Daniel Roberts is to manage a new global dividend fund to be launched by Fidelity next week.

The Fidelity Global Dividend Fund will be managed by Daniel Roberts and aims to return a gross yield of 25 per cent above the yield of the MSCI All Countries World Index.

The unconstrained portfolio will contain around 50 stocks, and Fidelity estimate the initial yield when the fund launches will be 4 per cent.

Daniel Roberts, manager of the Fidelity Global Dividend Fund, commented, ‘As I have done throughout my career, I invest in stocks where there is a good margin of safety, providing a degree of capital protection in volatile markets, and where progressive distribution policies give the potential for sustainable dividend growth.

‘I aim to deliver a combination of strong long-term returns with lower volatility than the broader market and income growth ahead of inflation.’

Roberts joined Fidelity in November 2011 after leaving Gartmore, where he managed its UK Equity Income Fund until the firm was acquired by Henderson.

According to financial analysis website FE Trustnet, Roberts has consistently outperformed his peer group of fund managers, returning 9.2 per cent more than his rivals over the last five years.

Dominic Rossi, global equities CIO at Fidelity, commented, ‘Investors need to rethink if they want to generate strong long-term returns ahead of inflation in 2012 and beyond.

‘Returns on cash are so low that they generally lose money after taking inflation into account.

‘In this market environment, equities paying out robust dividends offer the best of both worlds: regular income and, if individual stocks are carefully selected, the prospect of returns on capital as equity prices rise.’