With lower than two weeks till the 2024/25 Shares and Shares ISA allowance runs out, I’ve been squirreling away as a lot money as I can lay my fingers on. As with earlier deadlines, my agency selection stays blue-chip FTSE 100 shares paying inflation-busting dividends.

The reason being easy. I imagine {that a} rising variety of traders are starting to understand the significance of high-quality dividend-paying shares in serving to to construct long-term wealth. And with each the US and UK economies treading on significantly shaky floor in the meanwhile, I actually don’t anticipate this development to vary anytime quickly.

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Sprinkle of gold

One inventory that I’ve been loading up on lately is main Mexican gold and silver producer Fresnillo (LSE: FRES). Its share price might have greater than doubled over the previous 12 months, nevertheless it’s the dividend that’s turning into more and more enticing to me.

Following a blow out set of ends in FY24, shareholders are in line for a bumper set of returns within the subsequent month. On prime of a closing strange dividend, it intends to pay out a one-off particular dividend of 41.8 cents in April. Excluding the already paid interim dividend, the yield for 2024 is 5.6%.

In sync with rising gold costs, which lately surpassed $3,000, I anticipate silver to actually make a transfer in 2025. The gold-to-silver ratio presently stands at almost 90, one in every of its highest in historical past. I anticipate that ratio to fall within the coming years. This implies greater silver costs will seemingly additional improve the corporate’s margins.

The miner does face loads of dangers. Hovering labour and vitality prices have been a serious contributor of poor earnings lately. Nevertheless it has confronted larger challenges over its 500-year mining historical past.

Insurance coverage large

I’ve lengthy been an admirer of Aviva (LSE: AV.). The issues that beset the corporate for a number of years are properly behind it now. A leaner, extra targeted enterprise has been a money cow for traders since Amanda Blanc took the reins.

As with Fresnillo, the share price has had a great run up as of late. Nonetheless, in contrast to with the miner, I don’t anticipate a lot ahead motion in 2025. However the juicy ahead dividend yield of 6.8% highlights its stalwart revenue credentials.

Its share price could also be pretty valued at present, however that doesn’t imply that the inventory doesn’t have luggage of development potential with the intention to assist its rising dividend.

The current acquisition of Direct Line Group is an actual coup. It brings collectively two extremely complementary companies, each with main positions in private strains of insurance coverage. DLG has a really spectacular portfolio of manufacturers together with Direct Line, Churchill, and Inexperienced Flag.

The buyout will even present Aviva with important price financial savings. These embrace a merger of back-office features and consolidation of assist providers, particularly name centres.

However any massive acquisition does deliver with it important dangers. A few of them won’t appear so apparent at first sight. Take merging IT methods. There are many examples prior to now of it really costing corporations much more than they initially envisaged. Nonetheless, I see Aviva as a no brainer for my Shares and Shares ISA.