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How to turn an empty ISA into a £10k yearly second income

By harnessing the power of compound returns, our writer shares what their approach would be for building a second income worth £10k a year.

UK money in a Jar on a background

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Turning an empty Stocks and Shares ISA into a £10,000 yearly second income is no mean feat. In fact, it may feel like a pipe dream for many new investors.

However, buying and holding high-quality UK shares inside an ISA is a tried and tested method for building a substantial passive income stream.

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To accomplish this for myself, I’ll need a disciplined approach and an effective investment strategy. So with that in mind, here are the steps I’d take to kickstart my journey.

Building the capital required to target £10,000

One of the most straightforward ways to generate additional income is to invest in stocks that pay out dividends to shareholders.

However, something to note is that the money I’d need to create £10k in income from dividend stocks depends on the average yield I was able to achieve from my portfolio.

For example, if I only achieved a 2% average yield, I’d need to build an ISA worth £500,000. At the other extreme, achieving a staggering 12% yield would mean I’d only need an investment pot worth around £83,333.

Average yieldSize of ISA requiredYearly return
2%£500,000£10,000
4%£250,000£10,000
6%£166,666£10,000
8%£125,000£10,000
10%£100,000£10,000
12%£83,333£10,000
The size of ISA required to earn £10,000 in dividend income each year at varying average yields

The most likely scenario is that I’ll manage to achieve something in-between. So for illustration purposes, let’s say I obtained an average yield of 6% in the future from a portfolio consisting of dividend stocks.

This means I’ll need to build an ISA worth around £167,000.

Implementing a strategy and constructing a portfolio

The way I see it, I have two options for reaching this milestone.

I could either invest in dividend shares from the start or invest in growth stocks for now before shifting my capital into dividend stocks upon reaching the £167k mark.

If I opted for the former, my initial strategy would be to re-invest all my dividends. This way I could work towards multiplying the growth potential of my investments over time.

If I opted for the latter, my approach would be to focus on investing in high-potential companies. Such businesses tend to provide higher returns than income stocks over the long term.

Either way, if I invested £300 a month and achieved an annual return of 8%, I’d have an ISA worth approximately £170,000 after 20 years.

Patience through market volatility

Needless to say, but my plan is contingent on achieving a particular rate of return and average yield.

Since markets are unpredictable, there’s no guarantee I could make this work within my proposed timeframe. After all, growth stocks can be volatile and dividends are never guaranteed.

Nevertheless, through a combination of prudent investment choices, patience, and my ability to harness the power of compounding returns, I could steadily work towards building an ISA big enough to earn me a £10,000 yearly second income.

Matthew Dumigan has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.

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