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The FTSE 100 gained’t be one of the best place for each investor. No, everybody must base their decisions on their very own wants and their very own analysis. Nevertheless it’s the place I most need to put my cash in 2024, and past.
Over within the US, each the S&P 500 and Nasdaq maintain hitting new all-time highs. In actual fact, the S&P 500’s up 23% to this point in 2024, whereas our expensive outdated FTSE 100 has placed on simply 9%. And the Footsie nonetheless hasn’t matched the 52-week excessive of 8,474 factors it reached as way back as Could.
So the UK inventory market’s a loser then, and greatest averted? No, it’s nonetheless my favorite, for a couple of key causes.
However low, proper?
The primary cause is that I need to purchase shares after they’re low-cost. Isn’t that what everybody desires? It would make economists joyful when inventory markets are buzzing. But when we plan to maintain shopping for shares for the long run, we must always absolutely need costs and valuations to remain low.
My different key cause is that I am going largely for dividend shares, and the FTSE 100 has a number of the greatest yields I can discover. We’re a forecast common dividend yield of three.7% this yr, together with all of the low ones, rising to 4% in 2025. That’s simply peculiar dividends, and doesn’t embody any specials.
And we even have what needs to be a long-term enhance from the £50bn in share buybacks which have been introduced to this point in 2024.
Lengthy-term favorite
For example, let’s take a look at one among my high FTSE 100 shares, Aviva (LSE: AV.)
The five-year share worth chart above, won’t look nice. Nevertheless it’s precisely what I would like, and I hope it stays unimpressive for at a couple of extra years but.
What it means is I should purchase extra Aviva shares on a ahead price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 12 this yr, with forecasts dropping as little as 9.2 by 2026 (primarily based on at present’s worth).
And I might snag a fats 7% dividend yield, if these forecasts are correct. Oh, and the analysts suppose it’ll carry on rising within the subsequent few years too.
Dangers
The Aviva dividend, like several dividend, isn’t assured. The insurance coverage sector carries cyclical threat too, and at present’s upbeat outlook might change faster than we would anticipate. Inflation and rate of interest uncertainty don’t assist.
Investing on this sector, as in any sector, means we have to perceive the companies we purchase. And that brings me to a different cause why I like FTSE 100 shares a lot.
I perceive the insurance coverage sector fairly properly, particularly within the context of the UK market and financial system. And that should give me a bonus.
Backside line
So to sum up, investing in FTSE 100 shares places me in companies I perceive within the financial system that I do know greatest. And at instances like these, it might probably maximise my possibilities to purchase low-cost, and hopefully lock in years of dividend revenue.
Oh, and there are different FTSE 100 sectors I additionally like and perceive, additionally at good valuations. So there’s loads of scope for diversification.
