Sticking to long-established, cash generative FTSE 100 shares is one way to try and earn passive income.
At the moment, the index yields 3%. But some individual FTSE 100 members earn well above that average.
Here are five I think merit consideration.
Financial services yield machines
Quite a few of the current FTSE 100 high-yielders are in the financial services sector.
That can make it tricky for an investor to stay suitably diversified. But I think it is important always to spread a portfolio across not only different shares, but different sectors too.
One of those shares is Legal & General, with its 8% yield. It also aims to keep growing its dividend per share annually, though of course no dividend is ever guaranteed.
The firm’s large client base and focus on long-term retirement business could help it generate sizeable cash flows in coming years.
One risk I see is the sale of a large US business earlier this year eating into recurring revenue streams.
I also think 7%-yielding asset manager M&G merits consideration. Its strong reputation among investors has helped it build a customer base in the millions across multiple markets.
Current market turbulence could lead some of those investors to be nervous, though. If they pull more out of M&G funds than they put in, the company’s earnings might suffer.
Insurance giant and market leader
Another company in a different part of the finance sector is insurer Aviva (LSE: AV).
Operating under its own name, and others like the Direct Line brand it acquired, Aviva is now the country’s largest general insurer, by some distance. That gives it substantial economies of scale.
Reducing its international footprint in recent years has also helped the company play to its strengths.
But it has added to the concentration risk: if the UK insurance market enters a period of weak pricing, that could be bad news for all insurers – especially Aviva, given its market leadership.
I like how well run the business currently is, its clear strategic direction, and the high levels of cash generation it is able to achieve.
That helps support a dividend that, though cut in 2020, has been growing handily in recent years. The current yield is 6.1%.
Show me the money (away from finance!)
One non-finance share in the FTSE 100 that I think merits consideration is Dunhill and Pall Mall maker British American Tobacco.
It has grown its dividend per share annually for decades and aims to keep doing so.
Strong brands and a large global operation are both strengths. But falling revenues point to a growing risk to profits as fewer people smoke. Some investors may also want to avoid a tobacco company.
Currently, the share yields 5.9%.
Down, but far from out
A fifth FTSE 100 share to consider is Vanish maker Reckitt Benckiser.
Its first quarter results today (22 April) included a year-on-year decline in sales volumes.
The company highlighted the risk posed by uncertainty caused by the Middle Eastern war. That could lead to cost inflation and also depress consumer demand. The share price fell on today’s news.
Still, the company has an excellent stable of well-known brands. From a long-term perspective, I continue to like its prospects.
Reckitt’s yield is 4.6%.
