Image source: Getty Images 2025 has been a terrific year for my Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) portfolio. While there are still a few weeks to go before the year comes to a close, my UK-exclusive SIPP is up 25.9%. By comparison, the FTSE 100 has generated a total return of 21.8% over the same period. Clearly, it’s been a great year for UK shares in general. But thanks to some intelligent decision-making, my portfolio continues to enjoy the upper edge. Here’s how I did it, and what my investment strategy will be in 2026. Please note that tax treatment depends…
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Image source: Getty Images Now and again, the UK penny stock market serves up a rare opportunity to patient investors — and I think I’ve found one. With a similar business model and near identical financials to Ideagen, could Skillcast (LSE: SKL) be heading toward a billion-pound valuation? A decade ago, savvy shareholders could buy Ideagen stock for under 50p per share. The niche compliance software business subsequently rocketed in value, eventually commanding a £1.1bn takeover price in 2022. Today, Skillcast bears a striking resemblance to that early-stage Ideagen, offering what could be a genuine ‘second chance’ for investors who…
Image source: Getty Images Earning passive income through a FTSE 100 ETF has become a hugely popular strategy. So I decided to dig into the dividend yields of two leading tracker funds to see how much an investor would actually need to reach £1,000 a month in passive income. Tracker funds First up, the iShares UK Dividend UCITS ETF offers a 4.9% yield, while the Vanguard FTSE U.K. Equity Income Index Fund yields 4.2%. The iShares fund is relatively concentrated, holding just 51 stocks. Vanguard spreads its exposure over 104 holdings. Despite the difference in breadth, both are dominated by…
I’ve held my Tesco (LSE: TSCO) shares for years, a permanent fixture in a portfolio aimed at earning a second income. However, it’s fair to say the group’s relatively low yield means it’s often glossed over by dividend investors. Since 2023, the yield’s steadily declined from over 5% to 3.2% — barely above the FTSE 100 average. So does the recent 12.9% increase mean the company’s keen to regain its place as a top dividend pick? And more importantly — does it have the cash to keep up payments? Let’s take a closer look. The dividend proposition Tesco’s generous dividend…
Image source: Getty Images The secret to Warren Buffett’s investing approach is buying quality businesses (or shares in them) at reasonable prices. But accounting nuances can make valuation something of a dark art. Fortunately, billionaire investor Buffett has an important rule that can help investors get past a lot of the difficulties. And it’s one that everyone can apply. Valuation According to ‘Oracle of Omaha’, how much a stock’s worth comes down to the company’s future cash flows. Applying a discount rate to these gives the intrinsic value of its shares. That however, isn’t always easy to calculate. Future cash…
As Congress gears up to reauthorize America’s surface transportation programs, advocates are calling on federal lawmakers to reinforce state laws that keep residents safer on the road — whether they’re driving or not. In its annual “Roadmap to Safety” report, the Advocates for Highway & Road Safety once again surveyed the patchwork of statewide regulations that governs America’s roads, and found a whopping 45 states had failed to adopt sufficiently aggressive road safety laws, including restrictions on text messaging behind the wheel, permitting red light cameras, and bans on open containers of alcohol in cars. Only five states (Md., N.Y., Ore.…
Image source: Getty Images Buying high-yield dividend stocks is a popular investment strategy here in the UK. It’s easy to see why – with this strategy an investor can reinvest their dividends and capitalise on the power of compounding (earning a return on past returns). But dividend stocks aren’t the only way to compound returns in a Stocks and Shares ISA or SIPP. There’s another strategy and it can often be even more lucrative. Compounders can make investors a lot of money There are certain companies in the stock market that are not only very profitable but also capable of…
Image source: Getty Images Shares of FTSE 100 retailer J Sainsbury (LSE:SBRY) fell 5% in a day on Wednesday (3 December). That’s unusual, but what’s even more eye-catching is the reason why. This kind of decline might usually be associated with a profit warning or a weak trading update. But in this case, there’s no real sign the business is underperforming at all. Why is the stock down? The big news is that the company’s largest shareholder – the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) – announced plans to cut its stake from 10.5% to 6.8%. That sent the share price lower.…
Image source: Rolls-Royce plc The Rolls-Royce (LSE:RR) share price has gone from £1.30 to £10.64 in the last 10 years. But that doesn’t automatically mean the stock’s overvalued. Just as shares that have gone down can be bad investments, a stock that’s gone up can still be a good one. So does Rolls-Royce still offer good value, or have investors missed the opportunity? Discounted cash flows One of the best ways of trying to figure out what a stock’s worth is by using a discounted cash flow (DCF) calculation. This puts a value on the cash the firm will generate…
Image source: Getty Images UK stocks have experienced a fantastic 2025. Financial services and banking shares, in particular, have vastly outperformed, followed by a similarly impressive display from the healthcare sector. And with these industries making up almost 40% of the FTSE 100, it’s no wonder the UK’s flagship index has generated a near-22% total return so far this year! Since most of these enterprises also pay dividends, a £5,000 initial investment hasn’t only grown to £6,100, but also unlocked a roughly £220 second income in the process. The question now is, can this momentum continue into 2026? Interest rates…