The FTSE 250 is off to a good start in 2026, climbing by over 3%, with many of its constituent dividend shares similarly enjoying a nice boost.
Nevertheless, there remain plenty of high-yield opportunities left to explore. In fact, here’s a basket of five stocks that offer an 8.8% overall average cash payout.
- Ashmore Group (LSE:ASHM) – 8%.
- Sequoia Economic Infrastructure – 8.6%.
- Victrex – 8.7%.
- Pagegroup – 8.2%.
- Ithaca Energy – 10.7%.
So are these income opportunities no-brainer buys in 2026?
Inspecting yields
While the prospect of earning a 10.7% yield from stocks like Ithaca is obviously exciting, it’s important not to forget that dividends are never guaranteed. And during challenging periods, companies are often forced to slash shareholder payouts to preserve capital.
That’s why before investing in any lucrative-looking dividend shares, investors must carefully consider both the risks and potential rewards. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the first company on the list – Ashmore.
Income from an asset manager
As a quick introduction, Ashmore’s an asset management business that focuses on investing in emerging market opportunities across both equity and debt instruments. And in the last few years, Ashmore’s investment performance has been quite impressive.
A wider emerging market rally has helped boost the investment returns, with the MSCI Emerging Market Index climbing by 44.5% since the start of 2024. That supported stronger investment returns.
The only problem is, Ashmore wasn’t able to fully capitalise on it. Why? Because this rally’s largely fallen under the radar of most investors who have reallocating capital towards US tech stocks. And with fewer assets under management, Ashmore’s fee-earning income is currently insufficient to cover dividends.
But that might be about to change.
Bull versus bear
Earlier this month, the company issued an encouraging trading update that showed a significant 8% increase in assets under management in the last quarter of 2025. This was partly driven by the continued strong performance of its investments. But more encouragingly, it has seen a $2.6bn surge in net client contributions – the first major net cash inflow since 2019.
That’s a critical pivot point. If inflows continue to accelerate throughout 2026, the group’s asset under management and, in turn, fee-earning opportunities could expand, supporting the group’s dividend. In fact, that’s why Ashmore shares have already surged more than 20% so far this year.
However, while encouraging, it’s important to remember there remains considerable risk. With a payout ratio of 144%, profits need to rise considerably. The group does have some substantial cash & equivalents on its balance sheet to help support dividends in the short-term. But over the long run, relying on the assets is obviously unsustainable.
In the meantime, while emerging markets are performing strongly, the rally isn’t guaranteed to continue. After all, currency weakness in Argentina and Brazil, alongside US-China trade tensions and growing conflicts in the Middle East, could potentially derail momentum.
Nevertheless, it’s an income opportunity that could be worth a closer look for investors with a higher risk tolerance. The same applies to the dividend shares on this list. Like Ashmore, they also have their own fair share of challenges, but a few could still hold promising long-term potential.
