Image source: Getty Images Most people invest inside a Stocks and Shares ISA to help them live a more comfortable life later on. Some might even reach a point where their portfolio supports early retirement. But how realistic is this? And how long might it take? Let’s take a closer look. Aiming for £1.5m The obvious thing to note is that what one person would need in retirement is totally different to someone else. So is the affordable amount to invest every month. For example, industry data show that most people fail to max out their £20k annual ISA allowance.…
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Image source: Getty Images Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) shares are up 51% over the past 12 months. But that’s nothing compared to many of the stocks in my quantum computing watchlist. Several of them are up more than 1,000%. So, why am I talking about Alphabet and quantum computing? Well, if you’ve been following this rather exciting sector you’ll know that Alphabet — the parent company of Google — is advancing its own quantum technologies, and it’s doing rather well. Pure-play quantum computing stocks have been in vogue over the past 12 months, but they’re small companies, with relatively short pockets, and…
Image source: Getty Images Passive income is the holy grail of investing for many of us. And who wouldn’t want to earn while they sleep? Nonetheless, generating steady income without excessive risk takes more than luck. It takes discipline, patience, and a keen eye for value. Reaching retirement at 60 with enough passive income to live comfortably depends on two key factors. These are: how much is needed to cover annual expenses, and how reliably can that income be generated? For most investors, the goal isn’t simply to stop working, but to reach a point where investment income replaces the…
Image source: Getty Images When it comes to retirement saving, time is one of the most powerful tools available. Yet many investors delay opening a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), believing it’s too late to make a meaningful difference. The truth? While starting early is ideal, it’s never too late to benefit from a SIPP’s tax advantages and investment flexibility. A SIPP is a type of personal pension that allows investors to choose where their money goes — from individual shares and funds to investment trusts and ETFs. Like other pensions, contributions benefit from generous tax relief. For most people, this means that…
This article discusses how a debt mutual fund works in simple language. TheELI5 in the title stands for “explain like I am 5”. We all know how a fixed deposit works. The bank borrows money from us and pays interest regularly or upon maturity. This is also how a bond works.Now consider three FDs of 1Y, 5Y and 10Y durations. Let’s open an FD with a reliable bank or, better still, with the post office (with a sovereign guarantee) and not touch it until maturity. Then there is practically zero risk (unless the currency collapses, but let us not get…
Image source: Getty Images For those of us looking to earn extra passive income, I reckon a stock yielding 8.7% probably warrants further investigation. And if there was one that also had a market cap less than the value of its assets, I’d definitely want to find our more. Alternative Income REIT (LSE:AIRE) is one such stock. It invests in UK properties in alternative and specialist sectors – including hotels, health clubs, hotels, and car showrooms – with a view to providing “secure and predictable income returns”. As a real estate investment trust (REIT), it’s required to return at least…
Image source: Getty Images Gold stocks have been slipping this week. But analysts at UBS reported on Wednesday (22 October) that this doesn’t seem to be driven by anything fundamental. Given this, investors might see a chance to participate in what has been an unusually strong growth story over the last 18 months. And there are lots of potential ways to do so. Gold ETFs One strategy is buying shares in an asset that aims to track the price of gold, such as the iShares Physical Gold ETC. And I think there’s actually a lot to like about this approach. …
Image source: Getty Images Any stock with a yield approaching double figures tends to set off alarm bells in my head. More often or not, it’s a pretty strong signal that the dividend’s at risk of being cut. With this in mind, I’ve been thinking about whether a certain FTSE 100 stock is a nightmare-in-waiting for unwary buyers. Or is it, in fact, an unmissable opportunity? Monster yield The company in question is Legal & General (LSE: LGEN). And from the off, its income-generating credentials look top-notch. As I type, the shares have a forecast dividend yield of 9% for…
Image source: Getty Images Until recently, Greggs‘ (LSE:GRG) shares probably weren’t on the radar of most income investors. A soaring share price kept the dividend yield pretty low, at about 2%. However, Greggs has lost nearly half its value in just over a year. Consequently, the dividend yield’s spiked and income could play a much bigger part of any future returns from the stock. Let’s take a closer look at the Greggs dividend to see if this FTSE 250 share might be worth thinking about for a portfolio. Challenges Firstly, why has Greggs stock tanked? Well, it’s due to a…
Over the past year, Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) has put in a storming performance. The Tesla stock price has soared 72% in just 12 months. That means that the carmarker’s shares have more than tripled over the past five years. Could things go even higher from here? An unusual company – and stock I think the answer is yes, the share could potentially go higher from here. Investors often talk about share price movements in terms of ‘fundamentals’ and ‘momentum’. Fundamentals are things like a company’s sales revenues, profit margins, and debt levels. Momentum is how the share price has been…