'Buy blue chip firms and sell smaller companies'

Another concern raised by some experts is that the resurgent pound could have an adverse impact on British firms that derived the majority of their revenues abroad. Mr Clark said this was an issue, but added there were plenty of UK-centric firms that could be bought.

Mr Clark tipped British American Tobacco, GKN and HSBC as three shares that made the majority of their money in Britain.

“But I think these fears have been exaggerated; even if companies are generating their earnings in dollars or euros there is with these companies sufficient natural growth in the income to offset the negative impact the strong pound is having,” he said.

As well as turning his attentions towards large UK business listed in the FTSE 100, Mr Clark has been shopping outside Britain. He owns two European firms, the drug companies Roche and Novartis.

“I am a big fan of the pharmaceutical sector, also owning AstraZeneca and GlaxoSmithKline, but I have had to go outside the UK to get additional exposure. I currently have 10pc in other markets, but can go up to 20pc, which I use when I cannot find the same investments in the UK market.”

Should you back Fidelity MoneyBuilder Dividend - and what are the alternatives?

The experts praised Mr Clark as “a safe pair of hands” who had delivered consistent returns since taking over the fund in the summer of 2008.

Ben Willis, of adviser Whitechurch Securities, said the portfolio “will not shoot the lights out”, but because of its conservative approach would not lose investors a significant sum of money when stock markets fell heavily.

For investors who want more excitement, Mr Willis tipped the Rathbone Income fund, managed by Carl Stick.

“This fund traditionally has a bias towards smaller companies that the manager believes are under-researched, which provides scope to add significant value,” he said.

“The Rathbone fund is a good choice for diversifying an equity income portfolio alongside core blue-chip focused funds or shares.”

Another potential alternative that tends to avoid the likelier income-generating stocks is the Jupiter Income fund, managed by Ben Whitmore.

Darius McDermott of Chelsea Financial Services, the fund shop, said: “The manager favours companies that are unloved by the market, but have strong balance sheets.

“He has recently bought into Tesco, a share other managers have been selling, but Mr Whitmore sees the disappointing trading update and share price falls as a buying opportunity.”

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