Plato upgrades ASX 200 yield forecast


Plato Investment Management has upgraded its gross yield forecast for the ASX 200 from 4.2% at the start of the year to 5.2%.
This was in light of dividends declared so far this year, some $38 billion, which was $17 billion more than in 2020 and $10 billion more than in 2019.
As a result, the firm’s Australian Shares fund was now targeting a gross yield of more than 8% over the next 12 months.
Don Hamson, managing director of Plato, said: “Things are looking pretty good which is why we’ve been quite bullish on dividends this year. One of the reasons why the numbers are so big and dividends are going up so much is that for the first year in living memory we’ve had a positive outlook for all the big dividend stocks in the market.
“So, we are having a record year for dividends across the board and indeed compared to last year, August reporting season has seen average dividend increases of 66%. It’s a huge turnaround suggesting the economy is going really well and we’ve just seen a positive quarter in the national accounts for the June quarter.”
Recommended for you
Global asset manager BlackRock has identified bringing private markets to the wealth channel as a key business area for the firm that could generate US$500 million in revenue in the future.
Flows into cash and fixed income ETFs soared in May, rising from $366 million in April to more than $1.3 billion, data from Betashares shows.
Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has promoted its Australian head to the role of chief executive of the global investment manager.
UK-based fund manager Royal London Asset Management has appointed a Sydney-based head of regional sales as it embarks on a multiyear plan to expand its presence internationally.