Starting a new ISA in the new 2024 year and don’t know which stocks to buy? It’s tempting to go for solid FTSE 100 stocks at first. And that can be a great strategy.
But I see a lot that look like great starter stocks in the FTSE 250 too. And it’s good to consider more options, right?
I can’t think about a new ISA without talking about about investment trusts. An investment trust spreads its cash across a range of investments in its chosen strategy.
So if we buy shares in one, we effectively get some nice diversification right away. And that can be great for a new ISA. Oh, and as we become a part owner in the trust, there are no fat cats creaming off the profits.
Investment trusts
I bought some City of London Investment Trust shares, for example. It buys mostly top FTSE 100 stocks, and aims to raise its dividend each year. Currently on a 5% dividend yield, it’s achieved that feat for 57 years in a row.
There’s always a risk that a dividend fall could hurt the share price, but I think it’s low.
Other investment trusts I’d consider for a new Stocks and Shares ISA include Bankers Investment Trust, with a global outlook.
I also like Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, with its riskier focus on US growth stocks. There’s room in my ISA for a few shares of that one.
Real estate
Think there’s profit to be made from real estate, but don’t want the risk and hassle of a buy-to-let mortgage?
Me too, and that’s why I have Primary Health Properties (LSE: PHP) lined up. The real estate investment trust (REIT) could well be my first new FTSE 250 ISA buy this year.
It’s not just a play on property prices. It invests in GP surgeries and other healthcare facilities to rent to the NHS and other providers. And the rental income has looked pretty secure in recent years.
Now, it does have a lot of debt. And there’s always a risk when dealing with the NHS of the government changing its outsourcing policies.
But there’s a forecast dividend yield of 7.3% this year. And I like the long-term outlook.
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Cheap telly
TV producer and brodcaster ITV looks like a good long-term buy to me too. And if I buy some, it would also help with my diversification as I have nothing similar on my list.
The ITV share price is down over five years, partly through weak ad revenue during the Covid and inflation years.
The future is still uncertain on that score, so the shares might stay weak in 2024. But a 6.8% dividend yield looks good to me. And the firm is buying back its own shares, so it seems to see itself as cheap.
