I think George Osborne has delivered a great budget for investors. With him increasing the ISA allowance from £15,240 to £20,000 (as from April 2017), and cutting capital gains tax, it all means that investors will now have to pay far less tax on their shareholdings and that can only encourage investment.
And the fact that tax on buy-to-let has been increased makes buying stocks an even more attractive option for those who want to make the most of their savings. That’s why there has been no better time to start investing. And if you want to buy into the stock market, here are my three shares to start with right now.
GlaxoSmithKline
Big Pharma has tended to disappoint in recent years, as the patent cliff and increasing competition from generics has led to stagnant profits. Yet there’s no doubt that there’s an increasing market for medicines, as the world’s population increases, as it ages, as it gets more wealthy, and as the demand for treatments for ‘rich man’s’ diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes grows.
The science base in this country, from large companies and SMEs to the universities, is one of the strongest in the world. GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) can feed off these many strengths to develop and market its treatments for a global marketplace. And it’s working towards this by expanding beyond the chemical drugs of the past into biotechnology, vaccines, consumer healthcare and HIV treatments.
With this potential in mind, a 2016 P/E ratio of 16.34 seems reasonable, and a dividend yield of 5.77% is appealing. Buy this for the income and for its long-term growth prospects.
Aviva
Insurance may not be a glamorous industry, but for investors in search of blue-chip income and growth, this has been a happy hunting ground. Global insurer Aviva (LSE: AV) is a case in point.
After going through a rocky patch in the years following the Credit Crunch, during which time the bloated insurance giant turned a loss and had to slash jobs, Aviva is now strongly profitable again. And it’s also yielding an impressive dividend. A 2016 P/E ratio of 10.50, and a 5.28% dividend yield make Aviva a strong buy, in my opinion.
Ryanair
Amidst the commodities crunch, with oil and mineral prices collapsing, and the shares prices of firms such as BP and BHP Billiton falling, one group of companies has (perhaps not surprisingly) emerged as winners from the turmoil: the airlines.
One airline that’s frequently overlooked as an investment is Ryanair (LSE: RYA). This company flies budget routes all across Europe, and is already benefitting from falling aviation fuel prices. Earnings per share have jumped from 39.47p in 2013 to 62.68p in 2015, and are expected to climb higher still. And a 2016 P/E ratio of 14.67 looks good value too.
