RGL are consolidating their shares and trimming their next dividend, so the headline yield will fall.

I’ve took ‘profit’ with SOHO selling 430 shares for £250.00

I’ve sold 28,864 10p shares in RGL for a ‘profit’ of £1,136.

Nominally, as u can’t choose which shares to sell, unless u sell the whole position, so the profit only reduces the current loss on the position.

This gives the Snowball the option to buy some shares back if they fall in price or sell a few more if the price rises.

£4,620.50 for re-investment

How to get the most out of long-term investing
Myron Jobson of Interactive Investor offers the following tips.

1. Take advantage of Isa allowances

The shrinking capital gains and dividend tax allowances provide the impetus for investors to invest through a tax-efficient wrapper if they haven’t already done so.

The transfer, however, will involve selling and buying back shares, which could trigger a capital gains tax bill.

Over the long term Bed & Isa is likely to outweigh the charges that might apply.

2. Consider using your partner’s Isa allowance

You can also help reduce your taxable income by transferring assets between spouses or civil partners.

Each year you can shelter £20,000 from tax in an Isa – so £40,000 between two.

Only married couples and civil partners can transfer assets tax-free, meaning those who aren’t could potentially trigger a tax liability.

Compound growth, which generates massive gains the longer you save and invest, is lesson number one… so what are the others?

3. Understand your risk profile

Risk is an inherent part of investing, but it’s a tough balance. Take too much risk, and you might find yourself racking up some painful investing lessons.

But taking too little (or no risk in the case of cash) is a risky strategy in itself. It could have a hugely detrimental effect on your finances in the future because you might not reach your goals.

And our risk appetite isn’t static. It can change as our circumstances change so needs reviewing regularly.

4. Diversify your investments

This reduces the risk of any one stock in the portfolio hurting the overall performance.

But diversification doesn’t just mean investing in different stocks. It also means having exposure to different sectors, assets, and regions.

5. Rebalance your investments

Trimming the excesses and redirecting funds into underperforming assets ensures that your risk-return equilibrium remains intact.

This calculated approach of buying low and selling high has the potential to bolster long-term returns.

Whether nearing retirement or sprinting towards a shorter investment horizon, rebalancing grants the opportunity to recalibrate allocations to achieve the desired financial destination.

6. Review costs and fees

Investors cannot control the market, but they can control how much they pay to invest. Understand the costs associated with your investments – not least the platform charge.

7. Drip feed your investments

A good and proven way of lowering your investment risk is by investing small amounts regularly. Most often, investors do this by drip-feeding investments monthly to help smooth out the inevitable bumps in the market.

The advantage is that you also buy fewer shares when prices are high and more when prices are low – a process known as pound-cost averaging.

8. Set clear goals

Define your financial goals and time horizon before making investment decisions. Avoid making impulsive decisions based on short-term market fluctuations. Stick to your investment strategy.

I’ve received a comment about the articles copied from the MotleyFool.

I guess most are aware that the articles are teaser articles to get u to join the premium service.

There are new readers of the blog every week, so they give another view of how to invest for your retirement.

It’s always best to DYOR and I post a watch list of shares for that purpose.

Everyone will have a different timescale to retirement and their portfolio should reflect the time they have before de-accumulation and how much of a risk they are willing to take with their hard earned.

The rules of the Snowball remain the same. GL

How average savers can turn £180 a month into a lifelong second income

by John Fieldsend

The Motley Fool
A recent study put the average UK household saving at £180 a month. Putting a couple of hundred away monthly is to be applauded and this level of saving can even lay the groundwork for a lifelong second income.

Creating an income stream from average savings — around £6 a day — sounds like a tall order. But new savings vehicles with low fees and easy-to-use platforms have simplified getting big returns on investments. A passive income stream that lasts for life is easier to achieve than ever, I’d say.

More and more people are targeting this kind of income too. Some 4,000 people have reached £1m in ISAs now with around half of them hitting the figure in the last year alone.

Reaching the million-pound mark given the deposit limits on those accounts is impressive indeed, but such a large nest egg isn’t needed for a life-changing income.

Losing cash
I’ve been working towards something like this myself, and for me, financial security is what appeals most. The State Pension isn’t really enough to live on (and only 38% of under 35s expect to receive it). Plus near-double-digit inflation makes saving in cash look unattractive.

Inflation is a killer for average savers. Our society is built around low levels of inflation, it’s true. While keeping cash circulating benefits an economy, it hurts savers who see their cash lose value constantly

Even single-digit levels of inflation can be devastating. A 5% inflation rate means prices double after just 14 years. In other words, a £3 sandwich becomes £6. Perhaps more pertinently, £1,000 of savings will have the buying power of £500.

While current inflation levels are unusually high, whichever way you slice it, all of us are seeing our cash being worth less and less. And with money losing value, I see inflation-beating investments as a no-brainer.

Let’s waste no more time then. On to the strategy. My plan essentially requires two things: a return above inflation and compound interest over decades.

What I’m doing
For inflation-beating returns over years and years, I see no better option than investing in high-quality stocks.

Wait a second! The stock market? Isn’t that risky? Won’t I be competing with bankers working 80-hour weeks and lightning-fast algorithm traders?

Well, the answer is no, for the most part. While the stock market has plenty of high-risk, high-reward gambles, I won’t be touching those. My investing strategy is boring and slow – although the risk can never be fully removed and I may still lose money.

I invest the same way as billionaire Warren Buffett. He doesn’t buy stocks for a few days, but for a few decades. He says his “favourite holding period is forever”.

Slow and steady
By looking long term, I can enjoy the inflation-busting effect of stock market returns while avoiding the erratic ups and downs of day-to-day share price moves.

Better still, £180 a month is more than enough to dip my toe in the water. These days, fees to buy stocks are only a few pounds with modern platforms like Hargreaves Lansdown or AJ Bell that make it simple for anyone to invest.

The Motley Fool

A second income of £500 per month for £25 a week ? Here’s how.
Story by Christopher Ruane

Setting up additional income streams without having a second job could be a positive thing when it comes to personal finance. If I wanted to build a second income, I would aim to do so through investing in shares.

Even with a shorter timeframe, I think I could still aim to build up a more modest second income through this approach. Here’s how.

The basics

Shares are like a tiny sliver of a company. In this case I am not thinking about small companies like a local chemist or a car hire centre. Instead, my sights are set on the sorts of blue-chip businesses that sit in the benchmark FTSE 100 index of leading shares, or the smaller firms in the FTSE 250 index.

What I hope is that, by owning even a very minor piece of such firms, I can benefit from their business success when they pay out dividends.

I might make some bad choices or have unfortunate luck along the way, so I would invest in a range of companies to help reduce my risk.

Working towards a target

I could take any such dividends out as cash to give me a second income.

Imagine I earn an average yield of 8%. Investing £25 a week like that, I would already be earning £10 per week on average in dividends after five years.

The power of compounding

That is why, taking the long-term view, I would compound my dividends. That simply means reinvesting them in buying more shares.

Imagine I put the same amount away each week in identical shares to my above example, but compounded the dividends. After five years, my portfolio would be worth £7,900 and would generate an annual second income of £632.

But what if I could manage a higher average dividend yield, of 10%?

In that case, after 18 years of investing £25 weekly, my Stocks and Shares ISA would be throwing off £500 per month on average in dividends.

Finding high-quality shares that yield 10% is not easy. It takes time, effort, and research. But if I could manage to do it, my second income goal could come closer into view.

The Motley Fool

Very big dividends are expected from these 2 UK shares.
With yields of 9.7% and 5.3%, these UK dividend shares could be a great way for investors to substantially improve their passive income.

Royston Wild

MNG
PRSR

When investing, your capital is at risk. The value of your investments can go down as well as up and you may get back less than you put in.

I’m on the lookout for the best dividend shares to buy to turbocharge my investment portfolio. The concept of dividend compounding, where I reinvest any cash rewards I receive, can over time lead to exponential growth in my portfolio’s value

Here are two top passive income shares on my radar today that I feel are worth considering. Both of their dividend yields sail far above the FTSE 100 average of 3.6%.

5.3% dividend yield
The new Labour government plans to build 300,000 new homes each year to solve the housing crisis. But the property shortage will take years to solve, and in the meantime residential landlords like The PRS Group (LSE:PRSR) can expect to enjoy solid profits growth.

City analysts agree, and they expect earnings here to rise 8% and 7% in the financial years to June 2025 and 2026 respectfully.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics explains why brokers are so bullish. It shows rents in England rise 8.6% during the 12 months to June.

Build-to-rent specialists are picking up the pace of construction to tap this lucrative market, too. PRS — which recorded like-for-like rental growth of 11.1% in 2023 — grew its portfolio by 4% in the final six months of the year to take the total to 5,264.

Investing in PRS may be especially attractive for those seeking large dividends. This is thanks to its classification as a real estate investment trust (REIT). As such, it must distribute at least 90% of profits from its rental businesses to investors.

On the downside, the PRS share price may stay under pressure if interest rates fail to come down. But all things considered I think it’s a great way to target a large passive income. For 2024, its dividend yield currently sits at a juicy 5.3%.

Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice.

9.7% dividend yield
FTSE 100 business M&G (LSE:MNG) faces a greater level of uncertainty in the near term. Unlike residential property, society’s need for discretionary financial services becomes strained when economic conditions are tough.

Could this threat be baked into the company’s undemanding valuation, however? I believe it is.

Today M&G trades on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 9.9 times. Furthermore, the company’s price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 0.1 sits well below the widely regarded value watermark of 1.

Like PRS REIT, it has significant demographic trends it can harness to sustainably and strongly grow earnings.

A rising population will drive demand for PRS’s rental homes in the coming years. For M&G, it stands to benefit from the growing number of elderly people, a segment that’s expanding faster than the broader population.

The company is undergoing a transformation programme to better capture this opportunity too. It also has a strong balance sheet it can use to meet its growth plans while also continuing to pay market-leading dividends.

M&G’s Solvency II capital ratio was 203% as of December, latest financials show. This underpins the company’s gigantic 9.7% dividend yield for 2024.

The Motley Fool

by Zaven Boyrazian, MSc

Building a passive income is a popular financial goal. After all, who doesn’t love the idea of money materialising inside their bank account without having to lift a finger for it. And even a modest sum can positively impact an individual’s lifestyle.

Dividend shares are arguably one of the easiest ways to establish a secondary income stream. And while these come with certain risk factors, the barriers to entry are exceptionally low compared to alternative methods. Today, it’s possible to build an income portfolio with as little as £5 a day, or £35 a week. Here’s how.

Buying and selling shares isn’t free. Most brokerage platforms charge a small transaction fee, and even commission-free services have hidden fees that eat into investor capital. Therefore, it’s wiser to let my money accumulate into a more meaningful lump sum.
Apart from reducing transaction fees, this approach provides a few additional advantages:

Saving inside an interest-bearing savings account that pays out on a monthly basis gives me a slight boost to my capital.
Establishes a new habit of systematically putting money aside each week.
Gives me time to reflect on which income stocks are worthy of investment.
After two months, I’ll have around £280 to work with, which is more than enough to build a starting position within a dividend-paying company.

Invest in high-quality companies
Income investing is one of hundreds of strategies being used in the stock market. And volatility can easily sway investors off their chosen path, leading to painful mistakes. When it comes to building a passive income, the focus should be on the longevity of a company and its earnings.

Don’t forget dividends are funded by excess profits. So if a business can’t maintain its margins and sales, shareholder payouts may be quick to follow. With that in mind, it’s important to analyse prospective investments carefully.

A business with no discernible competitive advantage or unique product/service will likely struggle to protect or steal market share. And in the long run, that eventually translates into shrinking profits, dragging both dividends and share price down.

The balance sheet also requires some attention. A thriving enterprise may struggle to stay afloat if the burden of debt is too high. After nearly a decade of near-free money, even FTSE 100 companies have become overly reliant on cheap debt financing. Now that interest rates have gone through the roof, profitability for many leading firms is coming under pressure.

How much can I make?
Realistically, £35 a week isn’t a large amount of money. But by capitalising on the power of compounding, that can change in the long run. Typically, UK shares generate an average return of around 8% each year when looking at the FTSE 100. And 4% of this stems from dividends.

Consistently investing £5 a day at this rate for 35 years would translate into a portfolio worth roughly £321,144. At a 4% dividend rate, that’s a passive income of £12,850. Of course, these returns aren’t guaranteed. Historical performance may not repeat itself, and gains may be lower or higher.

Nevertheless, earning a extra potential 13 grand a year is nothing to scoff at, and could pave the way to a far more comfortable retirement. That’s why I think the risk is worth taking.

The post How to turn £35 a week into lifetime passive income appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.

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The Snowball only invests in Investment Trusts because if one company cancels their dividends it will un-discernible inside a Trust.

Also, most Trusts have built up reserves to pay dividends in time of market stress.

The emotional benefits of dividend re-investment.
In fact, with this investment strategy you can actually welcome falling share prices.