Want to make a million with your savings? I’d buy these UK shares to get rich and retire early

Awful rates on savings products mean that Britons need to look elsewhere to make decent returns. I’m buying UK shares to get rich. Here’s why.

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More.

The 2020 stock market crash happened more than six months ago. But thanks to weak investor appetite, there are stacks and stacks of quality UK shares that can still be bought for next-to-nothing. Buying British equities today still represents the buying opportunity of a lifetime.

Of course, there are options for your savings other than buying UK shares. But some of the more popular options offer pathetic returns for your money, carry too much risk or involve too much cost. Take the Cash ISA as an example. Interest rates of below 1% aren’t likely to make you the sort of returns to help you get rich and retire early.

A proven way to get rich

Buying UK shares is a tried-and-tested way to generate excellent returns on your hard-earned savings. History reveals that long-term investors make an average return of 8% to 10% a year. Some share pickers have made even more spectacular returns over the past decade. They bought quality UK shares for cheap prices and watched them soar in value as the economic cycle improved.

Business accounting concept, Business man using calculator with computer laptop, budget and loan paper in office.

Surveys show that more than a thousand people made millions by investing in products like Stocks and Shares ISAs following the 2008/09 market crash. I reckon buyers today can enjoy the same sort of heart-stopping returns too. No matter what your attitude to risk is, I believe that now is a brilliant time to go shopping for UK shares.

Top dividend shares for nervous investors

Investors worried about the prospect of a severe downturn can take refuge in stocks like food producers and retailers, general insurance providers, telecoms and utilities suppliers and healthcare companies, for example.

Firms like these have terrific defensive qualities with revenues and earnings that remain quite stable irrespective of economic conditions. We all need to eat, use phones, have running water and working lights, and get access to medicines, whatever the broader economy is doing, right?

This supreme earnings visibility allows them to continue paying meaty dividends to their shareholders too. This quality is extremely important as shareholder payouts fell like dominoes after the Covid-19 outbreak. Take car insurance provider Admiral Group. It offers dividend yields north of 5% for 2020 and 2021. Fellow FTSE 100 share and pharmaceuticals manufacturer GlaxoSmithKline carries a yield closer to 5.5% through to the end of next year. And National Grid’s 5.8% yield for this fiscal year marches to 6% for the following period.

Make a million with UK shares

Whatever your attitude to risk, UK shares still offer plenty of opportunity for savers to make a fortune. They certainly offer more upside than products like Cash ISAs. And with the help of The Motley Fool and its epic catalogue of exclusive reports, you can seriously improve your chances of getting rich with UK shares. You might even make a million like those ISA investors.

Should you invest, the value of your investment may rise or fall and your capital is at risk. Before investing, your individual circumstances should be assessed. Consider taking independent financial advice.

Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Admiral Group and GlaxoSmithKline. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

More on Investing Articles

Ice cube tray filled with ice cubes and three loose ice cubes against dark wood.
Investing Articles

Just released: our 3 top income-focused stocks to buy before April [PREMIUM PICKS]

Our goal here is to highlight some of our past recommendations that we think are of particular interest today, due…

Read more »

Investing Articles

Is this the best chance to buy cheap FTSE 100 shares in a generation?

I want to buy shares when they're cheap, and sell... never, just keep taking the dividends. And the FTSE 100…

Read more »

Man putting his card into an ATM machine while his son sits in a stroller beside him.
Investing Articles

Could NatWest shares be 2024’s number one buy for passive income?

For those of us looking to earn some long-term passive income, how does NatWest's 7% dividend yield sound? It sounds…

Read more »

Investing Articles

£12K in savings? Here’s how I could turn that into £13K annual passive income

This Fool explains how investing a lump sum can help her build a passive income stream to enjoy in her…

Read more »

Aerial shot showing an aircraft shadow flying over an idyllic beach
Investing Articles

Here’s why Rolls-Royce shares are now set to fly over the £4 mark

Once again, Rolls-Royce shares are crushing the FTSE 100. Should I add to my holding of this stock at the…

Read more »

Investing Articles

1 under the radar FTSE 100 AI stock investors should consider buying

Our writer explains why this FTSE 100 pick could be a shrewd investment with its established experience of using AI…

Read more »

Investing Articles

Does the beaten-down Diageo share price make it a no-brainer buy?

Harvey Jones spent years waiting for the Diageo share price to look like good value, before finally buying it in…

Read more »

One English pound placed on a graph to represent an economic down turn
Investing Articles

8%+ yields! Should I buy these FTSE 100 income shares this month?

Christopher Ruane weighs some pros and cons of two FTSE 100 shares, both of which have a dividend yield over…

Read more »