Image source: Getty Images Using a Stocks and Shares ISA to invest is a fantastic way to build wealth. But in 2025, it seems not everyone’s been making a lot of money. While both the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 have been on the rise, many equity funds have seemingly struggled to keep up. And that includes funds managed by industry favourites such as Terry Smith and Nick Train. It seems that relying on actively-managed funds in 2025 has led to many ISAs tumbling into the red. And subsequently, an estimated £7.1bn of investor capital has been pulled out of…
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Image source: Games Workshop plc By being frugal and investing a significant portion of a salary in an ISA each month, investors can eventually establish a sizable second income stream. On average, British households save around £450 each month. But for those able and willing to make sacrifices, almost doubling this saving rate to £830 a month can make an enormous difference. That roughly translates to putting aside £10,000 each year to fund an investment portfolio. And if an investor can match the 8% average return the UK stock market has historically generated, that’s enough capital to build a £250,000…
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged after its fourth Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting of 2025, maintaining the federal funds rate at 4.25–4.50% for the fourth consecutive time. Despite leaving policy untouched, officials downgraded their economic outlook and signaled growing hesitation around rate cuts this year. The Fed’s median forecast now calls for just two rate cuts in 2025, down from earlier projections, with more members shifting toward no rate reductions at all. Updated projections show that the central bank expects economic growth to slow from 1.7% to 1.4%, inflation to rise to 3.1% from 2.8%, and unemployment…
Image source: Getty Images I think Legal & General (LSE:LGEN) is one of the best FTSE 100 shares to consider for a large and passive income. It’s why I’ve made the financial services giant the largest single holding in my Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). Over the last decade, the company has raised dividends every year except for 2020. In response to the global pandemic, it froze the annual payout at 17.57p per share. Dividends have risen strongly since then, culminating in last year’s 21.36p payout. It means that dividend yields have crept close to double-digit-percentage territory: Source: dividenddata.co.uk As a…
Image source: Getty Images I sold Greggs (LSE: GRG) stock earlier this year. However, it keeps flashing up as potentially great value (at just under £20) on Stock Screener. So is this a FTSE share for me to rebuy for my ISA? Let’s find out. Strong brand When I look at Greggs, I see a few things I like about the business. These are why I originally bought the shares. Firstly, Greggs has a unique brand. The bakery chain from Newcastle, which sells around 140m sausage rolls a year, is brilliant at tapping into British humour. I’ve seen people wearing Greggs-branded…
Image source: Getty Images Dividends are never, ever guaranteed. But investors can vastly improve their chances of receiving a large and growing passive income by buying dividend shares that: Operate in defensive industries, and therefore enjoy long-term earnings stability. Have strong balance sheets with low debt and/or impressive cash flows. Enjoy robust economic moats (like barriers to entry, patented products and brand power). Maintain strong diversification, which protects profits from localised issues. With this in mind, here are three great dividend stocks I think savvy share pickers should look at today. iShares US Equity High Income ETF With holdings in…
Image source: Getty Images Retail banks like Lloyds (LSE:LLOY) are among the most popular shares out there for dividend investors. They’re known for their generous payout ratios and the predictable cash flows they enjoy from essential everyday products like loans, current accounts, and credit cards. Since 2020, this FTSE 100 share has paid total dividends of 10.9p per share. It’s delivered healthy cash rewards even though — like other UK banks — it was forced to suspend dividends by regulators during the pandemic. This means that someone who invested £10,000 in Lloyds shares at the start of the decade would…
The “unscrupulous nature of the enforcement” had stunned her and left the families and communities of those snatched up in the recent spate of immigration raids “irreparably” traumatized, Angelica Salas, Executive Director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), told City Council during a special session last week.Salas was there to bring councilmembers up-to-date on the rash of immigrant enforcement actions seen around the county and the hurdles L.A.’s Rapid Response Network – a network of 23 organizations and three dozen trained volunteers – had faced in trying to track, communicate with, and provide support to detainees.She then went…
The US Dollar has managed to recover, backed by the Middle East conflict. Until now, all the troubles for the global economy originated in America, from trade tariffs to the US fiscal problems that undermined confidence in the greenback and deprived it of its status as the main safe-haven currency.However, as soon as the epicentre of turmoil shifted, everything changed. The Middle East conflict is about to make the US dollar great again. The stability of foreign investors’ holdings of Treasury bonds indicates continued interest in the American currency. While China was getting rid of Treasuries in April, Japan and…
The highly public spat between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and President Donald Trump over the One, Big, Beautiful Bill highlights an ongoing, decades-long debate over national debt. The focus of this article is to explore a potential scenario and suggest a way to invest in protection against it. That path is via life and retirement insurance companies like Prudential Financial (PRU 0.21%), MetLife (MET 0.75%), and Corebridge Financial (CRBG 0.18%). Here’s why. Rising debt, rising debt servicing payments This chart gets to the heart of the matter. As shown below, the U.S. national debt has increased substantially, and so has…