The investment team at Wilson Asset Management has had a good financial year, with returns from three of its funds reflecting this.
All three are paying healthy, increased dividends, all fully franked, off the back of strong returns from the funds' underlying investments.
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Dividend increases across the board
Most recently, the WAM Strategic Value Ltd (ASX: WAR) fund reported this week that it would pay an increased, fully-franked dividend of 6.5 cents per share, up 8.3% on the previous year and representing a yield of 5.9%.
This increases to 8.4% once franking credits are factored in.
The fund said in a statement to the ASX that its portfolio increased by 9.5% in the 12 months to 30 June, outperforming the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Accumulation Index (ASX: XAO) by 3.8%.
Chair and Lead Portfolio Manager Geoff Wilson said:
During the year we realised value from a number of holdings as discounts narrowed, supported by increased demand, corporate activity and capital management initiatives across the listed investment company (LIC) and listed investment trust (LIT) sector, alongside direct discounted asset plays.
The fund said further:
The investment portfolio's allocation to cash and cash equivalents was 28.8% at 30 June 2026, reflecting the investment team's disciplined approach to capital allocation amid heightened market uncertainty. Together with proceeds from realised investments, this liquidity enables the investment team to deploy capital selectively into attractive discounted opportunities as they emerge.
WAM Active Ltd (ASX: WAA) also had a good year, with its investment portfolio increasing by a record 75.5% in the financial year.
WAM Active is paying the same return as WAM Strategic Value; however, if you include capital gains, it returned 40.2% for the year to the end of June.
Lead Portfolio Manager Oscar Oberg said:
The investment portfolio outperformance was driven by exposure to four key themes: critical minerals, electrification and grid infrastructure, precious metals and artificial intelligence (AI). Equity markets over the 2026 financial year were characterised by elevated volatility, rapid shifts in macroeconomic expectations and pronounced rotation across sectors and themes. Changes to interest rate outlooks, geopolitical developments and the accelerating AI adoption contributed to periods where company fundamentals were often overshadowed by broader market positioning. These conditions created dislocations across parts of the market, particularly in smaller and less well-covered companies, providing opportunities for the investment team to identify mispriced securities using WAM Active's market-driven approach.
This fund pays out regular dividends
And finally, monthly dividend payer WAM Income Maximiser Ltd (ASX: WMX) is increasing its dividend month on month to the point where, in December, it will be paying an annualised, grossed-up yield on its pre-tax net tangible assets of 7.1%.
WAM Income Maximiser has a 59.5% portfolio allocation to equities and 40.5% to debt.
