Many ISA investors will be rushing to use up their annual contribution allowance before 5 April, or at least thinking about what to buy for the 2026/27 tax year.
And with inflation expected to rise due to chaos in the Strait of Hormuz — a key artery in global trade — passive income stocks are likely to remain popular in the coming months. Especially those offering super-high dividend yields.
With this in mind, here’s a five-stock portfolio with an attractive 7% yield for the next 12 months.
Options aplenty
The FTSE 100 (+21.1%) and FTSE 250 (+11.8%) have both done well over the past year, but there are still plenty of juicy high-yield shares knocking about. By my count, there are more than 40 stocks across the indexes yielding 6% or higher.
While some of these will undoubtedly be yield traps, there’s enough on offer here to build a solid high-yield portfolio. For example, the current average yield of the one below is 7%, assuming the investments are weighted evenly.
| Forward dividend yield (next 12 months) | |
| Legal & General | 9.1% |
| Aviva | 6.7% |
| TBC Bank | 6.7% |
| iShares MSCI Target UK Real Estate ETF | 6.3% |
| ITV (LSE:ITV) | 6.1% |
Life insurance giant Legal & General boasts the highest yield in the FTSE 100. A yield above 9% would normally ring alarm bells for me, but the group is committed to returning more than £5bn to shareholders between 2025 and 2027.
As part of this, it will carry out the largest share buyback in its history (£1.2bn). Meanwhile, fellow insurer Aviva has been performing strongly, with management firmly committed to growing the dividend over time.
TBC Bank operates in Georgia, where strong economic growth and rising digital banking adoption are driving impressive earnings growth.
The iShares MSCI Target UK Real Estate ETF offers vast exposure to the UK property market via real estate investment trusts (REITs).
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Risks
Admittedly, this portfolio is heavily skewed to the financials sector. We have two insurers with significant asset management businesses and a bank. So this adds concentration risk.
If the tragic war in Iran escalates and drags on for months, it could result in a global economic downturn. This turbulence wouldn’t be great for TBC Bank (which operates in a key east-west logistics hub), nor asset managers that may experience net outflows.
During a recession, the UK real estate ETF would also face downward pressure.
Resilience
ITV certainly wouldn’t be immune to an economic downturn, as advertisers would be quick to rein in spending. But I believe the FTSE 250 stock offers diversification as well as decent value today, with its 6.1% yield and forward price-to-earnings ratio of just 9.4.
ITV put in a resilient performance in 2025 despite a challenging year (it was also lapping a strong 2024, driven by the Men’s Euros competition). This summer the broadcaster will show 19 extra Men’s Football World Cup matches than in 2022, with more matches at peak time. This means advertising performance should be stronger this year.
Meanwhile, the ITV Studios division continues to do well due to strong demand from global streaming platforms. Studios and ITVX are helping offset a decline in traditional broadcast advertising.
Of course, dividends change and it’s uncertain what this portfolio will yield in future. But I think ITV could contribute nicely. The five-stock £20,000 ISA here would generate £1,400 per year in passive income.
