However, the popularity of UK equity income funds in investors' portfolios means many would be better served by looking abroad.
Richard Troue (pictured), analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, advises investors to consider adding an income-paying Asian or emerging markets fund to their ISA if they already have core UK equity income exposure.
He adds that many companies in emerging economies, particularly in Asia, have put more of an emphasis on paying dividends over the last few years and adds there is still room for growth in this regard.However, he warns this comes with an additional layer of risk because emerging economies are inherently more volatile than their developed counterparts and there is an additional layer of currency risk that comes from investing in non-sterling areas.
"The outlook for sterling is arguably quite bleak so diversifying with exposure to a foreign currency is good if sterling weakens," he added.
"But it can work in reverse."
Troue says there are a few funds investors should look at in the young sector.
Newton Asian Income
The frontrunner in this space is undoubtedly the five-crown rated Newton Asian Income fund, headed up by Jason Pidcock (pictured) and Caroline Keen.
Troue says he particularly likes the team-based approach taken by Newton, something he says is key in such an under-researched market.
The fund has gained nearly £1bn in assets under management since October, according to FE Analytics data, and is currently £3.4bn in size. It is offering an attractive yield of 4.06 per cent, while delivering consistently top-quartile returns in the IMA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector over one, three and five years.
The fund has also beaten the FTSE Asia Pacific ex Japan index over each period.
Since launch in November 2005, the fund has made 191.05 per cent, while the sector and index gained 130.24 per cent and 145.88 per cent respectively.
Performance of fund vs sector and index since launch
Source: FE Analytics
Troue says the managers are focused on companies with increasing consumer demand and rising dividends, such as mobile phone providers and technology.
The fund’s second-highest sector bet is to telecommunications and technology stocks, at 24.12 per cent. Another 29 per cent of the fund is in financials.
Among the fund’s top-holdings are China Mobile, Australian mobile phone provider Telstra and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing – which is a major holding in the soft-closed Aberdeen Emerging Markets fund.
The fund requires a minimum investment of £1,000 and has an ongoing charges figure (OCF) of 1.65 per cent.
Schroder Asian Income
Troue says he is hesitant to recommend many funds in the Asian income space because the sector is still too new and beyond the Newton portfolio, many funds still need to prove themselves.
However, he says one on his radar is the five crown-rated Schroder Asian Income fund.
"It’s one to keep an eye on," he said.
The £301.4m portfolio is headed up by Richard Sennitt, who Troue says is a solid manager backed by a well-resourced team at Schroders.
It has outperformed the sector over one, three, five and 10 years. It has also managed to outperform the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan sector over all but 10 years.
Over the last five years, the fund has made 105.27 per cent, while the sector has gained 65.27 per cent and the index has picked up 69.44 per cent, according to FE Analytics.
Performance of fund vs sector and index over 5yrs
Source: FE Analytics
It is yielding 3.71 per cent.
The biggest holding in the fund is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, which features in the Newton Asian Income portfolio.
The highest sector weighting is to financials, with the Bank of China and Bangkok Bank Public in its top-10 holdings.
The fund requires a minimum investment of £1,000 and has an OCF of 1.7 per cent.
Newton Emerging Income
For a broader approach to income in markets outside the UK, Troue says investors should look at the recently launched Newton Emerging Income.
The £174.5m fund, headed up by Jason Pidcock and Sophia Whitbread, benefits from the same team-based approach as the longer running Asian Income portfolio.
Since launch in October last year, the fund has picked up 19.12 per cent, beating both the IMA Global Emerging Markets sector and the FTSE All World Emerging index, which made 13.68 per cent and 14.28 per cent respectively.
Performance of fund vs sector and index since launch
Source: FE Analytics
It is currently yielding 3.36 per cent.
Much like the other funds in this list, the Newton portfolio is tipped toward financials, with 27.8 per cent of the fund in the sector.
The largest holding in the portfolio is in Mexican real estate investment trust Fibra Uno. The fund is also invested in Macao resort operator Sands China, Brazilian tobacco company Souza Cruz and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing.
Unsurprisingly, the highest regional weighting is to the Pacific basin, at 41.4 per cent. The next highest regional weighting is to the Americas.
The fund requires a minimum investment of £1,000 and has an OCF of 1.75 per cent.