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They obviously don't want to cover the dividend. Maybe they think the share price will recover quickly following ex dividend tomorrow, something that's hard to fathom in the shadow of the Iran war.

I'd already decided Rob, I already own LGEN and ADM

Rob I get the total LGEN return around 125% based on the Google Finance current price. I used AI to tabulate the number of shares purchased with each dividend reinvestment and then calculated the percentage profit against the original £10,000 investment. I haven't checked the figures for dividends paid and Google finance can be slightly incorrect outside of normal trading hours. Here's the table, feel free to check:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vRLQWYJFG1UHVxozfrTusOeqWZRh9tC4uUdvAGbU9FxNN9Xu2HmMb8tu3OFcxvpfKh8l-LREjr8vJdM/pubhtml

Does the graphing tool allow you to consider dividend reinvestment?

Although the return on the Aviva shares have been greater over the last 6 years, this is more down to price appreciation and a capital return rather than dividend reinvestment. Going forward, to realise similar returns, Aviva would have to see similar price appreciation over the next 6 years, I'm not sure that's doable.

"Investing £10,000 in Aviva (AV) six years ago (April 2020) and reinvesting all dividends would have grown to approximately £34,200 as of April 2026. This represents a total return of roughly 242%, significantly outperforming the LGEN return of ~122% over the same period.

Return Breakdown

Initial Investment: Buying shares in April 2020 at the pandemic low of ~235p per share secured approximately 4,255 shares.

Price Appreciation: The share price surged from ~235p to 645.60p (as of 21 April 2026), increasing the base value of those original shares to £27,470.

Dividend Reinvestment Impact:

Aviva has paid out roughly 165p per share in total dividends since April 2020.

This includes a significant capital return in 2022 following the sale of its international businesses, which provided a massive boost to total returns.

Reinvesting these regular and special payouts would have added roughly 1,040 additional shares to your holding.

Final Share Count: You would now own approximately 5,295 shares.

Total Value: 5,295 shares × 645.60p ≈ £34,185"

"CALCULATE THE RETURN FROM INVESTING £10,000 IN LGEN 6 YEARS AGO AND REINVESTING ALL THE DIVIDENDS BACK AS THEY COME IN

Investing £10,000 in Legal & General (LGEN) six years ago (April 2020) and reinvesting all dividends would have grown to approximately £22,250 as of April 2026. This represents a total return of roughly 122.5%.

Return Breakdown

Initial Investment: £10,000 at ~194p per share in April 2020 purchased roughly 5,155 shares.

Price Appreciation: The share price rose from ~194p to 273.55p (as of 21 April 2026), increasing the base value to approximately £14,101.

Dividend Reinvestment Impact:

LGEN has maintained a high dividend yield, consistently paying out between 17.57p and 21.79p per share annually over this period.

Reinvesting these dividends allowed for the purchase of roughly 3,000 additional shares over the six years.

Final Share Count: You would now own approximately 8,135 shares.

Total Value: 8,135 shares × 273.55p ≈ £22,250.

Performance Drivers

Dividend Reliability: L&G increased its total annual dividend from 17.57p in 2020 to a forecast 21.79p for 2025.

Yield Advantage: The stock has consistently offered a yield between 6% and 9%, significantly boosting total returns through compounding even during periods of lower share price growth.

Capital Growth: While the price has been volatile, it has recovered significantly from the pandemic lows of 2020"

According to AI Aviva is the best choice for an investment, but Aviva has seen large share price increases over the last year which has put me off; Something else that's put me off Aviva, is the potential reputational damage due t failures in the "Aviva Investors Infrastructure Income No. 3 Limited" fund, associated with Biomass. Because I've recently received a windfall, by selling my holding in BP, I wanted to diversify into the insurance sector and decided on a combination of LGEN and Admiral over Aviva; LGEN goes ex dividend this week and ADM next month, so that added to my decision. I'm still holding funds to invest and I am interested in Aviva and mining stocks, but current valuations give me pause for thought; If valuations fall over the next couple of months then I'll review an investment in Aviva and Miners. I'm not giving you advice, just explaining my choices, what seems right for me may not be a good choice for you DYOR.

That oil futures are so low and BP isn't a lot higher, considering the potential escalation over the next few days and the expiration of the imminent WTI May expiry. The market responses during this war makes little sense to me, it's like the market knows the outcome of war irrespective of the current state of play.

Just logged in to take a look, I thought the futures would be pushing toward $100 with the rhetoric coming from the US and Iran

"Looks like you were smart with your timely disposal"

I don't view it that way, I was just lucky, or maybe unlucky; Of course the weekend events could suggest investors who held into the weekend made the smart choice. Lets be honest Trump is like a force of nature, or maybe an agent of chaos, you just can't invest with certainty around his inconsistencies; I mean who'd have thought the US would maintain their blockade when Iran lifted theirs? The sensible move would have been for the US to lift their blockade and completely normalise traffic in and out of the Gulf, but not Trump who appears to see the Iranian move as a weakness to be exploited, of course Iran reclosed the Strait and we are where we are.

I made a couple of other investments on Friday afternoon, thinking that Trump would be sensible and do the right thing, no doubt my chosen stocks will trade lower than my Friday purchase price tomorrow. If I'd foreseen Trump's weekend idiocy, maybe I should have, I would have jumped right back into BP as soon as the price collapsed into the close on Friday, but I try to apply logic when I'm making my investing decisions.

"The "Short" Exposure Data

Hedge Fund Positioning: The most recent Commitments of Traders (COT) report from the CFTC shows that "Managed Money" holds over 101,000 gross short contracts.

Each NYMEX WTI contract represents 1,000 barrels.

At Friday’s closing price of ~$82.59, this represents a notional value of roughly $8.3 billion in direct bets against oil.

Total Market Shorts: When including other reportable categories like "Swap Dealers" (holding ~651,000 short positions), the total financial commitment to falling prices is significantly higher.

Recent "Insider" Wagers: On 8 April, a single massive $950 million short bet was placed just hours before a temporary ceasefire was announced. Many of these tactical traders likely remained short, betting on a permanent de-escalation that has now failed.

Reuters

Reuters

+3

The 21 April "Liquidation Event"

The May 2026 (CLK26) contract expires this Tuesday, 21 April. This creates a "binary risk" for short sellers:

CME Group

CME Group

Forced Buying: Because the Strait of Hormuz is re-closed, traders who are "short" and do not have physical oil to deliver must buy back their contracts at any price before Tuesday's close.

Potential Squeeze: If oil gaps to $100+ tonight, these short sellers will be forced into a "scramble" on Monday. Some analysts on London South East predict this could drive a rapid spike toward $120–$145 as the "paper trade" collapses"

Not looked at QBT for a while and see the share price is on a slow boat to zero. It isn't very often I'd refer to a stock as a dog, but the recent placing suggests this ship is low on fuel with no sign of land on the horizon. I suppose it's possible QBT may pull a rabbit out of a hat, but everything suggests QBT will need something miraculous to achieve that required magic trick.

Even though I've sold out of BP I'm still interested in watching the price action, the next couple of days will be really interesting. When the Oil futures open this evening it'll be like firing the starting gun in a race, speed and direction will depend on headlines from the US and Iran between now and then. I have no idea what will happen, but Should the Strait remain closed Oil futures will could easily exceed $100 a barrel; How all this will play into BP's share price is really difficult to guess; Looking at the 1 month chart, BP peaked on the 31st March and has achieved lower highs on swings ever since. If the Oil futures go through the roof with any escalation going forward, BP may fly and exceed previous highs, if only crystal ball's were real 🔮

https://www.google.com/finance/quote/BP:LON?window=1M

Wouldn't surprise me if US negotiators reached an agreement with the Iranian negotiators and Trump poked a stick in the wheel. No doubt the drop in oil futures on Friday, have allowed certain vested interests to close short positions and de-risk ready for Tuesday.

Back in January, before the conflict started brewing, BP was over £1 less than the current price. If this peace turns out to be real and sustained, there's a possibility the price could fall back to around the January levels. I think the volatility in BP's share price is a bit risky at the moment, I'd probably be hesitant to jump back in above £4.50

I didn't see that coming, sometimes the Universe works in one's favour.

"Are you reinvesting your gain or keeping a watching brief?"

I have target stocks in mind, but I've missed the ball on recent rises. I'm currently watching and waiting, I'll probably decide to buy when I decide, could be today or in the coming weeks. I will be reinvesting all the cash though, I'm not a fan of holding cash long term.

"What’s the plan,is that you out of BP for good."

Depends on where BP's price goes. I like BP for the dividend, but the recent swings encouraged me to sell; Going off previous swings it can drop 20, or 30p, based on nothing more thang a Trump Truth social post.

I've just sold my remaining 7,059 at 582.779p, taking my overall BP capital gain to over £42,000 including the £968 from my previous sale. Although I think BP will go higher, the volatility spikes worry me so I've decided now's a sensible time to take profit. My gut tells me BP will go higher from here, but I decided not to risk a possible peace agreement over the weekend.

The oil price is still creeping up irrespective of the Israel/Lebanon 10 day ceasefire, tomorrow will be interesting.

https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/crude-oil