Bank of England seem a bit perturbed why savings are still at pre-pandenic levels & consumers are not spending money in the shops which would help the economy.
Maybe it's because they are getting 4%+ on their cash savings for no risk.
Bring interest rates down further. Will give those with mortgages more money to spend and those with savings less incentive to keep money on deposit.
But I'm no economist.....just a humble financial adviser who speaks to both types above.
(Yes, aware of inflation but this is coming down and has been mainly the cost of food, energy and wage increases......not consumer spending on cars & white goods).
I assume there's a fear of a run on sterling. On top of that any free cash will just get sucked into increased house prices and rents.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
im a private client solicitor not an IFA but I’ve seen many people in this scenario and you need professional advice not some comments on here.
Either use Golfie (can’t endorse but if others say so) or I’d happily connect you with someone who can assist.
Bank of England seem a bit perturbed why savings are still at pre-pandenic levels & consumers are not spending money in the shops which would help the economy.
Maybe it's because they are getting 4%+ on their cash savings for no risk.
Bring interest rates down further. Will give those with mortgages more money to spend and those with savings less incentive to keep money on deposit.
But I'm no economist.....just a humble financial adviser who speaks to both types above.
(Yes, aware of inflation but this is coming down and has been mainly the cost of food, energy and wage increases......not consumer spending on cars & white goods).
Inflation isn't coming down in the short term at least.
Forecast to hit 4% in September.
And given by how food prices are going up again in the shops that may be an underestimate.
These secondary tariffs for countries like India are going to be interesting.
It's something that is a great idea in order to up the pressure on Russia as they are targeting the places who are still buying Russian energy, but it begs the question, why hasn't it been done already?
I enjoyed the article below from the BBC. It does make me think that a lot of countries talk a good game on punishing Russia, but often they don't go all the way, and I'm not talking about weapons, I think I understand that, I'm talking about economics.
Bank of England seem a bit perturbed why savings are still at pre-pandenic levels & consumers are not spending money in the shops which would help the economy.
Maybe it's because they are getting 4%+ on their cash savings for no risk.
Bring interest rates down further. Will give those with mortgages more money to spend and those with savings less incentive to keep money on deposit.
But I'm no economist.....just a humble financial adviser who speaks to both types above.
(Yes, aware of inflation but this is coming down and has been mainly the cost of food, energy and wage increases......not consumer spending on cars & white goods).
Inflation isn't coming down in the short term at least.
Forecast to hit 4% in September.
And given by how food prices are going up again in the shops that may be an underestimate.
BOE are predicting it should be back to their target level of 2% in mid 2027....so approx 2 years time.
These secondary tariffs for countries like India are going to be interesting.
It's something that is a great idea in order to up the pressure on Russia as they are targeting the places who are still buying Russian energy, but it begs the question, why hasn't it been done already?
I enjoyed the article below from the BBC. It does make me think that a lot of countries talk a good game on punishing Russia, but often they don't go all the way, and I'm not talking about weapons, I think I understand that, I'm talking about economics.
Would really appreciate if that doesn't turn into a "who can say the meanest thing about Trump" competition, this thread should be above that :-)
If only Trump would put sanctions directly on Russia...rather than fiddling around the edges by punishing nations like India instead.
Trump has pissed off India and imposing higher tariffs on them is surely going to push them closer to Russia and potentially China.
Russia/US trade has plunged from $35bn to $3.5bn, a 90% reduction, as a consequence of sanctions, I dont see what adding 40% to that would do. He needs to target those still bankrolling them.
In 2024, total trade in goods between the EU and Russia amounted to €67.5 billion, compared to €257.5 billion in 2021. EU’s imports were worth €35.9 billion
The EU’s exports to Russia in 2024 totalled €31.5 billion, compared to €99.0 billion in 2021.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'm not at all sure that putting 90% of their funds in investment trusts in the renewables sector is a good recommendation, especially to people that are clearly not experienced investors. (Actually for me those reccos might be interesting, as I'm after more income, and could afford to "dabble", but no way would I advise anyone to lump most of their precious savings into them.)
And it's all very well dissing IFAs and coming out with that intensely annoying and smug phrase "Do your own Research" but where would this couple start with that? There is some much absolute bollocks on the web written by intensely annoying and smug amateurs, self interested "analysts" aged about 19, and shameless con-men and grifters, I have no idea how people new to it all can safely navigate it.
By all means one should try to research / get second opinions on an IFA's recommendations before acting on them. If that's what you meant, fair enough. But @Webby is new to all this, and needs someone who can help him understand and navigate the basics, and is used to answering basic questions such as "can you explain what bonds are?". That's part of what you pay for.
I use Golfie for periodic reviews of my portfolio. Before I knew Golfie, I used an IFA recommended by mates when I needed to start a SIPP. Both did/do a good job. No IFA will get everything right, all the time, but neither does anyone else.
It’s not just about an IFA though - for sums in excess of £250k you really need an investment manager and wealth planner - particularly if the aim is to retire from this - you need financial forecasts and cash flow projections etc.
there are firms that I work with that provide all this and the fees are certainly worth it imo. They’re not scandalous and add value - otherwise nobody would use them!
I’m speaking from a professional perspective when I say this but just trying to assist a fellow Charlton fan - absolutely zero in it for me.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares ..... So by investing in shares you can take income from this investment each year or would I need to sell the shares?
What are the fees you would usually to pay to a financial advisor. If they say, for example, fees are taken from your actual pension contributions... is that an ongoing fee?
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
What are the fees you would usually to pay to a financial advisor. If they say, for example, fees are taken from your actual pension contributions... is that an ongoing fee?
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
You can usually pay a one off fee for advice but if you use an investment manager to look after your investments there is an ongoing monthly fee, normally a fixed percentage figure.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Speak to Golfie for formal advice.
you’ll need a 5% return which should easily be achievable. But tax will eat into that so things like ISA’s will help.
If only there was an investment that could return 5% pa tax free to basic rate taxpayers 😉.
So, yes.....speak to a good IFA. If not, speak to me.....😂😂😂.
I'm in the process of finding a home for house sale proceeds but can't find anything FSCS protected above about 4.45%. Which investment are you referring to here, @golfaddick ?
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I can tell you're not a financial adviser. Jeez.....such bad advice.
The tax the OP would have to pay on all time would probably wipe out any benefit
The reason why people pay for advice is for my 35 years of knowledge & experience. For drawing up a financial plan that doesn't cost the client much (if any) tax.
And no, I wouldn't be recommending any of that apart from the Stocks & Shares ISA's - and that wouldnt be invested in a handful of UK listed companies. For starters there is no diversifaction & too much risk.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares ..... So by investing in shares you can take income from this investment each year or would I need to sell the shares?
Neither. Just dont do it.
The income would be taxable & when you sell the shares you'd pay Capital Gains Tax. You and your wife have an annual CGT Allowance of just £3000.
Such bad advice. If I gave that advice I'd be struck off.
What are the fees you would usually to pay to a financial advisor. If they say, for example, fees are taken from your actual pension contributions... is that an ongoing fee?
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
Different ways of skinning a cat.
Usually there is an upfront fee for the initial advice & implementation. This can be paid to the adviser/ firm direct or by taking it from your investment/ contribution. Its as broad as it's long. Then the adviser can build in an ongoing fee that is taken from your investment which pays for regular reviews, meetings etc etc.
All can & should be discussed at your initial meeting with your adviser. Initial meeting is usually free (mine are).
In the old days before RDR (retail distribution review in 2012) an IFA would charge 3% upfront an 0.5% ongoing. I broadly follow this model but I know advisers who charge 1% upfront & then 1% ongoing.
There are of course discounts / special rates for Lifers 😉.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Speak to Golfie for formal advice.
you’ll need a 5% return which should easily be achievable. But tax will eat into that so things like ISA’s will help.
If only there was an investment that could return 5% pa tax free to basic rate taxpayers 😉.
So, yes.....speak to a good IFA. If not, speak to me.....😂😂😂.
I'm in the process of finding a home for house sale proceeds but can't find anything FSCS protected above about 4.45%. Which investment are you referring to here, @golfaddick ?
I'm referring to an investment, not a Cash product. Investments are not FSCS protected in the way a Bank or Savings account are.
After some advice from those in the know please. We own our property outright and have another house that I have run as a holiday let for the last few years, brings in an income of circa £30k per annum but after mortgage payments, council tax, utilities, staff costs etc we receive circa £15k a year. We are going to sell it next year and after paying the mortgage off and keeping a lump back of say 50k we will have about 400k to invest to hopefully provide an income so that we can stop working. We have 10k income from another rental so ideally need to achieve 15k to 20k annualy from the 400k invested which we can live on, but ideally do not want to eat into the £400k until we start to draw state pension. I am 58 and the wife 53 so a while to go before state pensions. I currenty own a letting business so do not really want to be a landlord with BTL as there are a lot of pitfaslls and worries around tenants etc and even the maintainence and upkeep of the holiday let is more work than we are looking for going forwards. I have been reading this thread for some time but do not really understand ISA and bonds etc, we will both be lower rate tax payers and most of our income will be covered by our tax free income allowances. Once we have sold and have the money ready to invest we would be happy to have specialist paid for advice but trying to work out if what we want is viable.
Say you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
DO NOT TAKE THIS ADVICE UNLESS YOU WANT TO TAKE A HIGH RISK AND YOU UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND HAVE THE FULLEST KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMPANIES THAT YOU WOULD BE INVESTING IN!
It may be ok for FSLN1 if he knows what he is doing, but not for someone who is not an expert.
Comments
I assume there's a fear of a run on sterling. On top of that any free cash will just get sucked into increased house prices and rents.
Forecast to hit 4% in September.
And given by how food prices are going up again in the shops that may be an underestimate.
https://www.axios.com/2025/04/02/trump-tariffs-russia-ukraine-ceasefire
By contrast the EU has dropped far less:
- In 2024, total trade in goods between the EU and Russia amounted to €67.5 billion, compared to €257.5 billion in 2021. EU’s imports were worth €35.9 billion
- The EU’s exports to Russia in 2024 totalled €31.5 billion, compared to €99.0 billion in 2021.
https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/russia_enSay you start off with £400K this is what I would do...
I'd plonk some in a high interest cash savings account, but the best deals only offer around 5% PA and given that inflation is currently running at around 3.5% PA that doesn't give much of a return, so I wouldn't tie up too much of my money but some easy to access cash is always handy.
I'd invest the max £20K in a stocks & shares ISA investing in a company like Phoenix, Legal & General or M&G which pay annual dividends of around 8%-9%ish PA, at the max of 9% that's £1,800 cash free. If you want to venture a bit outside the FTSE 100 there are companies like SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust or NextEnergy Solar Trust that offer yields of over 10% or Greencoat Wind with around 8.5%.
If you want to play it safe then £20K in a cash ISA at 5% will pay you a tad over £1k PA (assuming you are paid interest monthly).
I'd put around £350,000 in these high yielding shares, see above, which will give you a gross annual income of £28K at 8% and £31,500 at 9% or around £38,500 if you opt for the SDCL Income Trust which is currently yielding just shy of 11%. You may also get a bit of capital growth into the bargain, on the other hand the share price might fall, but if you are investing for long term income then daily market fluctuations shouldn't be a factor.
I'd then compound the gains, that is re-invest the dividends into buying more shares in those companies so your annual returns will naturally be higher.
And with any money left over, I'd buy some shares in Rolls-Royce.
Be wary of paying an IFA - they'll likely tell you some version of the above but then ping you a bill for it. There's no need to pay for this kind of advice if you do your research and there is shedloads of that you can get from the internet.
Speaking of which, always Do Your Own Research.
And it's all very well dissing IFAs and coming out with that intensely annoying and smug phrase "Do your own Research" but where would this couple start with that? There is some much absolute bollocks on the web written by intensely annoying and smug amateurs, self interested "analysts" aged about 19, and shameless con-men and grifters, I have no idea how people new to it all can safely navigate it.
By all means one should try to research / get second opinions on an IFA's recommendations before acting on them. If that's what you meant, fair enough. But @Webby is new to all this, and needs someone who can help him understand and navigate the basics, and is used to answering basic questions such as "can you explain what bonds are?". That's part of what you pay for.
I use Golfie for periodic reviews of my portfolio. Before I knew Golfie, I used an IFA recommended by mates when I needed to start a SIPP. Both did/do a good job. No IFA will get everything right, all the time, but neither does anyone else.
there are firms that I work with that provide all this and the fees are certainly worth it imo. They’re not scandalous and add value - otherwise nobody would use them!
Or can you pay a one off fee for independent advice?
I can tell you're not a financial adviser. Jeez.....such bad advice.
The tax the OP would have to pay on all time would probably wipe out any benefit
The reason why people pay for advice is for my 35 years of knowledge & experience. For drawing up a financial plan that doesn't cost the client much (if any) tax.
And no, I wouldn't be recommending any of that apart from the Stocks & Shares ISA's - and that wouldnt be invested in a handful of UK listed companies. For starters there is no diversifaction & too much risk.
As for the £350k bit....👀👀👀👀
The income would be taxable & when you sell the shares you'd pay Capital Gains Tax. You and your wife have an annual CGT Allowance of just £3000.
Such bad advice. If I gave that advice I'd be struck off.
Usually there is an upfront fee for the initial advice & implementation. This can be paid to the adviser/ firm direct or by taking it from your investment/ contribution. Its as broad as it's long. Then the adviser can build in an ongoing fee that is taken from your investment which pays for regular reviews, meetings etc etc.
All can & should be discussed at your initial meeting with your adviser. Initial meeting is usually free (mine are).
In the old days before RDR (retail distribution review in 2012) an IFA would charge 3% upfront an 0.5% ongoing. I broadly follow this model but I know advisers who charge 1% upfront & then 1% ongoing.
There are of course discounts / special rates for Lifers 😉.
It may be ok for FSLN1 if he knows what he is doing, but not for someone who is not an expert.