markets are coming to the end of a tough week with a lot of nervousness after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell emphasized once again he is prepared to tackle inflation inexorably. Next up is this Friday's non-farm payrolls, although the weekly jobless claims have already demonstrated on Thursday, quite expectedly after sweeping big tech layoffs, that the Fed’s solo commitment will come at a price.

If 2023 is going to be the year of stock picking, as some believe, then UK closed-end fund Alliance Trust PLC (ATST, -3.08%), which has paid dividends for 56 years in a row, could be a good bet. The fund combines top stocks selected by the world's best active managers into a portfolio designed to outperform its benchmark.

Alliance Trust's total return on equity is down 7.1% in 2022, outperforming its benchmark MSCI All Country World Index, which is down 8.1% in a year, and the S&P 500, which is down 1.85%, down 19%, commodities outperformed the broader market.

During the fund’s annual report’s conference call on Thursday, Alliance Trust's Chairman Gregor Stewart predicted a rally for global stocks if inflation has indeed peaked in the U.K. and U.S. and the current geopolitical turmoil in Europe ends, but says the threat of a “deep recession” keeps the argument open for bears and bulls.