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Alan Oscroft

Alan is a freelance writer who began writing for The Motley Fool in the late 1990s. He has been a private investor for more 30 years, and has explored a number of strategies, settling on high-yielding blue-chip shares.

Recent Articles

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Investing Articles

Watches of Switzerland shares just fell 37%. Should investors buy the dip?

| Alan Oscroft

Watches of Switzerland shares have just crashed for the second time in less than a year, this time triggered by…

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Middle-aged black male working at home desk
Investing Articles

With production strong, is the BHP Group share price heading for good times?

| Alan Oscroft

The BHP Group share price has had a good few years. And the company's latest production update shows no sign…

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Investor looking at stock graph on a tablet with their finger hovering over the Buy button
Investing Articles

Up 50% in a year as revenue climbs, does the Sage share price have more to give?

| Alan Oscroft

The Sage Group share price was a runaway success in 2023. And the software tech firm has just released strong…

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Young Caucasian woman with pink her studying from her laptop screen
Investing Articles

On these results, Pearson shares could be set for a new bull run

| Alan Oscroft

It looks like 2023 was a good year for this educational publisher, with sales and profit rising. But Pearson shares…

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Young woman working at modern office. Technical price graph and indicator, red and green candlestick chart and stock trading computer screen background.
Investing Articles

Can these results give the Antofagasta share price a long-term boost?

| Alan Oscroft

Copper prices are high, and the Antofagasta share price has been erratic. With strong 2024 guidance, will the stock have…

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Close-up of British bank notes
Investing Articles

Legal & General: defensive, steady shares with long-term dividend growth

| Alan Oscroft

Do I really think something as volatile in the short term as Legal & General shares can be a steady…

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Senior couple crossing the road on a city street. They are walking with shopping bags while Christmas shopping.
Investing Articles

Looking for passive income from the FTSE 100? These are my top 2024 picks

| Alan Oscroft

It's that time of year when I size up my favourite FTSE 100 income shares to try to boost my…

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Young Caucasian woman with pink her studying from her laptop screen
Investing Articles

Here’s how I’d try to build a second income with £10 a day

| Alan Oscroft

There are many ideas for generating a second income. But a lot of them require hard work, and I don't…

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Investing Articles

Unilever: defensive, steady shares with long-term dividend growth

| Alan Oscroft

I've never owned Unilever shares. But looking back over history, and thinking about the business model, I reckon that was…

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BUY AND HOLD spelled in letters on top of a pile of books. Alongside is a piggy bank in glasses. Buy and hold is a popular long term stock and shares strategy.
Investing Articles

The Rio Tinto share price gains on rising Q4 production. Time to buy?

| Alan Oscroft

The Rio Tinto share price has had a rocky few years, and the outlook for 2024 remains uncertain. So is…

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Investing Articles

As revenue growth boosts the Ocado share price, here’s what you need to know

| Alan Oscroft

The Ocado share price collapsed from its soaring highs of three years ago. But after a record Christmas, it's picking…

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Investing Articles

Here’s how a Stocks and Shares ISA could be the key to long-term wealth

| Alan Oscroft

I want to avoid the short-term risk of the latest get-rich-quick stock market darlings. It's a long-term Stocks and Shares…

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Investing Articles

What’s happening with the Angle (AGL) share price

| Alan Oscroft

The Angle share price is the latest to surge and draw the attention of growth stock investors. Here’s what I’d…

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British Pennies on a Pound Note
Investing Articles

These red-hot FTSE winners were once penny stocks, and they could have more to give

| Alan Oscroft

Super cheap penny stocks are easy to find. But picking the ones that are most likely to succeed can take…

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Investing Articles

Will the Lloyds share price end 2024 closer to 100p or 25p?

| Alan Oscroft

I think the Lloyds share price could be in for a cracking time this year. But there are plenty of…

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Happy couple showing relief at news
Investing Articles

£20,000 savings? Here’s how I’d aim to turn it into £1,000-a-month passive income

| Alan Oscroft

Want to turn a pot of savings into a regular passive income? I'd make the best use I could of…

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Young female business analyst looking at a graph chart while working from home
Investing Articles

What will happen to the stock market in 2024? Here’s what the experts say

| Alan Oscroft

The UK stock market is off to a weak start in 2024. And though shares look cheap, the outlook this…

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Investing Articles

Can these hot FTSE 250 stocks smash the market in 2024?

| Alan Oscroft

There's a wide variety of FTSE 250 stocks that just look too cheap to me. And I wonder if this…

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Businesswoman analyses profitability of working company with digital virtual screen
Investing Articles

Here’s why growth stocks could smash the FTSE in 2024

| Alan Oscroft

The past few years haven't been good ones for growth stocks. But could that all be about to change in…

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Investing Articles

Will the Rolls-Royce share price soar or slump in 2024?

| Alan Oscroft

It was the runaway FTSE 100 winner in 2023. But can the Rolls-Royce share price repeat the feat in 2024,…

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Businessman use electronic pen writing rising colorful graph from 2023 to 2024 year of business planning and stock investment growth concept.
Investing Articles

Here’s why I’m getting ready for a FTSE 100 surge in 2024

| Alan Oscroft

After years in the dumps, the FTSE 100 still holds so many stocks I think are too cheap. Could this…

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Smart young brown businesswoman working from home on a laptop
Investing Articles

The Hays share price is one of the FTSE 250’s biggest fallers! Here’s why

| Alan Oscroft

It's not nice when a stock I like becomes one of the biggest FTSE 250 losers of the day. Then…

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Investing Articles

Here’s how I’d use a £20,000 ISA to generate passive income for life

| Alan Oscroft

Looking to build up some long-term passive income? I think 2024 might just be a great year to start, with…

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Diverse group of friends cheering sport at bar together
Investing Articles

Here’s why the HSBC share price rose 23% in 2023

| Alan Oscroft

What a surprise to see the HSBC share price among the top FTSE 100 performers in 2023! I reckon there…

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Black father and two young daughters dancing at home
Investing Articles

Here’s why the Taylor Wimpey share price rose 42% in 2023!

| Alan Oscroft

The Taylor Wimpey share price recovered brilliantly in late 2023. But it's still down over five years, and offers a…

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Close-up of British bank notes
Investing Articles

Here’s why the Lloyds share price rose 5% in 2023

| Alan Oscroft

The Lloyds share price gained in 2023, yay! But it was only a bit, and the bank sector still looks…

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Passive income text with pin graph chart on business table
Investing Articles

These are the highest yield income stocks on the whole FTSE 100

| Alan Oscroft

There are lots of FTSE income stocks with high yields at the moment. There's more to it than that, but…

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Hand of person putting wood cube block with word VALUE on wooden table
Investing Articles

These are the lowest P/E value stocks on the whole FTSE 100

| Alan Oscroft

On this measure, it looks like the big FTSE banks could be the best value stocks to buy now. But…

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Three signposts pointing in different directions, with 'Buy' 'Sell' and 'Hold' on
Investing Articles

Here are 3 Warren Buffett guidelines I’m using to help me buy cheap FTSE 100 shares

| Alan Oscroft

Heading into 2024, I see so many FTSE 100 shares that I think are good value and it's hard to…

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Stack of one pound coins falling over
Investing Articles

Could buying Barclays shares be like swapping 50p coins for pounds?

| Alan Oscroft

The price of Barclays shares makes it look like the bank is in serious long-term trouble, at a time when…

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Girl buying groceries in the supermarket with her father.
Investing Articles

If I’d put £10k into Tesco shares a year ago, here’s what I’d have now

| Alan Oscroft

Tesco shares might not be the most exciting picks on the London stock market. But over the very long term,…

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Diverse group of friends cheering sport at bar together
Investing Articles

£10,000 in savings? Here’s how I’d aim to turn it into a £500 monthly passive income

| Alan Oscroft

Could I turn a pot of £10,000 into a nice bit of passive income each month? I think so, and…

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Concept of two young professional men looking at a screen in a technological data centre
Investing Articles

These might just be today’s 5 best FTSE 100 dividend forecasts

| Alan Oscroft

I see so many tempting Footsie dividend forecasts for 2024 and beyond. Here, I try to narrow them down to…

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Petrochemical engineer working at night with digital tablet inside oil and gas refinery plant
Investing Articles

Here’s why I think the dividend forecast could send the BP share price climbing

| Alan Oscroft

The BP share price has fallen back again in the past few months, as oil prices dipped. But dividend forecasts…

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Abstract bull climbing indicators on stock chart
Investing Articles

I’d buy these FTSE 250 stocks for the next bull market

| Alan Oscroft

A great year for FTSE 250 stocks? I wonder if that might be exactly what 2024 will bring? Here are…

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Young Caucasian woman with pink her studying from her laptop screen
Investing Articles

Can these big dividend forecasts send the BT share price climbing?

| Alan Oscroft

The BT share price has had a tough few years, as investors have turned away from this once-favoured dividend stock.…

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Young female analyst working at her desk in the office
Investing Articles

Here are 5 ways to find cheap shares to consider buying for the year ahead

| Alan Oscroft

It looks like there are a lot of cheap shares out there right now. But if we use a bad…

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Investing Articles

Here are two key stock market lessons from 2023

| Alan Oscroft

Well, it's almost another year, and another time to think about what we should have learned from the stock market…

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Investor looking at stock graph on a tablet with their finger hovering over the Buy button
Investing Articles

Here’s why Barclays and Lloyds shares are my 2 top FTSE 100 buys for 2024

| Alan Oscroft

Will I take too much risk if I buy Barclays stock, and then also top up on my Lloyds shares?…

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Investor looking at stock graph on a tablet with their finger hovering over the Buy button
Investing Articles

A 9% dividend yield could make this the best FTSE 100 stock for me to buy now

| Alan Oscroft

Is there a best stock to buy today, as we head towards the New Year? That's a tough question, but…

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