We’re almost into April, and that means the Stocks and Shares contribution limit resets. We’ll be able to add up to £20,000 over the following 12 months. And after actually investing any cash, all the gains will be tax-free, so it’s time to get excited over our new investment plans.
But first, we only have a couple of weeks to panic over what to do with our current ISA year while we still can. Well, there’s no need for panic… but I can see good reasons why people might get a bit apprehensive.
With so little time left, how are we supposed to decide which stocks and shares to buy before 5 April? It’s a concern I often hear, but it’s really not a problem. We don’t actually need to buy any stocks before the deadline. We just need to get our money in.
So just transfer as much cash as we can to our Stocks and Shares ISA account before the time runs out. And then we can take all the time we need to plan our actual investments.
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.
What to buy?
New Stocks and Shares ISA investors often go for an index tracker fund, like the iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF. That attempts to match the FTSE 100‘s overall performance. And I think it can be a great first move.
But a key part of starting out with an ISA, in my view, is to use it to help us develop an individual strategy. Over time, we can decide which kinds of individual shares we like — maybe dividend shares, or growth shares, small-cap, or whatever. And we can temper our picks to suit our approach to risk too.
I reckon investment trusts are great for this. They spread the cash over a number of stocks based on a stated strategy. And I rate Murray Income Trust (LSE: MUT) as an excellent one for new ISA investors to consider.
Dividend Hero
The dividend yield, currently at around 4.5%, is very nice to have. And Murray Income is one of the Association of Investment Companies’ Dividend Heroes. Those are investment trusts that have raised their annual dividend for at least 20 years in a row. Murray has so far managed it for 52 consecutive years.
That does present a risk, though. Should the dividend hike not happen one year, I could see the share price suffering. And the past five years haven’t brought the best growth.
Strategy
Despite the name, the trust has a wider strategy. It aims for dividend income combined with capital growth, mainly from shares in UK companies. To that end, its top 10 stocks include AstraZeneca and HSBC Holdings — the two biggest on the FTSE 100. National Grid is there too, and that’s long been a UK dividend favourite.
Watching the trust’s individual holdings, we can get a feel for which kinds of stocks we might like to venture into next. Eyes on the top 10 holdings by weight? Keep track of the biggest dividend yields? Watch the smallest market cap stocks? We can learn as we profit.
