Motley Fool Premium
  1. Authors
    2. /
  2. Alan Oscroft
    3. /

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

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…

Read more »

Percy Pig Ocado van outside distribution centre
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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

Engineer Project Manager Talks With Scientist working on Computer
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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

2024 year number handwritten on a sandy beach at sunrise
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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

Illustration of flames over a black background
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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

Rolls-Royce Hydrogen Test Rig at Loughborough University
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,…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

Passive income text with pin graph chart on business table
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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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,…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

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.…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

Group of four young adults toasting with Flying Horse cans in Brazil
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…

Read more »

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?…

Read more »

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…

Read more »

Middle-aged white man pulling an aggrieved face while looking at a screen
Investing Articles

(Nearly) 5 reasons NOT to get a Stocks and Shares ISA in 2024

| Alan Oscroft

I think a Stocks and Shares ISA is a great thing, and everyone should get one. Oh, hang on, maybe…

Read more »

Close-up of British bank notes
Investing Articles

3 penny stocks I think could turn into pounds in 2024

| Alan Oscroft

A lot of penny stocks have fallen further than the bigger ones in 2023. I'm wondering which of them might…

Read more »

Bus waiting in front of the London Stock Exchange on a sunny day.
Investing Articles

How will the FTSE 100 perform in 2024? Here’s what the experts say

| Alan Oscroft

Fancy having a guess at where the FTSE 100 might end 2024? I often get it wrong so I wonder…

Read more »

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

3 cheap FTSE shares to consider buying in January

| Alan Oscroft

Are we prepared for updates coming from all our favourite FTSE shares after Christmas? Here are three big names I'm…

Read more »

One English pound placed on a graph to represent an economic down turn
Investing Articles

Which are the best FTSE 100 shares to buy in 2024? Here’s what the experts say

| Alan Oscroft

Yes, it's that time of year when we look back on how 2023 went, and start to think about the…

Read more »

Two employees sat at desk welcoming customer to a Tesla car showroom
Investing Articles

If I’d put £10k in Scottish Mortgage shares 5 years ago, I’d have this much now

| Alan Oscroft

Growth stocks up, growth stocks down, and then back up again... How much are Scottish Mortgage shares worth after all…

Read more »

Rolls-Royce Hydrogen Test Rig at Loughborough University
Investing Articles

Where will the Rolls-Royce share price go in 2024?

| Alan Oscroft

After seeing the Rolls-Royce share price soar 200% in 2023, I can't be the only one scratching my head and…

Read more »

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

5 reasons I think stocks and shares are truly the best for passive income

| Alan Oscroft

There are several things I want from a passive income-focused investment. And stocks and shares really do tick every single…

Read more »

Abstract 3d arrows with rocket
Investing Articles

Can these big dividend forecasts send the Vodafone share price climbing in 2024?

| Alan Oscroft

High dividend forecasts, but a big slump in the share price? It sure looks like folks aren't too confident of…

Read more »