The deadline for the current Stocks and Shares ISA year is 5 April. I make that just under two months away. Given how quickly the weeks go by, I want to ensure I’m not left scrambling at the last minute to put my excess cash to work. Thankfully, the £20,000 allocation resets each year, but regarding the spare cash I have now, I’d rather put it to work before the deadline. Here are a few of the stocks I’m thinking about adding.
Adding dividend-payers
The main benefit of the Stocks and Shares ISA is that it’s a tax wrapper. This means that I don’t pay dividend tax or capital gains tax on the gains from stocks I own. The lack of dividend tax is great for when I’m trying to add reliable income stocks for the future.
There are some attractive yields available within the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 at the moment. I’m considering adding one high-yield stock and one that’s been growing the dividend per share for two decades.
The high-yielding option is CMC Markets. The current dividend yield is 11.06%. The retail trading platform should do well this year, as I expect high volatility in financial markets to continue. After all, in January, the Nasdaq had one of the worst New Years ever, dropping almost 10%. Conversely, the business does need to ensure that it doesn’t rest on its laurels from all the new accounts opened during the pandemic, as many of these could easily go inactive.
I’d also consider adding Unilever to my Stocks and Shares ISA. Even though the dividend yield is only 3.78%, it has grown the dividend-per-share for the last two decades. This gives me confidence that it could be a reliable income provider for many years to come. I’m keeping an eye on the management team though, following the ill-thought-out failed bid for GlaxoSmithKline’s Consumer Health unit.
Growth stocks of tomorrow for my ISA
To take advantage of the lack of capital gains tax, I also want to include some growth stocks that have multi-year potential. To this end, I’m considering adding Boohoo to my Stocks and Shares ISA. This is a high-risk play, with the share price having fallen 72% over the past year. Yet I think it’s quickly becoming undervalued. I think supply chain problems and cost inflation won’t be long-term issues. Rather, I think the share price could bounce from current depressed levels in years to come.
A fourth option is Meta. Some might shy away from buying due to the miss in earnings last week that saw the share price fall 26% on the day. The stock is down 11% over the past year, but I think this is a good dip to buy. With the pivot towards the metaverse (which I believe is the right thing to do), I feel it’s a long-term company to hold in my Stocks and Shares ISA.
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. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
