Building a second income through a Stocks and Shares ISA is one of the simplest ways I know to make investing work harder for you. On a steady £200 a month, and with dividends reinvested, the numbers can become surprisingly large over time.
£200 a month
A Stocks and Shares ISA lets you invest up to £20k a year, with gains and income sheltered from UK tax. That makes it a useful wrapper for dividend shares, especially if you want to build wealth slowly and keep compounding returns working in the background.
Please note that tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future. The content in this article is provided for information purposes only. It is not intended to be, neither does it constitute, any form of tax advice. Readers are responsible for carrying out their own due diligence and for obtaining professional advice before making any investment decisions.
If I start from £200 a month and assume total returns of 8%-10% a year, the pot does not get to £10,631 of annual income overnight. But it does build into a sizable asset base over time.
| Years | 8% return | 10% return |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | £14,695.37 | £15,487.41 |
| 10 | £36,589.21 | £40,969.00 |
| 15 | £69,207.64 | £82,894.07 |
| 20 | £117,804.08 | £151,873.77 |
With a typical market average dividend yield of 6%-7%, a £151,873.77 portfolio could produce roughly £9,112-£10,631 a year before any future growth in income.
That is why patience matters so much here. You are not just chasing yield, you are letting time do the heavy lifting. But which shares can actually support that process?
Avoiding dividend traps
I would avoid any high-yield stock that looks cheap for a reason. Weak dividend cover, too much debt and a patchy record of payouts are all warning signs. Remember, a high yield is no bargain if the dividend gets cut later.
Rathbones Group (LSE: RAT) is a good example of the type of business income investors might look more closely at.
As a UK wealth manager (not a bank), it provides investment management and financial planning services. Its latest investor presentation put the 2025 dividend per share at 99p, fully covered, and total group FUMA reached £115.6bn.
The current dividend yield is fairly impressive, at 5.15%, notably higher than it was back in 2019 at only 3.3%. Steady growth is a key factor to look for when hunting dividend stocks for retirement. Meanwhile, the share price has grown 18.16% over the past year, indicating positive sentiment from investors.
A quick summary of its financial position:
- Dividend cover: fully covered in 2025.
- Balance sheet: total liabilities were £3,865.2m versus total assets of £5,217.2m.
- Profitability: operating margin was 25.8% in 2025.
- Growth: synergy delivery reached £76m annualised at 31 December 2025.
Minimising risk
No stock is risk-free, and Rathbones is no exception. Wealth managers depend on market levels and client flows, so a weak equity market can slow fee income and hit sentiment.
Even so, for me, it looks like the kind of stock that could be beneficial to think about as a small position in a diversified income portfolio.
But be sure to include a mix of stocks from other defensive areas: utilities, consumer staples, healthcare and some retail names are worth a look too.
We’ve recently covered several defensive income shares here at The Twelfth Magpie and will continued to do so — particularly as stocks look increasingly wobbly in today’s market.
Should you invest £5,000 in Rathbones Group Plc right now?
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Mark Hartley does not hold any positions in the companies mentioned.
