Professional investors face a persistent challenge. Macro data describes where the economy has been, not where it’s going. Still, markets move ahead of the macro cycle. Understanding that gap can help investors sharpen allocation timing and interpret weak data in context. In early 2023, for example, equities rallied even as the ISM Manufacturing Index stayed below 50 and recession calls mounted. That pattern is not an anomaly. Financial conditions often lead, influencing liquidity and sentiment well before the real economy adjusts. For portfolio managers, the edge lies in spotting those turning points early and separating noise from genuine shifts. The global cycle should be viewed not as a static forecast but as a dynamic system where…
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Image source: Getty Images Building the right retirement portfolio partly depends on what your goals are. Some investors want to keep accumulating capital. Others, eyeing the cost of living once they stop working, prioritise income. Here are a handful of UK dividend shares I think income-focussed investors should consider for their portfolio. Financial services giants One place to look for high yields at the moment is in the financial services sector. Take M&G (LSE: MNG) as an example. The FTSE 100 asset manager has a dividend yield of 7.7% right now. The forward-looking yield is even higher, if M&G delivers…
Image source: Getty Images No-one likes to see their share portfolios plummet in value. This has been the case in recent days, as concerns of an AI bubble have sunk stock markets. Yet, tough times like this shouldn’t lead to panic. History shows us that share prices always recover strongly from periods of volatility. In fact, as an investor myself, I welcome choppy stock market conditions. It enables me to nip in and grab some bargains, boosting my long-term returns as prices recover. I think two FTSE 100 shares in particular deserve serious attention today. Aviva (LSE:AV.) and Diageo (LSE:DGE)…
Image source: Getty Images Not relying on the State Pension for income in retirement sounds like a prudent idea to me. And one way of doing this is to put some money to work in dividend-paying FTSE stocks. With this in mind, here are a few suggestions for shares to ponder buying. Passive income powerhouses I’ll start with a trio of potential core holdings. Regardless of how the UK economy is faring, we all need access to gas and electricity. I think this makes power provider National Grid a great option. Although changes in regulation could impact profitability, it currently…
Image source: Getty Images Lloyds Banking Group stock has surged 58% in the last year and is currently close to 52-week highs. Despite the upbeat tone around the business, I think it now looks fairly valued. This means I don’t see it as a cheap UK share to consider buying. Here are two other options that I believe offer greater potential for the coming year. Building for the future The first one is Persimmon (LSE:PSN). Unlike Lloyds, which has already surged higher in the past year, Persimmon stock is down 2% in the last year. Yet, momentum appears to be…
Image source: Getty Images I love to buy cheap stocks and with global stock markets sliding now looks like a good time to go bargain hunting. Putting it simply, shares are cheaper. If it’s a dividend payer, the yield rises too because the entry price is lower. Buying the dip also reduces the risk of piling into a stock whose price is inflated by frothy sentiment rather than solid fundamentals. It’s never as simple as grabbing anything off the racks though. A bargain only makes sense if it’s something worth owning in the first place. Quality comes first, not the…
Image source: Getty Images A rising share price typically means a falling dividend yield, in the absence of dividend growth. FTSE 250 share Aberdeen Group (LSE: ABDN) has not grown its dividend for many years. But, despite its share price rising by 41% in just 12 months, it still yields 7.5%. Could now be the time for investors to consider this high-yield share? Strong potential but an uneven performance I should mention that I have owned the FTSE 250 share before. Back then, I felt the company had underlying strengths, such as a large customer base and a clear value…
Image source: Getty Images Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are often known to offer attractive income payments to investors. To maintain favourable tax treatment, the trusts have to pay out a high proportion of their profits to shareholders. However, when I saw a REIT with an incredibly high yield, I wanted to see if it really was sustainable or not. Company details I’m talking about the Regional REIT (LSE:RGL). As the name suggests, the property portfolio is primarily in regional UK centres, outside the M25 motorway. In case Londoners forget, there is a world outside of Zone 5! One unique…
Image source: Getty Images We need to be cautious of analyst share price targets for FTSE 100 companies. But when I see some of them suggesting big gains, it makes me want to take a closer look. In recent updates, Citigroup has put a 1,300p price target on betting and gaming group Entain (LSE: ENT). And Berenberg has gone one better, with a 1,400p price target. Those are the two most recent price targets I can find, and they average 1,350p. That would mean a whopping 92.5% rise from market close on Tuesday (18 November). Not everyone is quite as…
Image source: Getty Images Legal & General (LSE: LGEN) shares are sliding along with the rest of the market, but every cloud has a silver lining. In this case, it comes in the form of the group’s dividend yield, which has now crept up to a staggering 9.2%. That’s the highest on the FTSE 100, aside from media giant WPP‘s, which is living on borrowed time, I feel. It’s remarkable that investors can secure such a high income from a large, established company. Share price growth is on top, so this offers a massive potential total return. Inevitably, it’s not that…