They say there is no such thing as free money, but passive income comes pretty close in my book. It arrives periodically in the form of dividends paid by many stocks, and consequently I am a big fan. Ultimately, I expend little effort to secure this additional income beyond choosing the stocks. This income will become increasingly important as I move into retirement. It should enable me to have a better time than might otherwise be the case. A fixture of my passive income portfolio has been FTSE 100 commodities giant Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO). So, how much has it…
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Image source: BT Group plc As the UK’s largest communications provider, BT (LSE: BT.A) shares have long been a staple of UK income portfolios — particularly within retirement portfolios. The company’s commitment to dividend returns has attracted yield-hungry investors for decades. However, despite its long history as a safe income stream, it may not be as sustainable as many think. With growth slowing since the pandemic, there may be deeper issues that demand closer scrutiny. So is BT still worth considering as part of a retirement portfolio? Let’s find out. An alluring yield When it comes to income stocks, the…
Image source: Rolls-Royce plc Although I admit I was late to the post-pandemic party, Rolls-Royce Holdings‘ (LSE:RR.) shares remain the best performer in my ISA. But having been rallying for the past five years – the group’s share price has increased over 700% since December 2020 – I’m starting to question whether I should sell. Let’s see. Like-for-like A good way of assessing whether a stock’s expensive is to compare its price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio to that of a similar company. With Rolls-Royce this isn’t as easy as you might think. Although each of its three divisions – civil aerospace, defence…
Image source: Getty Images At the time of writing (1 December), Lloyds Banking Group (LSE:LLOY) shares are changing hands for around 95p. This means they’re just 5.3% away from reaching the psychologically important barrier of £1. Will they get there? Or could they go in the opposite direction? Let’s review the evidence. The bearish view Based on the forward (2025) price-to-earnings (P/E) ratios of the FTSE 100’s five banks, Lloyds’ shares are the most expensive. If they were rated in line with the average, they would be around 25% cheaper, at 76p. Source: London Stock Exchange Group/company reports Looking at…
Image source: Getty Images Tesco (LSE:TSCO) shares have been on a tear in 2025, climbing by over 20% since January, outpacing the FTSE 100. And those who have been reinvesting dividends paid along the way have enjoyed even further gains, transforming a £15,000 initial investment into roughly £18,585. That’s quite a change of pace compared to the stock’s long-term track record. And it’s yet a further continuation of market momentum that kicked off back in late 2022. Fun fact: Tesco shares have more than doubled in the last three years. So what’s behind this stellar performance? And can it continue…
Image source: Getty Images Investors in Greggs (LSE:GRG) haven’t had much to celebrate for a while, with the shares down nearly 41% since the start of 2025. Yet the struggling FTSE 250 stock has enjoyed a strong uplift recently, rising 15.6% in just the past week. This means someone who invested £5,000 in Greggs seven days ago would now have almost £5,800. But what has happened to cause this bounce? And does the stock still look cheap today? Enter activist investors The reason for the stock’s leap appears to be related to activist investors. One is hedge fund Silchester International…
Image source: Getty Images FTSE 100 stock Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) jumped to the top of the index leaderboard on 26 November. The share price flew up as the firm raised its profit outlook. While the rest of the index (and country!) were fretting about the newly released Autumn Budget, the owner of Screwfix and B&Q shrugged off any concerns, posting a 7.4% increase in the share price on the day. With a dividend yield of over 4% and a share price up 22% in the last year, the stock looks attractive at first glance. But on closer inspection, we find…
A reader says, “Could you please consider writing or making a video on how investors can think about allocating across: (a) FD + Liquid Funds for near-term needs/emergency fund (1-2 Years), (b) Medium Duration Funds (2-3 years), and (c)Credit Risk Funds for medium-term goals (3–5 years), particularly for those in the 30% tax slab who are trying to generate slightly higher post-tax returns compared to FDs and liquid funds? Your framework for evaluating the risks and suitability of these categories would be extremely helpful”.Market-linked fixed-income or debt instruments are tricky instruments. They should not be evaluated solely on returns. Understanding…
Image source: Getty Images Thinking of starting a Stocks and Shares ISA? Maybe a New Year resolution to get one going in time for April’s new tax-free allowance? But why wait? Getting off the mark now could bring nice advantages. Firstly, there’s around four months left to use up some of the current £20,000 allowance — miss it and it’s gone. The Autumn Budget didn’t restrict Stocks and Shares ISA rules as it did with Cash ISAs. But the limit hasn’t risen since 2017 — and soaring inflation has reduced it significantly in real terms. And who knows what a…
Image source: Getty Images For a long time it seemed as though the Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) share price just went up. But investors have started to become wary in the last month or so. The latest issue for the company is a competing product from Alphabet that outdoes its chips in terms of power. So has the stock finally reached its peak? Semiconductors There are two major forces that have been weighing on Nvidia’s share price recently. The first is concerns about data centre growth and the second is the emergence of competitors. In terms of AI growth, Nvidia has a…