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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

Investing Articles

The BT share price: why is it underperforming the FTSE 100?

| Alan Oscroft

BT Group plc (LON: BT.A) is paying healthy dividends, so why are its shares plummeting so badly?

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Investing Articles

Investing in your 20s? Screening for great growth shares could help you retire early

| Alan Oscroft

How can you narrow down the huge list of FTSE shares and pick out some top growth candidates? Screening for…

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Investing Articles

What should investors do as Italian crisis sends euro stock markets crashing?

| Alan Oscroft

The Greek crisis is long over, but will Italy prove to be the undoing of the euro and a threat…

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Investing Articles

Why I believe the Boohoo share price could double in the next decade

| Alan Oscroft

If you're looking for stocks with doubling potential, Boohoo.com plc (LON: BOO) could be one. But it carries big risk.

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Investing Articles

How soon could the BP share price smash through 600p?

| Alan Oscroft

Now that the price of oil is storming up, can anything hold back BP plc (LON: BP) shares?

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Investing Articles

Looking to retire? Consider these top FTSE 100 dividend stocks

| Alan Oscroft

Do FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX) dividends really hold the key to a financially comfortable old age?

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Investing Articles

Why the Barclays share price could be the FTSE 100’s biggest bargain

| Alan Oscroft

Barclays plc (LON: BARC) could be just one great pick out of a host of attractive FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE: UKX)…

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Investing Articles

2 FTSE 250 stocks with soaring dividends I’d buy with £2,000 today

| Alan Oscroft

One of these FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) stocks has raised its dividend for 25 straight years, making a lot of people…

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Investing Articles

One 9% dividend stock and one growth stock I’d buy and hold for a decade

| Alan Oscroft

Small-cap stocks can often offer the best combinations of growth and dividends. Here are two complementary picks.

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Investing Articles

Mondi isn’t the only FTSE 100 defensive stock I’d buy and hold forever

| Alan Oscroft

Mondi plc (LON: MNDI) could be an overlooked FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) stock, with great long-term potential.

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Investing Articles

The Premier Oil share price is rising. Is it time to buy?

| Alan Oscroft

The oil price is rising, and debt at Premier Oil plc (LON: PMO) is slowly falling. Is 2018 the year…

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Investing Articles

What will Asda merger mean for the Sainsbury’s share price?

| Alan Oscroft

Shares in J Sainsbury plc (LON: SBRY) are soaring after the surprise merger with Asda has been agreed.

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Investing Articles

Is the Tesco share price one of the FTSE 100 bargains of the year?

| Alan Oscroft

Tesco plc (LON: TSCO) shares could be set to beat the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) in the short term, but how…

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Investing Articles

Here’s why the FTSE 100 could be a dividend investor’s paradise right now

| Alan Oscroft

The FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) could be offering the best prospects for income seekers in years.

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Investing Articles

Why I believe the Sirius Minerals share price is far too cheap

| Alan Oscroft

Could the Sirius Minerals plc (LON: SXX) share price see a new surge in 2018?

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Investing Articles

2 stocks I’d buy and hold for the next 20 years

| Alan Oscroft

If you had to decide on 2 shares to buy now but were not allowed to sell them for 20…

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Investing Articles

A 7% FTSE 250 dividend stock and a growth stock I’d buy and hold forever

| Alan Oscroft

The FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) has some great dividends on offer, and here's a growth candidate that could complement them nicely.

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Investing Articles

Could this tiny growth stock and the UKOG share price both double in 2018?

| Alan Oscroft

UK Oil & Gas Investments plc (LON: UKOG) and this small-cap stock have both seen their share prices collapse, but…

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Investing Articles

Is the Taylor Wimpey share price set to fall as housebuilding slumps?

| Alan Oscroft

Taylor Wimpey plc (LON: TW) has had a terrific bull run, but could the shares be about to tumble?

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Investing Articles

An 8% FTSE 100 dividend yield I’d snap up today

| Alan Oscroft

Alan Oscroft picks a small-cap dividend payer to complement one of the FTSE 100's (INDEXFTSE: UKX) biggest yielders.

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Investing Articles

Should you pile in to FTSE 100 10% yielder Evraz?

| Alan Oscroft

Evraz plc (LON: EVR) and KAZ Minerals plc (LON: KAZ) both have updates out, but which is the better buy?

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Investing Articles

2 FTSE 250 progressive dividend stocks I’d buy with £2,000 today

| Alan Oscroft

Do positive updates from Meggitt plc (LON: MGGT) and Senior plc (LON: SNR) make them tempting buys?

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Investing Articles

Why I believe the Lloyds share price is too cheap to ignore today

| Alan Oscroft

Is 2018 the year Lloyds Banking Group plc (LON: LLOY) shares will finally see a resurgence?

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Investing Articles

Should you buy Neil Woodford stock Circassia Pharmaceuticals after today’s price rise?

| Alan Oscroft

Here's why Circassia Pharmaceuticals plc (LON: CIR) might be a better bet than Woodford Patient Capital Trust plc (LON: WPCT).

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Investing Articles

Can Marks & Spencer and Debenhams shares survive the retail carnage?

| Alan Oscroft

The market could be badly wrong about Marks and Spencer Group plc (LON: MKS) and Debenhams plc (LON: DEB) shares.

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Investing Articles

Is the Santander share price set to trounce the FTSE 100 this year?

| Alan Oscroft

Banco Santander SA (LON: BNC) shares are offering tempting dividends and could be set for a new growth phase.

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Investing Articles

Avoid debt in 3 simple steps!

| Alan Oscroft

The UK is racing into a personal debt crisis. Here are some thoughts to help you avoid it.

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Investing Articles

Make your child a Junior ISA millionaire

| Alan Oscroft

Get your children started early with Junior ISAs, and they really could reach millionaire status faster in the decades ahead…

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Investing Articles

Is the BT share price the ISA bargain of the year?

| Alan Oscroft

Here's why you might want to stash BT Group plc (LON: BT.A) shares in your 2018 ISA.

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Investing Articles

2 hidden dividend plus growth stocks I’d buy with £2,000 today

| Alan Oscroft

You really don't have to choose between dividends and growth when there are stocks out there offering both.

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Investing Articles

Why I’d buy Neil Woodford favourite Provident Financial plc, along with this 5% yielder

| Alan Oscroft

Provident Financial plc (LON: PFG) looks set on a recovery path, and here's a 5% yielder that could go well…

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Investing Articles

Purplebricks Group plc isn’t the only Neil Woodford stock I’d sell today

| Alan Oscroft

I hate to go against top investor Neil Woodford, but I just don't like the look of these two stocks,…

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Investing Articles

2 FTSE 250 dividend stocks I’d buy for my ISA with £2,000 right now

| Alan Oscroft

Here are two overlooked FTSE 250 (INDEXFTSE:MCX) stocks which could be just right for a long-term ISA investment.

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Investing Articles

5 top ISA myths debunked

| Alan Oscroft

Here are five points that might be keeping you from investing in an ISA, but they're all wrong.

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Investing Articles

Should you snap up shares in fallers Micro Focus and Greencore Group plc?

| Alan Oscroft

Are Micro Focus International plc (LON: MCRO) and Greencore Group plc (LON: GNC) super bargains after big share price falls?

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Investing Articles

2 last-minute ISA stocks that could help make you an ISA millionaire

| Alan Oscroft

Are you running out of time to use your 2017-18 ISA allowance and don't know what to buy? Here are…

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Investing Articles

5 last-minute ISA mistakes to avoid

| Alan Oscroft

ISA deadline time is almost upon us and it pays to use up your allowance, but be careful not to…

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Investing Articles

FTSE 100 dividend stock Smiths Group plc could make you an ISA millionaire, despite 10% fall

| Alan Oscroft

Here's why Smiths Group plc (LON: SMIN) could be a great pick for your 2018 ISA.

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Investing Articles

NEXT plc is soundly beating the Boohoo share price in 2018

| Alan Oscroft

Boohoo.com plc (LON: BOO) shares are falling out of fashion, while NEXT plc (LON: NXT) is storming back.

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Investing Articles

A 7% FTSE 100 dividend stock I’d buy instead of Carnival plc

| Alan Oscroft

Carnival plc (LON: CCL) has turned in strong Q1 figures, but here's a big dividend payer that could be a…

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