On 1 August the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee made a 5-4 decision to kickstart its rate-cutting cycle. A 25 basis point reduction in the base rate to 5% marking The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street's first cut since March 2020.This means cash savings rates are heading in one direction, down. And the lower-than-expected jump in UK inflation reported on 14 August only boosted market exp

It can be hard to look past day-to-day cares and worries and give proper thought to achieving a financially comfortable retirement. However, if you want to enjoy a decent quality of life after you bring your career to a close then you must devote more attention to your pension.Investment trusts, held within a SIPP (self-invested personal pension), can be a useful vehicle to help you achieve your g

Lots of people like to use the income from stocks and funds to help meet their monthly outgoings. In this article we look to help with the process of selecting appropriate investments by examining the range of UK stocks, funds and investment trusts paying monthly or quarterly dividends.Bearing in mind the need to avoid concentrating too much on one area of the market, taking a judicious approach i

For many of us, the dream is to have enough money invested by the time we retire that we can sit back and earn enough in dividend income each month to pay the bills without having to touch our capital or dip into our state pension.However, with many companies which used to pay big dividends, such as energy giants BP (BP.) and Shell (SHEL), having 'rebased' their pay-outs at lower levels, what are

How does a 5% return on your money sound right now? With UK interest rates showing little sign of increasing from rock bottom levels despite mounting inflation, a 5% rate is certainly appealing.If you are using your investments to pay the bills or to fund your living expenses in retirement the income you receive is vital. The great news is that the dividends from stocks and shares can offer invest

The investment trust sector has seen huge price moves over the last couple of weeks, exacerbated by increased volatility in stock markets. The sector trades at an average 15% discount to net asset values (NAV), a level only seen at the depths of the financial crisis in 2008.ONE-DAY MOVEMENTSAs stock markets have recovered this week, we have seen some wild moves in the prices of some trusts and som

There are approximately 450 open-ended funds that pay dividends monthly. The majority invest in short-term money market instruments or different types of bonds, but there are also plenty of multi-asset mandates, as well as property and equity funds.Given the wide degree of choice, it is perfectly feasible to put together a diversified portfolio in which all of the constituents pay a monthly divide

There are increasing numbers of funds that pay dividends every month. These products may be of particular interest to anyone in retirement needing to rely on income from investments to pay monthly household bills.It is possible to get yields in the range of 5% to 6% or more based on historic payouts, although investors must appreciate there are no guarantees with most investment funds that dividen

Bank of England governor Mark Carney's hint earlier that interest rates could start rising by the 'turn of the year' is unlikely to dampen the attraction of equities as a core source of income for a considerable amount of time.Any rise in the base rate from the 0.5% at which it has been held for more than six years is expected to be modest with some believing it could take three years to reach 2%.

Unprecedented demand for UK's 'pensioner bonds' shows the fierce appetite for achieving a better return on investment than cash in the bank. The latest inflation figures put back any hopes of a near-term interest rate hike, so cash deposit accounts are going to remain off the menu for the foreseeable future given their paltry returns. That speaks to continued popularity for bonds and equities.Mass