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The background was that the month of June had been particularly punishing, with a substantial drop in value of the portfolio (4.3%) - so I logged out of my computer at the beginning of our family holiday with some concerns about whether this precipitous fall in market values would continue.
So, after finally crunching the numbers, the results are in: but how did the portfolio do without my expert fine-tuning and daily monitoring?
Those of you who are invested in similar securities will know already: the markets have staged an amazing summer rally, and the portfolio has recovered nearly all the value lost in June with a surprising leap of 4.4% in just two weeks.
That is obviously a relief to me - and hopefully all readers have had a similarly positive experience over the period.
What is sobering is that this has happened without any intervention by myself. This is interesting, as it is completely unthinkable that I would have avoided monitoring the portfolio (and potentially tinkering with it) for such a long period, under normal circumstances. It is just luck, I suppose - but it gives me some hope that the philosophy behind the portfolio may make it fairly robust under most market conditions.
The amazingly warm UK weather was also another pleasant surprise - long may it last!
However, having come back behind the keyboard, I have noticed that one of my shares had a flashing 'sell' sign and I have netted a profit of one-third: but more about that in another post.
The tinkering has begun again...
I am not a financial adviser and the information provided does not constitute financial advice. You should always do your own research on top of what you learn here to ensure that it's right for your specific circumstances.
Hi DIY,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you back. You may have missed G4S problems.
I purchased G4S last week, currently yielding > 5%. PE < 10. Some debt ... but took the plunge.
Regards,
Hello DIY,
ReplyDeleteJust stumbled upon your blog so thought I would drop in and leave a comment.
I am currently looking to diversify my sipp fixed interest allocation which is overweight with Coventry PIBS so will have a look at some of your options.
I hold a few HYP shares but have been finding my investment trusts have been producing consistently better returns.
I have also recently been attracted to the low cost Vanguard trackers and purchased the All World High Dividend - I don't suppose you know when the first quarterly dividend is due?
Nice blog! Will look in from time to time.
Cheers,
John
Welcome back - any thoughts about G4S? Looks like a good opportunity, but something niggles - are we likely to see a reducing share price over the next 6-12 months and an eventual threat to cut dividend?
ReplyDeleteFurther to my comment above on G4S, Neil Woodford and some American Value investing funds have significant positions in G4S including a Bill Gates foundation. Of course this is no guarantee, DYOR, but it is the world largest Security group, well diversified (100 countries), UK revenue is relatively small and most importantly for me a progressive dividend policy.
ReplyDeleteYes the market offered another chance to buy at a 10% discount but has moved back up. May have to wait for another opportunity as most of the "decent" stocks are not in value territory except maybe some of the miners who are unloved but that another story.
ReplyDeleteYou shouldn't need to be watching on a daily basis but if you do sometimes you come across the odd bargain. I had some limit orders placed during the "correction" but most were not activated.
Will be watching just in case you can entice me with one of your trades which isnt on my watchlist.
For TIMBO G4S is on that list but I think it has more to fall IMO