Another good month for markets and the JIC portfolio. It seems a long time since Friday 25th May, when the portfolio was valued at £145,700, down 3.6% on the 1st January valuation. During December the JIC portfolio rose 4.2% to record a total return for 2012 of 21.2% compared to a monthly rise for the FTSE All Share Index (TR) of 0.8% and 12.1% for the year.
The main contributors during December were Findel +21%, Gable +17%, Agriterra +16%, Ashtead +12% and Synergy Health +11%. Gulf Keystone -9% and Telecity -8% were the only real drags on performance. Whilst I shouldn't really grumble about the total return for JIC of 21.2% for the year I feel I should have done a little better! To some extent JIC is diversified away from the UK with about 25% held in various investment trusts. Never the less, against the background of the FTSE Mid 250 Index and the FTSE Small Cap Index (ex Inv. Trusts) rising 23% and 32% respectively , two areas which I consider fertile hunting grounds, I should have been able to pick some better stocks.
The best returns so far: Quindell +148%, Halfords +69%, easyJet +54%, Igas 46% and Taylor Wimpey +38%. Main lessons from 2013. I am perfectly able to pick undervalued growth situations without having to resort to speculative oil exploration companies. Chariot Oil & Gas cost the portfolio £3,514 or just over 2% of my JIC starting capital. True, you can make extraordinary returns if these companies do strike oil, but if they don't....!
In 2010/11 I made good money out of three E&P stocks; Encore, Nautical and Cove but in all three cases I bought after they had made their initial discoveries and the risk was greatly reduced. I need to be more disciplined in implementing stop losses. In some cases, having cut a holding, the shares promptly bounce but that should be seen as water under the bridge. The real damage comes from watching a stock drop when it is clearly in a down trend. The best , (or worst), example was Cape where I had cut my losses for a very small loss ,(£-46) but then for some inexplicable reason tried to catch a falling knife, bought back in and eventually sold out a few profits warnings later for an overall loss of £3490 or 2% of JIC starting capital. I cut a further 13 holdings for losses of on average £250, less than 0.2% of starting capital.
Run your winners: I sold Sports Direct purely because I thought it looked a little expensive. During the next month it went up a further 20% in a straight line. And finally..... There is nothing like a bit of luck! On May 15th I sold my holding in Lamprell for a small profit as I didn't like the way the share price was acting: it seemed a little suspicious. On May 16th it issued a profits warning and the shares promptly dropped 70%. The luck bit was that I sold on the 15th May and didn't decide to sleep on it and leave it to the next day!
Favourite stat of the year: Athens Stock Exchange Index +33.4%, Dax + 31.4%
Happy New Year and Happy Investing
Filed Under: Stock Picks,
About the Author's Website
On 1st January 2012 I set up the JIC portfolio with £151,110 cash.Under "Transactions" you can see how it has been invested, "Portfolio" shows the current portfolio and my approach to investing is described under "About Me". A history of all my postings can be found under "Company Blogs". I… ...read more or visit website »
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Findel plc, along with its subsidiaries, is principally engaged in home shopping and education supplies sales through mail order catalogues and the Internet and the provision of outsourced healthcare services. It operates in six segments. Express Gifts segment is a direct mail order businesses in the United Kingdom. Kleeneze is a marketing company, specializing in supplying household and health and beauty products. Kitbag is a retailer of sports leisurewear and official football kits both through its own online operation, kitbag.com. Education Supplies is a supplier of resources and equipment to schools and educational establishments in the United Kingdom. Healthcare is an operator of outsourced Integrated Community Equipment Services (ICES) contracts for NHS trusts and local authorities. Overseas Sourcing is a sourcing office based in Hong Kong supplying importing services to various group companies and a small number of external customers. more »
Gable Holding Inc. is an investment holding company. The Company is engaged in writing insurance business through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Gable Insurance AG. The Company invests in the European Insurance and Reinsurance sector. The Company operates in two segments: Insurance activities and Administration. activities. Insurance activities, which consists of the Company’s insurance subsidiary. Administration activities, which consists of all other activities of the Company. The Company focuses on non-life insurance classes within the construction and commercial sector. It operates in the UK, Ireland, France, Spain and Norway. In May 2013, the Company announced the launch of its first product in Italy. more »
Agriterra Ltd is engaged in investing in agricultural and associated civil engineering industries in Africa. The Company has four agricultural divisions namely: Mozbife Limitada (Mozbife), which conducts cattle ranching, feedlot and abattoir operations; Tropical Farms Limited (TFL), which manages the Company’s cocoa sales, trading and farming activities; Desenvolvimento E Comercializacao Agricola Limitada (DECA) and Compagri Limitada (Compagri), which operate maize farming and processing businesses, and Red Bunch Ventures (SL) Limited, which houses Agriterra Ltd’s palm oil operations. In February 2013, it opened its second beef retail unit (the Retail Unit) in Mozambique. In February 2013, the Company expanded its cocoa and farming operations in Sierra Leone, through its wholly owned subsidiary Tropical Farms Ltd. more »
