Funding Circle’s SME fund issues in-line dividend

PEER-TO-PEER loan fund Funding Circle SME Income (FCIF) cheered investors today with news that it will be issuing a dividend of 1.625p per share, in a bumpy year for the sector’s investment trusts.

The dividend, which will be paid to shareholders on 31 October, is in line with the company’s previously announced plan to pay quarterly dividends at a rate of 1.5p to 1.75p, representing a yield of around six per cent to seven per cent.

The London-listed fund issued a maiden dividend of 1p per share earlier this year.

Funding Circle’s fund, which sources its loans from its UK-headquartered parent company, has fared better than other funds this year that buy P2P debt from a wider variety of lenders. FCIF’s net asset value return in August was 0.5 per cent, according to a regulatory filing today.

In May, VPC Specialty Lending slashed its dividend after warning that its returns would miss expectations.

FCIP closed yesterday at 102p per share.