The new fund will be fully invested in 30 to 60 US equities with broad sector exposure.

BNY Mellon Investment Management has launched the new BNY Mellon US Equity Income Fund for Europe, focusing on stocks that it says offer dividend growth, solid fundamentals and attractive valuations.

The fund aims to deliver a high dividend yield, and has a yield target 50 per cent greater than the yield of the S&P 500 Index. Its strategy mirrors its US-domiciled counterpart, the BNY Mellon Income Stock Fund.

The fund will be managed by The Boston Company Asset Management, a US-based active equity manager and subsidiary of BNY Mellon.

John Bailer, lead portfolio manager of US dividend-oriented income stock and equity income strategies at The Boston Company Asset Management, will lead the investment team managing the fund. He already manages the fund's US counterpart.

“The BNY Mellon US Equity Income Fund will provide investors with a way to access the defensive qualities of income stocks in a concentrated portfolio that aims to perform across the various market environments and styles,” said Fergus McCarthy, head of UK and Ireland intermediary distribution at BNY Mellon Investment Management.

“We believe this strategy provides a solution for investors looking to de-risk their ‘safe’ holdings and embrace a dividend approach for the road ahead, which may include interest rate rises,” added Bailer.

BNY Mellon Investment Management holds $1.7 trillion in assets under management as of 30 September 2016.