BP (LSE: BP.) shares pay a dividend each quarter. Only a few FTSE 100 stocks are able to achieve this feat. The act of paying an amount every three months requires high stability in the company’s operations and its cash flows. And it comes with benefits to investors, like more consistent payments and the ability to reinvest any dividends more quickly. Quarterly dividends tend to be some of the biggest when looked at as a yearly percentage too. Let’s propose a target of £1,000 each month in passive income (or £12,000 each year). How many BP shares would be needed…
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Image source: Rolls-Royce plc It has been a phenomenal few years for aeronautical engineer Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR). The shares were among the best-performing on the FSTE 100 over the past several years. Yet, even coming into 2025 with that track record, they have done brilliantly again. The Rolls-Royce share price is up 86% since the turn of the year. Not only have the shares had stunning momentum in recent years, but the business performance has also been impressive. Missed opportunities As 2024 loomed, I thought to myself, “should I buy Rolls-Royce shares?” and decided against it, missing out on a…
Image source: Getty Images The London Stock Exchange is the leading European centre for exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with more than 2,300 of them listed on its main market. These allow an investor to build a low-cost portfolio with exposure to all sorts of megatrends set to play out over the coming decades. For example, if someone had bought a broad technology ETF 20 years ago, they would have made fabulous returns as the internet and smartphones came to dominate the world. Technology sub-sectors like cybersecurity and semiconductors have also done well. However, top thematic ETFs don’t have to just be…
Image source: Getty Images Earning a second income in an ISA has become more critical than ever. Apart from higher inflation underscoring the need for multiple income streams, the latest tax hikes in the Autumn Budget are putting even more pressure on many households. This is where dividends come to the rescue. While investing in the stock market isn’t risk-free, it does open the door to many potentially lucrative opportunities – many of which require minimal effort to exploit. And best of all, by using a Stocks and Shares ISA, all of it can be earned entirely tax-free. With that…
Image source: Getty Images One of the most important aspects of investing for passive income is maintaining a diversified portfolio. The goal is to reduce risk by spreading your investments across different types of shares — such as income, growth, and defensive stocks. By doing so, an investor avoids losses if one segment performs poorly, as others can help balance the overall returns. By including various types of shares from different sectors, you also get exposure to the best of both worlds. Dividend stocks provide slow but steady income regardless of short-term market swings. Growth stocks focus on capital appreciation,…
Image source: Getty Images We’re often told to save for retirement, but compared to investing in UK shares, this may secretly be bad advice. Even with interest rates still elevated, no risk-free savings account has matched the performance of the stock market in 2025. Fun fact: the FTSE 100 has delivered close to a 21% total gain since the start of the year, compared to the roughly 5% that some of the most generous savings accounts have offered. Now that interest rates are steadily falling, savings accounts are becoming even less attractive as a retirement building vehicle. And that’s only…
Image source: Getty Images At times I’ve been sorely tempted to buy BT (LSE: BT.A) shares, but have always held off. I decided the FTSE 100 telecoms business was too big, too sprawling, with too many things that could go wrong. So when the shares finally took off a couple of years ago, I kicked myself. They’re now up nearly 50% in three years, and 12% over 12 months, with some pretty generous dividends on top. Did I mess up? In my defence, BT faced an awful lot of challenges, having stacked up on debt during an earlier dash for…
Image source: Getty Images Shawbrook Group (LSE:SHAW) is set to join the FTSE 250 in the latest reshuffle. The stock is up 12% after launching on the stock market at the end of October. At first sight, another UK bank isn’t really something to get excited about. But a closer look reveals a differentiated business model that generates superior returns to its rivals. Not another bank stock Banks aren’t particularly hard to find on the UK stock market. But Shawbrook is different to the likes of Lloyds Banking Group and Metro Bank — and I think it might be better. …
Click here to enjoy all our coverage of the incoming administration.For all our coverage of the new mayor, click here.Get on the bus, DSA.In order to make good on the first part of his promise to make buses “fast and free,” Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will need to re-energize the left-of-center coalition that sent him to City Hall, lest he end up failing commuters just like his recent predecessors did.The city’s beleaguered bus riders have languished at the bottom of the political food chain for decades — forced to endure the city’s slowest-in-the-nation buses as the political elite has prioritized the…
Image source: Getty Images With an average dividend yield of 3.2%, is the FTSE 100 such a great place for investors looking for passive income to look? I think it is. While it’s true there are bonds – and even savings accounts – that offer higher yields, there’s much more to UK stocks than this. And this is something investors should take note of. Headline returns UK government bonds currently offer some pretty eye-catching returns. The 30-year gilt comes with a yield of 4.38% and the coupon on the 2-year note is 3.75%. Compare that with the FTSE 100’s 3.2%…