The first half of the 2025 market year was turbulent. Investors quickly turned away from their optimism surrounding a second term for Donald Trump once his erratic and impulsive leadership came back into focus. That memory immediately stirred nervousness and uncertainty across equity markets.
The threat of import tariffs, their potential economic impact, and escalating geopolitical conflicts created fertile ground for volatility. In uncertain times, so-called safe havens like dividend strategies tend to thrive.
Against this backdrop, we take a closer look at two defensive dividend standouts from the Morningstar Global Equity Income category, both covered by Morningstar analysts: Fidelity Global Dividend and Trojan Global Income (Troy). We highlight their similarities and differences.
People
Fidelity Global Dividend earns an Above Average People Pillar rating and has been led by architect Dan Roberts since its inception in 2012. With over 20 years of experience in dividend investing, Roberts brings sharp analytical skills and deep knowledge to the table. His background as an accountant enables him to thoroughly and critically analyze companies. He makes effective use of Fidelity’s extensive global analyst network and frequently collaborates with his fellow managers within the independently operating dividend team. He remains the central force behind both the company analysis and portfolio construction.
The People Pillar rating for Troy’s strategy was recently upgraded from High to Above Average due to our increased confidence in the investment insight and consistent execution of the strategy. James Harries, a seasoned dividend investor with nearly 30 years of experience, has led the strategy since its launch in 2016. Prior to that, he spent 10 years at Newton managing a similar dividend-focused strategy.
Harries stands out for his original investment vision, long-term outlook, and willingness to go against the grain. Since 2017, he has formed a complementary duo with Tomasz Boniek, a thoughtful and analytically strong investor. Although the team is small, they work closely with the rest of Troy, where quality, patience, and conviction are the cornerstones of the collective approach.
Process
A robust, proven, and repeatable investment process executed consistently earns both strategies an Above Average Process Pillar rating. In addition to a focus on reliable and growing dividends, both funds emphasize high-quality stocks. Providing downside protection during market stress is central to the investment philosophies of both Fidelity and Troy.
The managers target companies with clear competitive advantages, straightforward business models, strong balance sheets, and predictable revenue and earnings growth, led by capable and disciplined management. Troy sets a slightly higher bar for quality than Fidelity, but both strategies exhibit a natural aversion to cyclical and capital-intensive industries. They also avoid companies that opportunistically chase M&A deals and maintain strict valuation discipline alongside a multi-year investment horizon.
Where the funds diverge in their approach is that Troy’s team incorporates macroeconomic insights into portfolio construction, while Roberts primarily invests based on fundamental value. A challenge for Roberts is navigating a portfolio that, with over 18 billion euros in assets under management, ranks among the largest in its category—necessitating careful scaling of positions.
Portfolio
High-conviction investing is central to Troy’s philosophy, reflected in a portfolio of roughly 35 positions. Fidelity’s portfolio contains about ten more holdings. Notably, both portfolios largely avoid traditional dividend sectors such as utilities, energy, banks, and telecoms. Harries and Boniek strongly favor defensive consumer staples, which make up about one-third of the portfolio, with tobacco stocks playing a dominant role. Another standout feature of Troy’s portfolio is the overweight to technology companies, including long-standing positions in Paychex, ADP, and Accenture.
For Roberts, insurance companies form a cornerstone of the portfolio, accounting for around 15 percent. However, the healthcare sector has gradually fallen out of favor due to concerns over the quality of business models and product pipelines. Like Harries and Boniek, Roberts sees significant opportunities in European equities, which make up nearly 65 percent of Fidelity’s portfolio. That said, Fidelity has mainly increased exposure to the eurozone, while Troy clearly favors UK-based dividend payers.
Performance
Both Fidelity Global Dividend and Trojan Global Income have built reputations for capital preservation during turbulent markets. Their 2025 performance confirms this. Fidelity’s maximum drawdown was 3.2 percent, while Troy limited its maximum loss to 6.3 percent. By comparison, the Morningstar Global TME Index had a maximum drawdown of 11.8 percent.
From the inception of Troy’s strategy in November 2016 through the end of May 2025, Fidelity’s annual standard deviation was 10 percent, and Troy’s was 10.7 percent—versus 13.4 percent for the global equity index. During that period, both funds captured only 55 to 60 percent of the benchmark’s decline in down markets, underscoring their defensive strength. Fidelity has been better at keeping up in rising markets, which has benefited its relative performance. Based on risk-adjusted returns, both funds have proven their value to investors.
Jeffrey Schumacher is Director of Manager Research at Morningstar Benelux. Morningstar evaluates and rates investment funds based on both quantitative and qualitative research. Morningstar is a member of the expert panel of Investment Officer.