Investments
I manage my own pension fund investments (it’s a Defined Contribution fund, from which I am now making regular “pension” withdrawals).

I also manage a separate investment portfolio, which I set up more than ten years ago after selling out from a business I set up in 1993.

I publish regular updates on the progress of my investments. The updates, titled “Diary of a Private Investor”, are shown below:

Diary of a Private Investor issues

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
17/11/2019 A Tesla Halloween Horror Story I have a sizeable short position in Tesla. A sharp rise in its share price just before Halloween meant that there weren't many Halloween treats for me. Tesla Update: 20 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
24/10/2019 Avoiding tax could prove costly A decision not to sell, in order to avoid a hefty tax bill, proves questionable in light of subsequent events Renishaw Update: 19 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
18/09/2019 The world's best investor? World-beating past performance on an index promoted by BNP Paribas is largely theoretical and is far from a reliable guide to future performance BNP Paribas; Solactive Update: 18 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
10/09/2019 Too good to be true Tells of a weird investment product, concocted to satisfy savers' hunger for the impossible combination of security and return. BNP Paribas; MMPI Ltd t/a Broker Solutions; Solactive Update: 17 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
14/08/2019 Psst, looking for a bargain? Tells of an opportunity to buy into property at close to half-price, but buyer beware: I'm trying to sell the same property! Town Centre Securities Update: 16 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
04/07/2019 Shelling out on a tortoise After analysing the contributors to the return in the first half of 2019, this update tells of my latest attempt to add to my core portfolio. Novo Nordisk Update: 15 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
07/05/2019 Shareholders have feelings too Don't treat everything you read as gospel, even if it's published in a reputable newspaper. Charles Taylor plc Update: 14 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
09/04/2019 The naughty step Dealing with troublesome investments Samsonite Update: 13 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
09/03/2019 A guy in the attic Amateur investors can match the performance of the professionals. Phoenix Group Holdings Update: 12 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
09/02/2019 The virtues of a small harem Extolling the virtues of a concentrated portfolio AMP Update: 11 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
07/01/2019 A homemade hedge fund Shorting a company's shares can help performance in bad times, but is not a good long-term strategy SoftBank, Tesla, Phoenix Update: 10 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
03/12/2018 Just as it says on the tin Equity investing can lead to occasional large losses. That's part of the price for a good long-term return Apple, Tesla Update: 9 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
14/10/2018 Punched in the mouth A severe market setback can throw a plan off course Renishaw Update: 8 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
10/09/2018 Fasten your seat belts Investing in Ryanair led to a bumpy ride. How share buybacks can boost earnings. Ryanair Update: 7 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
19/08/2018 Refusing to act my age The inappropriateness of conventional investment advice to older people, to invest a high proportion of their savings in bonds Equities in general and bonds in general Update: 6 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
12/07/2018 Lord make me pure - but not just yet An opportunity to avail of an attractively-priced rights issue caused me to break my resolution to reduce my borrowings Phoenix Group Holdings Update: 5 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
11/06/2018 Man overboard but shipwreck averted A nasty shock for one of my larger investments at an inappropriate time. In the end, the biggest casualty was a CEO with an inflated academic record Samsonite Update: 4 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
08/05/2018 Biting the bullet The importance of addressing problem investments and accepting mistakes WPP Update: 3 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
01/04/2018 The long and the short of it Prepare for turbulence. Stick to your guns if you have confidence in your analysis Tesla Update: 2 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
01/03/2018 First diary update since original 2015-16 entries Update on companies mentioned in earlier diary entries Apple, Phoenix Group, Renishaw, Samsonite Update: 1 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
20/03/2016 A secure income The value of a secure dividend Phoenix Group Holdings Update: 0 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
07/02/2016 Volatility: friend, not foe How prices can fluctuate wildly, even in the absence of hard news. Exploiting volatility for long-term gain. Renishaw Update: 0 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
17/01/2016 Speculate to accumulate; no pain, no gain. The link between risk and reward in investing. Low gearing levels reduce risk. The endowment effect No specific companies Update: 0 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
06/12/2015 The Apple of my eye Apple's share price assumes it's a spent force. That's far from the case. Apple Corporation Update: 0 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
01/11/2015 The rights and wrongs of rights issues Wrong to be too obsessed with tradition and not face reality by cutting the dividend when times are tough. CRH Update: 0 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
04/10/2015 Getting to know you, getting to love you The merits of getting a deep understanding of a company; not being afraid to back it, even at the cost of concentration Renishaw Update: 0 Read

Document Date Description Theme Companies Covered Update Number Action
06/09/2015 First published diary entry. Tells why I started the diary Don't rely on tips when buying shares. Lottery effect in share purchases. Carclo Update: 0 Read

Other Investment Documents

There are no Other Investment Documents in the database.