Demand for Income Remains Strong
In this edition of the IIR LMI Monthly Update we take a look at the key news in October. Demand for income focused strategies remains high with a number of vehicles raising capital while more vehicles look to increase the frequency of dividends to satisfy the demand for more regular income from investors.
Key news items include:
PIA Shareholders Vote Against Mandate Change and Vote in New Board
At the AGM on 21 October 2025, Pengana International Equities Limited (ASX: PIA) shareholders voted against the proposal to change the mandate to include global private credit exposure, removed four directors and voted in four directors nominated by WAM Strategic Value Limited (ASX: WAR).
PIA has been trading at a discount for a prolonged period of time with the vehicle experiencing a number of manager and strategy changes throughout the years with it looking likely another change is on the cards. The proposal by the Board to change the investment mandate with the use of debt to invest in the Pengana global private credit strategy was not well received by shareholders, which saw the demise of a number of directors including the CEO of the Manager, Russell Pillemer. Frank Gooch remains as the Chair while Geoff Wilson, Jesse Hamilton, Richard Caldwell and Julian Martin have been appointed to the Board.
The new Board is undertaking a strategic review of the Company’s structure and operations with the goal of narrowing the discount. The Board will be accepting proposals from interested parties until 14 November 2025. Given the structure of the new Board we are expecting Wilson Asset Management Group (WAMG) will be submitting a proposal for review, however there will be conflicts of interest that will need to be mitigated given Geoff Wilson and Jesse Hamilton are now on the Board and therefore will be unable to vote on a proposal that involves a proposal from WAMG.
Post the AGM, the Board resolved to reduce the independent director fees by ~43% for the newly appointed independent directors. Cost savings as long as it doesn’t compromise on quality is always a positive for shareholders.
WMA Shareholders Vote to Continue Operations
At the AGM on 9 October 2025, shareholders of WAM Alternative Assets Limited (ASX: WMA) voted against the resolution to terminate the Investment Management Agreement (IMA) and liquidate the Company. As a result of the vote, the IMA with Wilson Asset Management (International) Pty Limited has been extended to 13 October 2030.
Given the nature of the underlying investments we view this to be the best outcome for shareholders. The uncertainty regarding the longevity of the Company has weighed on demand for the Company and contributed to the discount at which the Company has traded. The removal of this impediment is a positive for both shareholders and the Manager.
The discount to NTA has narrowed over the last 6 months, however there has been limited demand post the AGM. It will now be up to the Manager to deliver meaningful risk-adjusted returns for investors.
WMX Raises Maximum Placement Amount of $120.2m & Provides Dividend Guidance
During October, WAM Income Maximiser Limited (ASX: WMX) announced a Placement to raise up to $120.2 million through the issue of 75 million shares. The Placement was oversubscribed with shares under the Placement issued at $1.602 per share, representing the NTA before tax as at 30 September 2025 minus the October dividend.
On 17 October 2025, the Company announced a Share Purchase Plan (SPP), providing eligible shareholders the ability to purchase $30,000 worth of shares. Shares under the SPP will be issued at the lower of $1.602 per share or a 2.5% discount to the 5-day VWAP at the issue date of 17 November 2025. Up to 30 million new shares can be issued under the SPP with a potential maximum capital raise of $48.1 million. The SPP is scheduled to close on 12 November 2025. In the event the SPP is fully subscribed, a total of 105 million new shares will be issued under the Placement and SPP, doubling the shares on issue prior to the raising.
There has been high demand for income focused strategies providing fully franked monthly income streams with a number of strategies being introduced to the market to plug the hybrid hole. This demand has seen WMX trade strongly since listing which has allowed for the Company to increase the size of the Company after limited take up at the IPO. The increased size provides increased scale for the manager as well as improved liquidity for shareholders.
The Company has provided dividend guidance for the December 2025 quarter and the March 2026 quarter. If dividends are paid as per the guidance, this would represent total dividends of 3 cents per share (4.72 cents per share grossed-up) since the commencement of dividends in August 2025. Based on the dividend guidance, the Company is on track to meet its target yield objective in the FY26 period.
DJW Moving to a Quarterly Dividend
At its AGM, Djerriwarrh Investments Limited (ASX: DJW) announced that it is increasing the frequency of dividends from semi-annual to quarterly. The change comes after the feedback received from a range of parties over the past 12 months. The Board believes the increased dividend frequency will increase the attractiveness for investors seeking a regular income stream. The first quarterly dividend is scheduled to be paid in May 2026. While the dividend frequency has increased, there is no change as to how dividends are determined.
GCI Raises $57.4m through UPP
On 3 November 2025, Gryphon Capital Income Trust announced it had raised $57.37 million through the Unit Purchase Plan (UPP) announced in October. Under the UPP the Trust issued 28.69 million new shares at $2.00 per unit. The capital raising comes after the Trust raised $75 million through a Private Placement in September 2025, with the Manager continuing to identify opportunities in the market.
GCI has grown to a market cap of in excess of $1.2 billion following the completion of the UPP with the increased number of shares on issue and broadening of the unitholder register providing improved liquidity for investors while providing the benefit of increased scale in the market.
QRI Announces 1-for-6 Entitlement Offer
On 16 October 2025, Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund (ASX: QRI) announced a 1-for-6 Entitlement Offer with the Trust seeking to raise up to $162 million through the issue of units at $1.60 per unit. The Offer includes an Oversubscription Facility for eligible unitholders and QRI reserves the right to allocate any shortfall to wholesale investors within 3 months. The Offer was scheduled to close on 5 November 2025 with the results to be announced on 12 November 2025.
The Trust has taken the opportunity to raise additional capital while the unit price was trading at a premium. The capital will be deployed in line with the mandate with the Manager having a $1.5 billion pipeline of investment opportunities with $700 million being approved or closed since the start of FY26.
The Trust has continued to raise capital when it is trading above the NAV which has seen the market cap of the Trust grow to nearly $1 billion. The sizable capital raisings have seen the Trust have elevated cash levels throughout 2025, however given the pipeline of investment opportunities the Manager has identified a deployment path for capital raised.
RYD Jump on Board with Quarterly Dividends
Ryder Capital Limited (ASX: RYD) have implemented a new dividend policy that will result in an increase to dividends and an increase in the frequency of dividends from semi-annual to quarterly.
The Company has provided dividend guidance for the December 2025, March 2026 and June 2026 quarters of 3 cents per share per quarter, fully franked. On an annualised basis, this represents a 20% increase on the FY25 dividend of 10 cents per share. The Company will seek to provide dividend guidance for the ensuing financial year at the time of the Company’s full year reporting in August each year to provide shareholders greater certainty regarding the income stream.
The change in the dividend policy comes on the back of the Company having a large reserve and franking credit balance which has resulted from strong gains and realisations across the portfolio. The portfolio has delivered strong returns over the 12 months to 30 September 2025 with the NTA (including dividends) increasing 41.8% and the portfolio being the top 5 performers across the LIC and LIT market over the 12-month period.
Brett McNeil Takes Over as Portfolio Manager for AFI
Following the departure of David Grace, Brett McNeil has been appointed as the Lead Portfolio Manager for Australian Foundation Investment Company Limited (ASX: AFI). Brett will continue in his capacity as the Portfolio Manager for DJW. Kieran Kennedy will be joining Brett as a Portfolio Manager for ex-100 stocks in the AFI portfolio. Kieran is the Portfolio Manager for Mirrabooka Investments Limited (ASX: MIR). We view the appointment of Kieran as a positive for the small cap allocation of the portfolio with the expectation that Kieran will be able to deliver a positive contribution given his focus on this section of the market through his role with MIR.
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The views here are not recommendations and should not be considered as investment advice.
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