Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (GBP) (LSE:VUSA)

The first ETF I would like to hold in my Stocks and Shares Lifetime ISA is one that tracks the S&P 500. This is a collection of 500 US shares known as an index. The index is designed to track the performance of all major industries in the US economy. The creator of this ETF, Vanguard, aims to pool all the investors’ money together and use it to buy these 500 shares. The performance of this ETF will rely on the combined return of all 500.

Due to the strength of the US economy, the relative stability and the strong legal system that allows companies to protect their property, it has had a good return historically. Between 1957 and 2018 its annual return averaged 8%, and I think something similar should be able to continue. This is also helped by the US’s dominance in tech. This ETF seems like a good choice for steady growth of my Lifetime ISA.

Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF (LSE:VWRL)

This ETF is another index tracker fund like the last. The difference here is that instead of aiming to track the performance of the US economy, this ETF follows the FTSE All-World index, which aims to track the performance of the entire world economy. However, there is more exposure to the US (55.8%) than other countries. Thus, bad performance of the US economy would affect this ETF significantly. That said, this index still offers me the opportunity to benefit from the overall growth of the world economy. I would view this ETF as safer than the S&P 500 ETF because it does not rely on only one country’s economy, which can be affected by political decisions or national disasters. It also offers 11.6% exposure to emerging markets, which can potentially allow for greater growth, although they can be riskier than developed markets.

iShares Core FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (LSE:ISF)

The last ETF that I’d like to mention is an FTSE 100 index tracker. This tracks the performance of 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation. I picked this because I think that in the next few years it will experience good returns. Brexit uncertainty is shrinking, and the London Stock Exchange has some exciting new listings such as Trustpilot on 23^rd of March, and Deliveroo is preparing to go public in a highly anticipated IPO. I hope that new interest in London shares may help to give the FTSE 100 a boost. However, the next years could be bad for the UK economy; if so, this ETF probably wouldn’t perform very well.

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Oliver Mardlin has positions in Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (GBP) and Vanguard FTSE All-World UCITS ETF. 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.

When it comes to renewable energy shares, The Renewables Infrastructure Group Limited (LSE:TRIG) is my stock of choice. It is a company that invests in several different renewable energy technologies. It also has a dividend yield of around 5% and it aims to pay a dividend of 6.76p per share in 2021.

With the impending issue of climate change and the focus on shifting to clean and renewable energy generation methods, it seems obvious that renewable energy shares should make up a part of my portfolio. With the UK and other government’s ambitious targets, such as net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, I think that there is plenty of room to expand renewable energy infrastructure.

What’s so good about The Renewables Infrastructure Group?

I think that The Renewables Infrastructure Group is a particularly good renewable energy share to reap the rewards of a transition to a clean energy system. Firstly, the company has investments in several generation methods: solar, onshore wind, offshore wind, and battery storage. This variety means that it has some protection if it becomes unfavourable for one generation method to be used.

The company can also benefit from geographic diversity. It has projects in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, France, Sweden and Germany. Investments are UK-focused – 60% of the portfolio is in the UK now – but its investment policy dictates that this can be as low as 35%. Impacts to projects in some locations from regulation, energy markets or weather may not have such a large impact when geographically diverse compared to operating in a smaller geographic area.

The Renewables Infrastructure Group isn’t the only renewable energy share that focuses on infrastructure; Two other options that I have also considered adding to my portfolio are JLEN Environmental Assets Group   and Greencoat UK Wind. While these both currently have a similar dividend yield, both have higher ongoing charges. Greencoat and JLEN have ongoing charges of just over 1%. The Renewables Infrastructure Group’s ongoing charges are just below 1%. While these charges appear to be small, they can have a detrimental impact on long-term investment growth.

Lower fees and increased diversity are why I favour The Renewables Infrastructure Group.

Considerations

There are some risks that I am considering regarding purchasing this share. The income of the company may be affected by changes to government support for renewable energy, as well as changes in the price of energy, which could potentially adversely affect the company. As with all solar and wind generation, it relies on the weather, which is changeable, so electricity production could be lower than expected.

In conclusion

There’s an important point still to mention. Investing in renewable energy has the benefit of being more environmentally friendly and could help me to make a positive change in the world. Overall, this renewable energy share appears to be a great choice to add to my portfolio for share price growth and long-term dividend income.

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Oliver Mardlin owns shares in The Renewables Infrastructure Group and Greencoat UK Wind. The Motley Fool UK has recommended Greencoat UK Wind. 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.

According to the World Economic Forum: The Rise Fund is committed to achieving measurable, positive social and environmental outcomes alongside competitive financial returns. This has likely inspired belief and expectation in the company’s prospects in the company’s mobile money business.

Mobile money will be Airtel’s key to expanding success

According to Airtel Africa, the US$200 million investment will be used to cut debt and finance both network and sales infrastructure. CEO of Airtel Africa, Raghunath Mandava, said that this will enable the company to “realise the full potential from the substantial opportunity to bank the unbanked across Africa”.

The barrier to entry to mobile money can be lower than having a traditional bank account. Mobile money also has the possibility of curbing corruption by wages directly to employees. In Afghanistan, when policemen were paid via mobile money, they received their full pay for the first time. People may also prefer it for travelling as they can deposit money before they leave and then withdraw it when they get to their destination: this prevents theft during the journey. Using mobile money in preference to cash can broaden the tax base, which could be an incentive for governments to encourage its use.

On the 28th of January, Airtel announced that the application for renewal of its licence in Nigeria – for its subsidiary, Airtel Nigeria – had been approved for a period of 10 years, which will be until 30th November 2031. This can help to affirm the company’s position in this country with a population of 201 million, where it is already the third-largest Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) operator.

Risks to consider

There are a couple of things that make me hesitate to add Airtel Africa shares to my portfolio. The first being Covid-19 and the lack of vaccinations currently in many African countries. Without adequate control of the disease, there could be increased infections or proliferation of new variants leading to instability in many of the countries where Airtel operates. The second is that it takes payment in local currencies but reports its earnings in US dollars, which can lead to an impact on earnings due to the exchange rate fluctuations.

My verdict

However, due to the high market share Airtel has in many of the countries it operates in, coupled with its high population growth rates of countries and increasing demand for mobile money that Airtel can cater to, I feel that Airtel Africa shares could make a good long-term growth prospect for my portfolio.

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Oliver Mardlin 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.