My Current Portfolio

[BreakoutBoy]

Can be found here

Moderator Message:
Can you post the portfolio here please. We do not encourage direct links to own blogs. Raptor.

All comments welcome either there or here.

[TUK020]

Thanks for sharing. A number of disparate comments:
- Having your aims, strategy and guidelines spelt out this clearly and coherently means that you have a very good chance of getting there. Well done.
- Thanks for the picture of MSW. She is up there with Professor Alice Roberts.
- I think you would benefit from a broader range of options in your 'Life Strategy'. The sword of Damocles perspective of your current job doesn't mean that you couldn't find something else to do that would earn you a reasonable wage, and perhaps is much more enjoyable. Spend some time thinking about what skills you have that are transferrable, and where else they could be of value.
- In your portfolio, you have Pharmaceuticals, but don't have much in the way of engineering companies that make things incorporating technology. I have BAe, RR, Cobham (sob), GKN, Rotork. (having written the list, I am suddenly aware of how aerospace concentrated it is). Is there a reason for this?

[BreakoutBoy]

Many thanks for your comments which I appreciate.

I think the lack of Aerospace or technical type engineering firms has always been down to lack of opportunity to buy them at a decent yield, at a time when I have funds available. Around 18 months ago BAe was available offering over 4% yield, but the whole market was cheap and there were other shares I liked. Now it is more expensive and I feel that I may have missed a good opportunity to buy. I agree that I would definitely like to tuck some away long term. Likewise Rolls -Royce. Cobham was a bit smaller and I passed despite it offering a decent yield, which was lucky, I think.

I quite like falling knives to be honest and if an engineering company were to offer some poor newsflow I would be checking them out: When Sprue Aegis got battered because of their battery failures a while back I almost bought in, but regrettably lost my nerve. A similar situation in a decent engineer will see me out buying!

[BreakoutBoy]

So having become utterly cheesed off with getting moderated to death over on the HYP Practical Forum and elsewhere on Lemonfool, I am hanging out over here in the quiet for now. I like to chat about my portfolio and shares in general, and am not shy about having an opposing point of view. The irony is so apt upthread: Posting a link to said portfolio is problematic it seems but never mind, I will put up a table sometime. Or just reopen my old blog site back up to visitors. Anyway, for me, political issues or rugby scars, whatever may be relevant or irrelevant about investment or life are most welcome on this, the thread about my own portfolio. It is likely the portfolio will pass the 100k mark this week which will be nice, just 15 months since I started seriously saving and investing again following some hedonistic years of excess.

Anyway, just to spite those HYP-Practical forumites more interested in discussing the rules than the shares I thought it worth highlighting a comprehensive takedown of one of the HYP forum darlings, the faintly ludicrous GSK.

This dinosaur is at risk of becoming a dividend fossil as this rather good Stockopedia contributor article shows. As ever DYOR, but GSK looks like a future cutter to me.

https://www.stockopedia.com/content/gla ... rs-224768/

Edit.
Miscalculated, it has been 20 months since my first deposit in the ISA account. Time has flown. It seems it is still springtime in my head!

[BreakoutBoy]

Ticker                       | Name                                                 | Portfolio Percentage
BRK.B                        | Berkshire Hathaway Inc.                              |                  2.2
LON:AV                       | Aviva plc                                            |                  2.3
LON:BKG                      | Berkeley Group Holdings PLC                          |                  2.5
LON:BT.A                     | BT Group plc                                         |                  1.4
LON:CTY                      | City of London Investment Trust plc                  |                  4.4
LON:FCS                      | F&C Global Smaller Companies PLC                     |                  2.7
LON:GFRD                     | Galliford Try plc                                    |                  1.6
LON:HSBA                     | HSBC Holdings plc                                    |                  4.5
LON:HSL                      | Henderson Smaller Companies Inv Trst PLC             |                  5.6
LON:IMB                      | Imperial Brands PLC                                  |                  5.2
LON:ISAT                     | Inmarsat Plc                                         |                  2.0
LON:LGEN                     | Legal & General Group Plc                            |                  4.8
LON:MNL                      | Manchester & London Investment Trust plc             |                  2.4
LON:MYI                      | Murray International Trust plc                       |                  3.1
LON:PFC                      | Petrofac Limited                                     |                  1.6
LON:RDSB                     | Royal Dutch Shell Plc                                |                  3.7
LON:RIO                      | Rio Tinto plc                                        |                  4.5
LON:RMG                      | Royal Mail PLC                                       |                  0.9
LON:SMT                      | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust PLC               |                  4.5
LON:SSE                      | SSE PLC                                              |                  2.6
LON:ULVR                     | Unilever plc                                         |                  1.8
LON:VWRL                     | VANGUARD FUNDS PLC VANGUARD FTSE ALL-WORLD UCITS ETF |                 20.3
LON:WPP                      | WPP PLC ORD 10P                                      |                  2.0
MUTF_GB:FUND_EQUI_I_ANRT8N   | Fundsmith Equity I Acc                               |                  5.6
MUTF_GB:VANG_LIFE_100_J10ZSC | Vanguard LifeStrategy 100% Equity Fund A Acc         |                  7.8
                             |                                                      |                     
                             |                                                      |                100.0

[BreakoutBoy]

An additional aside: Google sheets absolutely kicks ass for building a portfolio tracker. GoogleFinance functions are soooo much easier to deal with than tinkering around with a hot mess of VBA like Excel always somehow ends up, and GAS scripting turns out to be quite fun too. Plus gotta love having it all on the cloud so never need to worry about versioning which was always problematic for me.

I have now transferred my stuff off HYPTUSS (thanks Kiloran et al for stalwart service) and onto my own Google Sheets tracker. Love it! Still working on obtaining working dividend forecasts but, whatever, it has been a worthwhile project as I can now get auto-updated prices for my OEICS alongside my shares.

[moorfield]

So having become utterly cheesed off with getting moderated to death over on the HYP Practical Forum and elsewhere on Lemonfool, I am hanging out over here in the quiet for now.

Fair enough BoB. I understand where you're coming from with some of that.

I like to chat about my portfolio and shares in general, and am not shy about having an opposing point of view.

So lets start by comparing length and girth. I don't really get where you're going with it, so what's the XIRR of that fine folio of yours, may I ask?

M

[BreakoutBoy]

Not calculated IRR, but my broker tells me I am 13% up on cost price, which considering the cash has been dripfed in fairly evenly across 2016-2017, and all dividends have been reinvested, I am happy enough with as a return.

What I actually track is the portfolio market value, which I track against a target to increase by 4k per month including new monies added. My target is to have GBP250k invested in the market by the time I next go job hunting in July 2021, at which point I hope to use the cushion to be able to pick and choose the projects I want to be involved in. This looks very achievable, provided I keep my post tax saving rate above 50% and make good use of the tax wrappers and reliefs available. By far my biggest bill is income tax, so tax planning is probably more significant than investment performance in terms of building the stash. There just isn't going to be much time for compounding to occur between now and then so I am viewing it as a saving sprint to the finish for me.

My results would have been much better without big losers PSON, CLLN and ALY, but they are now culled and the surviving capital put into collective investments. That said, some big winners have also been selected so I would rate my own decision making a C-, just about adequate.I have learned that I am more comfortable with risk than I initially thought, providing I am playing within a well diversified portfolio, and I have absorbed some expensive lessons that one cannot replicate via paper trading. There needs to be real pain to truly teach you to filter hard, to research, to do the maths and not to throw away money on poorly thought through positions. You cannot avoid making mistakes entirely but you can try to avoid making the same mistake twice.

Building my own tracker spreadsheet sheet has spurred me to complete the long put-off task of unitising the portfolio, so a 2018 review will see me better placed to answer the XIRR question.

[Raptor]

Like the portfolio. Do you or did you have any aims as to the split you are or were trying to achieve with shares against ITs etc. I ask as I am slowly moving to a higher proportion of ITs so as to make it easier to manage going forward, for me and my family.

I am showing a 3% capital gain on my total portfoilio, measured against total costs over 13 year period. Originally all divis were reinvested but now in partial "meltdown" sorry drawdown.

This year I have got rid of some shares with low or no divi, top sliced a couple of heavyweights, got rid of CLLN and AMEC. Needed some money for a building project. Currently toying with buying a new IT, have 5 at moment, but will get back to that when there is sufficient money in my SIPP pot.

Would be interested in your plans as well.

Raptor.

[Itsallaguess]

So having become utterly cheesed off with getting moderated to death over on the HYP Practical Forum and elsewhere on Lemonfool, I am hanging out over here in the quiet for now.

I like to chat about my portfolio and shares in general, and am not shy about having an opposing point of view.

And now, having clearly made that point, can I please suggest that you now stop discussing board moderation, otherwise I think you'll be inviting the same issues onto this thread as well.....

I find your posts interesting to read, and you do raise some relevant points for discussion, so I hope you're able to find a way to stick around that doesn't attract further mod-attention.....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[BreakoutBoy]

I am going to hangout over here on this thread and avoid posting on the more heavily moderated boards, as I prefer a no-limits discussion. It's less disruptive for other readers that way, and anyone interested can follow my progress if they want to.

I started buying individual shares, then ITs, then found Monevator and decided that passive investing made some sense and so built up a chunk of Vanguard global to act as an anchor to allow me the comfort of some index hugging: by doing so I can't win big, but equally I can't deviate too far from the MSCI global index. In terms of split, the ITs have so far slightly outperformed the tracker and the aggregate of the individual shares so it is an e asy decision to add to them in spite of the costs. Aiming for an even split across the options eventually, as new money added.

[Raptor]

I am going to hangout over here on this thread and avoid posting on the more heavily moderated boards, as I prefer a no-limits discussion. It's less disruptive for other readers that way, and anyone interested can follow my progress if they want to.

I started buying individual shares, then ITs, then found Monevator and decided that passive investing made some sense and so built up a chunk of Vanguard global to act as an anchor to allow me the comfort of some index hugging: by doing so I can't win big, but equally I can't deviate too far from the MSCI global index. In terms of split, the ITs have so far slightly outperformed the tracker and the aggregate of the individual shares so it is an e asy decision to add to them in spite of the costs. Aiming for an even split across the options eventually, as new money added.

This last financial year, upto April, my ITs almost matched my Equities for dividend income (%) but the capital side the ITs have won big time. Maybe an indication of the state of the uk markets as my ITs cover asia etc and small cap. Fortunately all my ITs are in my SIPP.

Raptor

[BreakoutBoy]

Looking ahead to the close of the month and next payday: I will use the last £1500 of my ISA allowance at the end of October, choosing to max out the LISA for the free 1k promised at the end of the tax year. I have used just about all carry forward for pensions Annual Allowance and am expecting to find my employers silly generous DB scheme contributions may exceed the AA this year, by a small amount.

So this month my choice will be either: Start building unwrapped holdings in the dealing account to take advantage of the 2k dividend allowance(and hope that in future I may have scope to bed and ISA). Or I start shopping around for VCTs. The 5 year holding period for VCT tax relief could be made to fit in with my 4 year plan, and the upfront 30% tax relief and tax free dividends could be welcome.

[Itsallaguess]

In terms of split, the IT's have so far slightly outperformed the tracker and the aggregate of the individual shares so it is an easy decision to add to them in spite of the costs.

I've seen a similar enhancement in performance from my own IT's, especially those related to relatively high-yield shares, and added to Raptor's recent post that's confirmed a similar view, and what I take generally on these boards to suggest that it's been a widely-seen phenomenon, it then brings into question what might happen in the future, specifically with regards to your 'easy decision to add them' in the above paragraph.

I only mention this because on the face of it I'm thinking exactly the same thing; I've got cash I would like to invest and my higher-yielding IT's seem like the natural landing zone for those new investments, but I can't seem to shake off the feeling that there'll be some sort of 'reversion to mean' somewhere along the line, where individual equities might 'catch up' in terms of valuation, or perhaps more likely might be a tick-back in the value of the IT's themselves, given that on the face of it their recent out-performance might not stand up under any sort of real scrutiny when we look at the underlying holdings that have not performed in the same way....

So the question I keep asking myself is whether the outperforming IT's in my HYP actually might not make the decision to add to them 'easy' at all, and it's actually the recent out-performance that's making it hard for me personally to add much to them at this point....

And yet, and yet, what's the alternative? I've got my 15% cash allocation at this point, due to general market concerns making such a cash-pile palatable for me at this moment in time, and I'm wanting to find a home for any new funds over and above that, arising from new capital or the inflow of dividends, so where those extra funds go is perplexing me a little at the moment....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[tramrider]

I only mention this because on the face of it I'm thinking exactly the same thing; I've got cash I would like to invest and my higher-yielding IT's seem like the natural landing zone for those new investments, but I can't seem to shake off the feeling that there'll be some sort of 'reversion to mean' somewhere along the line, where individual equities might 'catch up' in terms of valuation, or perhaps more likely might be a tick-back in the value of the IT's themselves, given that on the face of it their recent out-performance might not stand up under any sort of real scrutiny when we look at the underlying holdings that have not performed in the same way....

Itsallaguess

Would it help to look at the discount level on the ITs?

If the ITs are at a discount, that will be relative to the constituent share prices, so any reversion to the mean by the market, which reduced the single equity prices, shouldn't have any worse an effect on the IT prices. Any ITs at a large premium are more likely to suffer a greater drop during a reversal.

Tramrider

[Itsallaguess]

Would it help to look at the discount level on the ITs?

If the ITs are at a discount, that will be relative to the constituent share prices, so any reversion to the mean by the market, which reduced the single equity prices, shouldn't have any worse an effect on the IT prices. Any ITs at a large premium are more likely to suffer a greater drop during a reversal.

Yes, sorry, I should have mentioned that I do keep an eye on the discount/premium levels of my IT's, especially if I'm in 'accumulation' mode, and whilst I appreciate that a good level of discount should afford some extra level of 'protection' in terms of likely movements against any potential underlying-effects, there comes a point where I'll consider discounts or premiums 'around the edges', to fall into the 'general noise' category, and so they won't usually affect my investment decisions to any great degree, but I do take your point and it's good of you to raise it when I failed to do so in my earlier post.

And I'll be the first to agree that my position might well be seen to be fairly irrational, and that I should perhaps just plough on regardless if I think IT's are best placed compared to individual equities, but I only raised my position due to BreakoutBoy's view further up this thread that due to his IT's out-performance compared to other areas of his portfolio, it made the decision 'easy' for him to continue investing in them, when that same out-performance had actually made the decision much more difficult for me personally...

Still, I guess that's what makes a market! If I don't start to do something soon, however, I'll have to start to wonder what I'll do when I get to 20% cash!!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[BreakoutBoy]

A good point there!

I think much of the slight outperformance of the ITs I hold has been due to a general narrowing of discounts and in some cases a move onto a premium. One criteria I look for when buying them is a decent discount so maybe what I am seeing is the result of some lucky market timing.

I found it hard to press the button to buy more CTY the other day due to a slight premium, and instead plumped for an OEIC top up. That said there are still discounts around and a scan down the list at Trustnet is always fun to spot the laggards. HSL seems to be permanently on sale at a 12-18% discount despite low charges and a decent track record.

[tramrider]

And I'll be the first to agree that my position might well be seen to be fairly irrational, and that I should perhaps just plough on regardless if I think IT's are best placed compared to individual equities, but I only raised my position due to BreakoutBoy's view further up this thread that due to his IT's out-performance compared to other areas of his portfolio, it made the decision 'easy' for him to continue investing in them, when that same out-performance had actually made the decision much more difficult for me personally...

Still, I guess that's what makes a market! If I don't start to do something soon, however, I'll have to start to wonder what I'll do when I get to 20% cash!!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I don't think your position is irrational at all, just cautious, and that is a good lesson for all of us.

At present I have 30% in cash including a safety net, due to receiving the proceeds of the sale of our old house after moving into a retirement bungalow. I am intending to drip it into the ITs in my ISAs over the next couple of years at a couple of thousand per month, as I share your uneasiness with the state of the market. I try to wait for the dip each month as the market oscillates up and down. I have tried to wean myself off single equities as I seem to be quite poor at picking them and they form the red section of my portfolio!

Best wishes,
Tramrider

[Raptor]

And I'll be the first to agree that my position might well be seen to be fairly irrational, and that I should perhaps just plough on regardless if I think IT's are best placed compared to individual equities, but I only raised my position due to BreakoutBoy's view further up this thread that due to his IT's out-performance compared to other areas of his portfolio, it made the decision 'easy' for him to continue investing in them, when that same out-performance had actually made the decision much more difficult for me personally...

Still, I guess that's what makes a market! If I don't start to do something soon, however, I'll have to start to wonder what I'll do when I get to 20% cash!!

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

I don't think your position is irrational at all, just cautious, and that is a good lesson for all of us.

At present I have 30% in cash including a safety net, due to receiving the proceeds of the sale of our old house after moving into a retirement bungalow. I am intending to drip it into the ITs in my ISAs over the next couple of years at a couple of thousand per month, as I share your uneasiness with the state of the market. I try to wait for the dip each month as the market oscillates up and down. I have tried to wean myself off single equities as I seem to be quite poor at picking them and they form the red section of my portfolio!

Best wishes,
Tramrider

I am starting to build up my buffer again after recent "spend", though I keep that outside of my "dealing accounts" in Savings accounts, currently paying 1.04% and 1.14% (the 1.14% has restrictions on removal of cash). not a lot there at the moment, about 1.3%. Thought there is another 1% held in my ISA and SIPP which will be used at some point to "buy" more.

Strange what we have all said about "discount" to NAV, recently had enough money in my SIPP to buy more, went back and looked at the IT's, as you do, made a decision and noticed the NAV was positive on the one I picked, had never seen it positive before (mind you do not look that often), so plumped for the one with a decent divi yield and a negative NAV. I agree though that with the discount any "return to normal" may still be in the IT's advantage, but it is a strange world and no-one can really predict. Who knows we all may be holding another CLLN, LLOY or TSCO.

Raptor.

[Hariseldon58]

Apart from Berkshire Hathaway, which is far more than a single business, I don’t really see the point in holding individual shares compared to the Fund/ tracker / Investment Trust , the saving in running cost is scant compensation for the lack of diversity and admin involved. For some it becomes a hobby and a few clearly have done well out of it but most of us are going to better off in a collective.

I did some research in 2016 on my 35 share HYP from 2006-2008 , which I sold out of in 2008, in 2016 I did the total return comparison on a no tinker basis with the FTSE100, City of London and my actual portfolio ( more global and in the latter years mostly passive )

The conclusion was that I was a dreadful stick picker , slightly underperforming the FTSE100, significant underperformance of City of London and a huge underperformance of my actual portfolio. I doubt if I was alone in being a lousy stick picker...

It’s notable that many mix the HYP and IT’s , Funds and ETF’s but I am curious, what is the reason to hold 10 or 15 individual companies at all ? Within otherwise well diversified portfolios,