Right so this is actually my first ever portfolio update on here, so for the first one I’ll start by simply doing a quick breakdown of my portfolio, it’s performance so far and the make up of my total investments.
So the portfolio I’ll be documenting I have rather originally titled my ‘Public Portfolio’. This is a portfolio of stocks that pass my investing checklist. If you’re not sure what my investing checklist is then, check out my YouTube channel where I have a playlist of four videos running through my investing process and the checklist each stock has to pass to go on my watchlist (click YouTube icon at the top or bottom of this page). My first purchase using this system was in January of 2022, so that is effectively the start date of this portfolio.
For full disclosure I do hold a basket of other stocks, some of which fall in to the trouble stock category. These are stocks I purchased early in my investing journey, predominantly in the 2020/2021 bull market. I didn’t have a proper system and really didn’t know what I was doing, though thought I was a genius when they were all going up. I was having a great time! I have since realised everything was going up so there was no skill whatsoever in those picks. I also made the mistake of holding most of them and in most cases averaging down through the bear market UK stocks have been in since mid 2021. In hindsight I should have got rid of most of them a long time ago, but hey a lesson learned. Non of them pass my current checklist so that’s why I’m not including them in my public portfolio. I’ve made the decision that I’ve held them this long that it’s not really worth selling at what I believe is near the bottom, so I’ll continue holding and sell during the next bull market. That won’t be accounted in these updates though, so for all intense and purposes they don’t exist, If only that were true!
My wife and I also hold a portfolio of investment trusts in her ISA which I manage. This is a decent portion of our overall portfolio, though is pretty much a buy and forget strategy, so not really worth regular updates on. Over time, as I become more confident and experienced, I’ll convert investments in investment trusts into individual stock selections. However for now I think it’s good to have that level of diversification for safety, just in case I screw the pooch. I’ll probably do a separate run down of that portfolio at another time.
So the current portfolio of stocks that pass the checklist consists of 15 stocks, 7 UK ones & 8 from the USA. I have imposed a maximum limit of 20 stocks so I have a little wiggle room to add a few more yet. Since inception in January 2022 the portfolio is up 7.69%, with a big fall in the past month. Year to date the portfolio is up 9.44%, which I am very pleased with. The benchmark I use is the FTSE All Share Index, which is -0.48% year to date, so we’re crushing that at the moment. The portfolio has been saved this year by the US stocks, so I think it was a great idea to branch out and include those. Prior to this portfolio I was only investing in UK stocks which was quite limiting, especially for technology and healthcare stocks.
Current holdings with value & gain/loss to date
UK stocks:
AJ Bell (AJB), £3,218, -13.9%
Bioventix (BVXP), £1,132, +1.33%
Gamma Communications (GAMA), £2,482, -3.59%
IG Group (IGG), £3,500, -5.86%
Impax Asset Management (IPX), £2,043, -36.7%
Kainos (KNOS), £2,508, -5.6%
Serica Energy (SQZ), £3,622, -7.68%
US stocks:
Alphabet (GOOGL), £3,372, +20.1%
Doximity (DOCS), £2,041, -24.3%
Enphase Energy (ENPH), £974, -2.24%
Meta Platforms (META), £7,732, +87%
Microsoft (MSFT), £3,744, +20.5%
Resmed (RMD), £838, -15.8%
Tesla (TSLA), £1,703, +48%
Veeva Systems (VEEV), £2,911, +14.9%
Performance since inception +7.69%
Performance year to date +9.44%
Recent trades
Buys
14/09/23 – Serica Energy (SQZ)
350 shares at 266p, £941. Total holding 1550 shares.
21/09/23 – YouGov (YOU)
200 shares at 855p, £1,720. Total holding 200 shares.
28/09/3 – Kainos (KNOS)
100 shares at 1144p, £1,160. Total holding 220 shares.
28/09/23 – Enphase Energy (ENPH)
10 shares at $119, £991. Total holding 10 shares.
Sells
02/10/23 – Argentex (AGFX)
Sold for a small gain of 13.3%. This again was due to the stock falling into a downwards trend. I’ll re-enter when it returns to an up trend.
03/10/23 – YouGov (YOU)
Sold for a 15.3% loss. I didn’t time this entry well, puchasing at the bottom of a trading channel in the hopes of a bounce, but it fell through. I decided to get out rather than hold a falling knife.
04/10/23 – Games Workshop (GAW)
Sold for a 61.5% profit purely because it broke a long term up trend & I don’t want to make the mistake of holding stocks all the way down again. I will re-enter when it returns to an upward trend.
04/10/23 – Calnex Solutions (CLX)
Sold for a 2.9% loss due to a major profit warning from an industry peer, Spirent Communications, saying there were delays from customers in that industry. The same customers as Calnex. I sold at the open and later in the day the stock was down 13%, so the correct decision.
Closing thoughts
So thats a run through of my current portfolio holdings. I’ll be doing regular updates, certainly monthly, though if there’s busy periods of trading I’ll drop more in. I’ll also add some insights on my investment thesis for particular stocks going forward. I’m hoping for an end of year rally as this year has been a bit of a struggle so far, especially the past month when it seams like everything is crashing, no matter the fundamentals of the business. Now I’m going to go and watch a bit of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the England vs Samoa rugby match. A great afternoon!