Dividends from UK shares are by no means, ever assured. So placing all an investor’s eggs in a single basket can decimate passive revenue when catastrophe strikes.

As we noticed throughout Covid-19, even firms with rock-solid enterprise fashions and robust stability sheets can reduce, cancel, or postpone dividends at a second’s discover.

Share pickers can cut back this menace by having publicity to a diversified collection of dividend-paying shares. An investor who has a big wad of money can unfold that throughout a number of shares as an alternative of parking all of it in a single selection.

Diversification doesn’t imply buyers have to accept sub-par returns both. Certainly, if present dealer forecasts show correct, a £15k lump sum invested equally on these two shares would offer £1,350 in dividends in 2025 alone.

There’s good motive to imagine these shares are worthy of additional research as they may present a superb long-term passive revenue too.

Phoenix Group

Dividend yield: 10.4%

In the present day, Phoenix Group‘s (LSE:PHNX) the one FTSE 100 share with a double-digit dividend yield. However not like many ultra-high-yielding shares, I feel predicted dividends right here look fairly safe.

You see, as a significant life insurance coverage supplier and asset supervisor, it collects huge quantities of money through coverage premiums and administration charges that it could distributes by the use of dividends.

It generated £950m of money within the first six months of 2024 and is heading in the right direction to attain money technology of £4.4bn within the three years to 2026. With a Solvency II capital ratio of 168%, it has buffer to at the least meet this 12 months’s predicted dividends ought to earnings are available on the low aspect.

There’s a hazard Phoenix’s share price might fall if rates of interest stay at present ranges, hitting general shareholder returns. However rising long-term demand for monetary planning providers — mixed with its cash-rich stability sheet — nonetheless makes it value shut consideration amongst affected person buyers, in my e-book.

The Footsie agency’s heavyweight manufacturers SunLife and Commonplace Life give it added power to capitalise on this quickly rising market too.

Threat reducer

Dividend yield: 7.6%

A lump sum funding within the iShares World Fairness Excessive Revenue UCITS ETF (LSE:WINC) is an efficient means that buyers can diversify their portfolios whereas nonetheless solely straight holding just one or two shares.

As an exchange-traded fund (ETF), it’s designed to carry a basket of various belongings and thus unfold danger. On this case, the fund — which was created in March 2024 — focuses on 276 dividend-paying shares from throughout the globe.

What’s extra, these equities span a mess of sectors together with data know-how, monetary providers, healthcare, telecoms and client items.

On the draw back, a chunky 71% of the fund is invested in US firms. As a consequence, it might be extra weak to a regional downturn than a extra globally diversified fund.

But then again, its giant portfolio of US shares additionally gives huge alternatives, just like the rising digital economic system (by way of the likes of Nvidia) and rising international healthcare spending (tapped by way of Novartis shares).

Its 7%-plus dividend yield’s one of many largest amongst all UK-listed ETFs. I feel it might show to be an excellent purchase to contemplate for long-term passive revenue.