At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, the Invesco Equity and Income Fund (IVZ) held 118 individual equity positions across five major sectors. Financials remained the largest overweight, at 22.1% of assets, driven principally by a 3.4% position in Wells Fargo and a 2.1% stake in Bank of New York Mellon. Healthcare accounted for 15.3% of the portfolio, including a 2.5% allocation to Merck, whose Keytruda franchise saw 8.6% year-over-year sales growth in Q4. Industrials represented 14.8%, anchored by a 2.8% position in Ashtead Group. The fund trimmed its consumer staples exposure to 10.2% and maintained 8.7% in energy stocks. Cash and cash equivalents stood at 3.5%, down from 5.1% in the prior quarter as the team redeployed liquidity into select large-cap names.

IVZ delivered a 4.2% total return in Q4, outperforming its blended benchmark (3.7%) by 50 basis points. Wells Fargo was the top contributor, with the 3.4% position generating a 1.1% absolute return after reporting a 12% increase in investment banking fees and a 5% decline in nonperforming assets. Merck added 0.8%, driven by a 7% sequential uptick in pulmonary arterial hypertension therapy WinReva sales. Ashtead’s 2.8% holding contributed 0.5% as the company announced its primary listing move to the NYSE, a step the portfolio team believes could boost its free-float valuation by 10–15%. Detractors included a 1.2% position in a major UK retailer, which fell 6% on weaker holiday sales, subtracting 0.3% from overall returns.

Portfolio managers have shifted modestly toward quality large caps heading into 2026, increasing the fund’s average market capitalization to $125 billion and lowering portfolio beta to 0.92. The team forecasts mid-single-digit EPS growth for Wells Fargo and a continuation of Keytruda’s 9–10% annual sales run rate. With the Ashtead listing expected in Q1, the fund’s industrial weight may rise to 16%. Given the current 2.7% distribution yield and a 10.4% trailing-twelve-month dividend growth rate, management believes IVZ is well positioned for investors seeking income plus equity upside in the coming year.