The FTSE 100's Ultimate Retirement Shares

The FTSE 100’s Ultimate Retirement Shares

Roland Head assesses these blue chips for your pension.

Roland Head

Roland is an experienced investment writer and analyst with a particular focus on dividend investing and value opportunities. He's been writing for the Motley Fool since 2012 and also contributes to other UK investor platforms, such as Stockopedia. Roland holds the CFA UK Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and has passed the CFA Level 1 exam. A keen private investor, he also runs an internet business.

Published 17 July, 2012 8:00 am BST

The last few years have been tough for those in retirement. Portfolio valuations have been hammered, annuity rates have plunged and uncertainty rules the roost. There’s no sign of things improving anytime soon, either, as the eurozone and the UK economy look set to muddle through at best for some years to come.

A great way of protecting yourself from the downturn, however, is by building your retirement fund with shares of large, well-run companies that should grow their earnings steadily over the coming decades. Over time, such investments ought to result in rising dividends and inflation-beating capital growth, especially if you keep the shares within a tax-efficient ISA or SIPP.

In this series, I’m tracking down the UK large-caps that have the potential to beat the FTSE 100 over the long term and support a lower-risk income-generating retirement fund.

But before you read my opinions, I would strongly suggest you take a look at the choices of super-investor Neil Woodford.

Mr Woodford is one of the UK’s most successful fund managers and specialises in identifying companies with strong income potential. Indeed, such investments have helped him produce a 347% return between 1996 and 2011 — a market-trouncing performance that included nine straight years of beating the index.

What’s more, you can learn more about Mr Woodford’s favourite holdings — and how he generated such wonderful profits — within this free Motley Fool report.

I strongly recommend you download “8 Shares Held By Britain’s Super Investor“ today, as many of Mr Woodford’s selections look like excellent retirement shares to me. Best of all, the report is free. But hurry, this Neil Woodford report is available for a limited time only.

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