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Ben McPoland

Ben is an investment writer who has been managing his own ISA and SIPP portfolios for over a decade. He focuses primarily on high-quality companies benefitting from powerful growth trends. His favourite investing quote comes from Peter Lynch: “The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.”

Recent Articles

Young female hand showing five fingers.
Investing Articles

Diageo: 5 reasons why a FTSE 100 turnaround is still possible

| Ben McPoland

Diageo gave investors an all-too-familiar fright this week. So, why does this writer think things could improve in future for…

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Tesla building with tesla logo and two teslas in front
Investing Articles

After making a fortune on Tesla, Scottish Mortgage manager Baillie Gifford is piling into this ‘mini-SpaceX’ growth stock

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland was intrigued to learn this well-known institutional investor has been loading up on a little-known growth stock recently.

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Frustrated young white male looking disconsolate while sat on his sofa holding a beer
Investing Articles

The biggest stinker in my SIPP crashed (again) this week — what should I do?

| Ben McPoland

This growth stock in my Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) has just had yet another howler. Should I pull the plug…

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British flag, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and British flag composition
Investing Articles

Meet the ‘Nvidia of the FTSE 100’

| Ben McPoland

Nvidia stock has skyrocketed since ChatGPT was released into the wild back in November 2022. Yet this remarkable FTSE stock…

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Black woman using smartphone at home, watching stock charts.
Investing Articles

An insider just splashed £168k on this 6p penny share

| Ben McPoland

A company's chair has been loading up on this under-the-radar penny share recently. Ben McPoland takes a closer look at…

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Investing Articles

Here’s why Rolls-Royce is demolishing the stock market

| Ben McPoland

Rolls-Royce has absolutely trounced the UK stock market over the past five years, and it's not difficult to see why…

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Percy Pig Ocado van outside distribution centre
Investing Articles

As the Ocado share price drops 9% on FY25 results, should I buy this FTSE 250 stock?

| Ben McPoland

The Ocado share price fell sharply today, taking the five-year loss to 90%. But with revenues still growing, is there…

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Group of friends meet up in a pub
Investing Articles

Should I buy Diageo shares after the 25 February update?

| Ben McPoland

After a bright start to 2026, Diageo shares came crashing down to earth yesterday. But is this the dip our…

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Investing Articles

Buy and hold a single FTSE 100 stock for 25 years? Mine would be this…

| Ben McPoland

Our writer runs a thought experiment to ascertain which solitary FTSE 100 stock he'd own over the very long term,…

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Investing Articles

£5,000 invested in the FTSE 100 index a decade ago is now worth…

| Ben McPoland

The FTSE 100 index has gone into overdrive over the past two years. What's going on? And is the blue-chip…

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

Be ready for a savage stock market crash

| Ben McPoland

An AI thought experiment has sent shockwaves through the stock market. How worried should we all be by this doomsday…

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A multiracial family of four, a mother, father and their two little boys on a staycation in the city of Newcastle on a sunny winters day
Investing Articles

How much passive income does the FTSE 250 offer?

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland shows how much passive income potential there is in the FTSE 250 index, as well as highlighting an…

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Investing Articles

Up 77% in 3 weeks, is Raspberry Pi stock the next Nvidia?

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland asks whether fascinating Raspberry Pi (LSE:RPI) stock – which has skyrocketed in 2026 – has any similarities with…

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Aerial shot showing an aircraft shadow flying over an idyllic beach
Investing Articles

Rolls-Royce lines up a mammoth £1.5bn share buyback!

| Ben McPoland

What should Rolls-Royce shareholders be expecting from the full-year 2025 results this week? Here's what I'm looking out for.

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

Did I make a big mistake selling Lloyds shares?

| Ben McPoland

This writer offloaded his Lloyds shares in 2024 after netting a tasty gain. But does he now regret selling this…

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Snowing on Jubilee Gardens in London at dusk
Investing Articles

This ETF could turn £175 a month into a £557 annual passive income

| Ben McPoland

Want to earn passive income from UK property? This exchange-traded fund yielding 5.3% is worth considering for a Stocks and…

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British coins and bank notes scattered on a surface
Investing Articles

How much do I need in an ISA to earn a £75 daily second income?

| Ben McPoland

To aim for a second income in excess of £27,000 is an ambitious target. But with the right strategy and…

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UK financial background: share prices and stock graph overlaid on an image of the Union Jack
Investing Articles

£1,000 buys 8,403 shares of this red-hot penny stock that’s smashing the FTSE 100

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland highlights an under-the-radar penny stock that's being driven higher by strong sales momentum and a first-ever profit.

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

2 excellent UK shares to consider for a Stocks and Shares ISA in March

| Ben McPoland

Find out why this writer thinks these two profitable UK growth stocks down as much as 44% are worth a…

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piggy bank, searching with binoculars
Investing Articles

My ISA is ready for a violent market crash

| Ben McPoland

The stock market has been bobbing along nicely in recent times. But is there danger ahead for this writer's Stocks…

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CEO Mark Zuckerberg at F8 2019 event
Investing Articles

Bill Ackman just loaded up on this S&P 500 stock in his FTSE 100-listed fund

| Ben McPoland

Billionaire stock picker Bill Ackman recently made this S&P 500 share an 11% position in his FTSE 100-listed investment trust.…

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ISA coins
Investing Articles

An ISA with 500 Greggs shares could pay out £346 a year in passive income

| Ben McPoland

Down 50% in less than two years, Greggs shares now look pretty cheap and may be offering a potentially tasty…

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Young Caucasian woman at the street withdrawing money at the ATM
Investing Articles

£15,000 invested in Santander shares 12 months ago would now be worth…

| Ben McPoland

Santander shares have been on fire in recent shares. But is this Spanish bank stock still worth considering at more…

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Three generation family are playing football together in a field. There are two boys, their father and their grandfather.
Investing Articles

How much do I need in a SIPP to earn a £3,000 monthly passive income?

| Ben McPoland

Our writer sees this out-of-favour powerhouse as a solid stock to consider when aiming to build wealth inside a SIPP…

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Investing Articles

£7,500 invested in Tesco shares just 1 month ago is now worth…

| Ben McPoland

Tesco shares have gone into overdrive recently, making shareholders wealthier. What on earth is going on with this FTSE 100…

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British flag, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament and British flag composition
Investing Articles

The FTSE 100 soars above 10,650! Is 12,000 now on the cards?

| Ben McPoland

The large-cap FTSE index hit another record today, with UK blue chips quickly emerging as a refuge from artificial intelligence…

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Night Takeoff Of The American Space Shuttle
Investing Articles

Why did this FTSE 250 stock suddenly skyrocket 36%?

| Ben McPoland

This FTSE 250 technology stock exploded higher yesterday despite no news coming out of the British company. What's going on?

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Thoughtful man using his phone while riding on a train and looking through the window
Investing Articles

I asked ChatGPT for a once-in-a-decade FTSE 100 stock opportunity and it said this

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland brought in artificial intelligence to help pick the 'next Rolls-Royce stock' from the FTSE 100. Why was he…

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Young female couple boarding their plane at the airport to go on holiday.
Investing Articles

Should I buy Rolls-Royce shares before 26 February? Here’s what recent history says

| Ben McPoland

Our writer looks at how Rolls-Royce shares have performed after the FTSE 100 engine maker has reported earnings in recent…

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Front view of a young couple walking down terraced Street in Whitley Bay in the north-east of England they are heading into the town centre and deciding which shops to go to they are also holding hands and carrying bags over their shoulders.
Investing Articles

How to create passive income within an ISA in 3 easy steps

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland highlights a 7%-yielding dividend stock from the FTSE 100 that should continue pumping out dividends for years to…

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British union jack flag and Parliament house at city of Westminster in the background
Investing Articles

Keir Starmer just helped send these FTSE 100 shares higher

| Ben McPoland

News tied to the UK Prime Minister lifted several FTSE 100 shares today. But an AIM-listed small-cap could also be…

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Mature black couple enjoying shopping together in UK high street
Investing Articles

How much do I need in an ISA to earn a £1,500 monthly second income?

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland explores how long it would take a new investor to reach a sizeable second income by investing £500…

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Hand is turning a dice and changes the direction of an arrow symbolizing that the value of an ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is going up (or vice versa)
Investing Articles

2 top-notch ETFs to consider right now for a Stocks and Shares ISA

| Ben McPoland

One of these EFTs offers a chunky 6.1% dividend yield, while the other gives deep exposure to perhaps the most…

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A rear view of a female in a bright yellow coat walking along the historic street known as The Shambles in York, UK which is a popular tourist destination in this Yorkshire city.
Investing Articles

How big would your ISA need to be to earn £100,000 a year in passive income?

| Ben McPoland

Ben McPoland explores the huge income potential of ISAs and highlights a FTSE 100 stock that has made investors wealthier…

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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

Down 73%! 2 moves I just made in my Stocks and Shares ISA

| Ben McPoland

Find out why our writer added these two names to his Stocks and Shares ISA despite them being absolutely hammered…

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

Dear Greggs shareholders, mark your calendar for 3 March

| Ben McPoland

Greggs shares have served up a nasty surprise over the past couple of years. But might the worst be over…

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Man thinking about artificial intelligence investing algorithms
Investing Articles

Want to invest in SpaceX and Anthropic? Consider this top FTSE 100 stock

| Ben McPoland

Claude AI bot maker Anthropic and rocket pioneer SpaceX are two of the most disruptive firms on Earth. This FTSE…

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British Pennies on a Pound Note
Investing Articles

I was a fan of this 9p penny share until Donald Trump did this…

| Ben McPoland

Despite rocketing almost 100% since December, this penny stock remains over 65% below where it traded when President Trump made…

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Middle-aged white male courier delivering boxes to young black lady
Investing Articles

£1,000 buys 481 shares in this fantastic FTSE 100 REIT

| Ben McPoland

This 6.3%-yielding REIT from the FTSE 100 could turn £20k into a £104 monthly passive income. Ben McPoland explains why…

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

Meet the S&P 500 stock that Michael Burry says could crash 50% (or more) 

| Ben McPoland

The investor depicted in The Big Short film reckons this amazing artificial intelligence (AI) stock from the S&P 500 is…

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