The Investment Association has suspended yield requirements for equity income funds during the Covid-19 pandemic, providing a lifeline to more than 140 funds that could otherwise face ejection from the UK trade body’s widely-followed sector-lists.

The IA, which has some 250 members overseeing £7.7tn of assets, said it has made the changes in light of the growing number of listed companies suspending dividend payments amid the Covid-19 pandemic.