When it comes to earning passive income from a Stocks and Shares ISA, high-yield shares can be tempting.
The reality is that high-yield shares come in different stripes. Some offer an unusually high dividend yield because the market perceives them as very risky. Others though, look like they may continue to pay out generous dividends.
No dividend is ever guaranteed to last. But here are a couple of high-yield shares I think merit consideration for their income prospects.
Diversifying always matters!
The shares are Henderson Far East Income (LSE: HFEL) with its 9.7% yield and Greencoat UK Wind (LSE: UKW), yielding 10%.
Splitting a £20k ISA evenly across those two shares ought to generate £1,970 in passive income a year.
For someone with other stock market investments, such a split may be diversified enough. Without an existing portfolio though, putting the whole ISA into two high-yield shares brings a concentration risk, so it could be worth considering other shares alongside them.
Looking to Asia Pacific for income opportunities
As said, dividends are never guaranteed, but both shares have been growing their payout per share in recent years. Both aim to keep doing so.
Henderson Far East Income is an investment trust that aims to do what it says on the tin. By investing in dozens of companies that are based in or operate across Asia Pacific, the trust aims to benefit from the high growth opportunities seen in some Asian economies.
The share price is down 20% over the past five years. Combined with the dividend growth, that price fall has helped to push up the dividend yield compared to back then.
The company’s portfolio is currently heavily exposed to electronic hardware companies, including well-known chip-makers like Samsung Electronics and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing as well as some names that may be less familiar to British investors, such as Quanta Computer.
That brings a risk. If AI demand weakens and electronics suppliers see revenues fall, the trust’s shareholdings could lose value. But I like the trust managers’ proven ability to identify strong growth opportunities and their commitment to big dividends.
As well as IT-related firms the portfolio also includes firms in more traditional sectors, such as HSBC and Swire Properties.
Renewable energy income provider
With a yield in double digits, Greencoat UK Wind is even more lucrative than Henderson Far East Income. Like many companies focused on renewable energy, the FTSE 250 investment trust has seen its share price fall. At 22% over five years, that fall is slightly greater than the one seen in the Henderson Far East Income share price.
Investors are concerned about the risks of a changing landscape when it comes to funding renewable energy sources and buying power.
For example, Greencoat UK WInd’s managers estimate that the government’s removal of so-called Carbon Price Support, announced this year, could reduce its net asset value by 3p-5p per share. For a share currently selling for a little over a pound, that is material.
But I think the share looks cheap given its sizeable asset base, proven cash generation potential and the ongoing need for power supply to the UK grid.
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Christopher Ruane does not hold any positions in the companies mentioned.
