Investors today are almost spoilt with the amount of options available for a Stocks and Shares ISA. There are thousands of different companies, investment trusts, and exchange-traded funds to sift through.
Where to start? Here are two FTSE 100 stocks from my ISA that I think are worthy of consideration in 2025.
A ready-made portfolio of growth stocks
The first is Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust (LSE: SMT). This FTSE 100 fund aims to own the world’s best growth firms over the long term. Its holds about 100 stocks from both public and private markets.
Should you invest £1,000 in Legal & General right now?
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The share price has risen 20% year to date and 307% over 10 years. However, it remains 36% lower than a peak reached in November 2021.
Here are the top 10 holdings, as of 31 October 2024.
| Company | Portfolio weighting (%) |
|---|---|
| MercadoLibre | 6.4 |
| Amazon | 6.0 |
| Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) | 4.8 |
| Nvidia | 4.4 |
| Meituan | 4.2 |
| Tesla | 4.1 |
| Meta Platforms | 3.8 |
| Ferrari | 3.6 |
| PDD Holdings | 3.3 |
| ASML | 3.2 |
Some on this list are the trust’s best-ever investments, made many moons ago. These include Amazon (first invested in 2005), Tesla (invested in 2013), and chip equipment maker ASML (first bought in 1996).
Scottish Mortgage invested £64m in Nvidia back in 2016 and recently sold some shares for a profit of £1.2bn. However, it still holds a £660m stake. This shows how powerful buy-and-hold investing can be!
Looking forward though, the trust will need its next generation of potential big winners to drive future returns. This isn’t automatically guaranteed, though.
For instance, it reportedly lost more than £300m after the recent collapse of Swedish electric vehicle battery maker Northvolt. Not so long ago, this was one of its largest private holdings.
In the six months to September, Northvolt helped drag down the value of the trust’s unlisted investments by 11.3%. Not great.
On a more positive note, SpaceX’s valuation has reportedly soared to $350bn, with the rocket pioneer increasingly becoming the gateway to space for the Western world.
Meanwhile, TikTok parent ByteDance (another large holding) is expected to report around $150bn in revenue for 2024. Not bad for a 12-year-old company!
Scottish Mortgage offers a way for investors to gain exposure to game-changing private companies like SpaceX and TikTok.
High-yield passive income
The second stock I think’s worth considering is Legal & General (LSE: LGEN). This is the blue-chip insurance and asset management firm that’s been around since Queen Victoria was on the throne.
The big attraction here is the mouthwatering 9.2% forward dividend yield. That towers above the FTSE 100 average of around 3.5%.
In recent days, the firm said it’s on track to achieve mid-single-digit growth in operating profit this year. And it’s confident of delivering 6%-9% annual growth in core operating earnings per share through to FY27.
Legal & General has a fantastic record of increasing its dividend. However, no dividend is assured forever, and the company invests in various assets, including stocks, bonds, and property, to meet its long-term obligations. These are subject to market fluctuations, which can impact asset values.
Still, the company has a solid balance sheet and large customer base. The monster 9%+ yield appears sustainable, while it plans to return more capital to shareholders in future, including via share buybacks.
With a cheap valuation and ultra-high dividend yield, I think this is an excellent stock to consider for passive income.
