Hello, everyone! I am BACK! Well, sort of…
It’s been a little while, due to having surgery on 1st June – still going through the procedure (having my right femur extended by over 4cm!), but feeling marginally human again – so a portfolio update hasn’t been added since May.
I’ll release this post today, and will begin monthly updates again from October.
As such, this should prove to be an interesting post. I’ve made a few changes to the main portfolio; trimming profit in some areas, while also removing a low-conviction stock entirely. Almost a dozen buy/sells in total; all will be revealed below!
As always: I do not encourage anyone to copy my investing strategy. This is not financial advice and is for entertainment purposes only.
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Main Portfolio: S&S ISA, LISA, Private Equity, Crypto
Portfolio Breakdown & Illustration
As it currently stands, the portfolio consists of stocks (83.26%), private shares/equity (5.34%), and cash (11.40%).
It’s definitely been an eventful couple of months. For the most part, the US stock market has continued its trend upwards, while UK stocks have continued cooling off after a short rally. There’s also still plenty of uncertainty in both countries when it comes to inflation and interest rates. Though, as of today, the US seems in a much better position, with inflation falling consistently.
I made the difficult decision last week to sell all of my Cryptocurrencies. While I’m sure they will see a comeback in the future, there’s a lot of uncertainty around crypto at the moment. Many governments are pushing against it, exchanges are collapsing and/or getting sued, along with other issues. So, I chose to get out for now and keep the cash on hold for other opportunities. Admittedly, some of that cash will also be held back to prop up my emergency fund; just in case (still a long recovery ahead!).
Tesla remains my biggest holding (despite trimming the position), and will likely continue to be for at least the next 1-2 years. Cash is now my second largest position, at 11.40%. I don’t intend on increasing this further; I aim to use this to take advantage of any future downturns.
As stated previously, I do want to trim some other medium to low conviction stocks. Most notably, Robinhood, Coinbase and Matterport. I’m confident small-caps will see a rally in the coming months (sans any major negative macro catalysts); that’s when I’ll make my move. I’ll transfer this money into lower-risk, likely dividend-paying companies.
In terms of dividends, I received £1.75 from Jupiter Fund Management on 19th May, and £31.23 from Lloyds Banking Group on 23rd May.
Here’s a look at my main portfolio as at 6pm on Sunday 2nd July:
Purchases & Sales Since Previous Update
Here’s a breakdown of any purchases or sales of shares, with my reasoning for doing so.
- SOLD: 12 shares of Alphabet (GOOGL), removing this position from my portfolio.
- REASON: Two reasons, really. Firstly, I wanted to build up a little cash in my Lifetime ISA (where these shares were held). Secondly, Alphabet approached its all time highs, and I’m not convinced that’s appropriate in the current environment (recent price movements are down to hopes for its new AI tools). So, I banked in these shares. I may return in the future if we see another correction.
- SOLD: 97 shares of Shift Technologies (SHFT), removing this position from my portfolio.
- REASON: Frankly, I don’t expect this company to exist for long; they’re teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. So, while I’ve taken a large loss on this very small position (-80%), I’m happy knowing I’m out of a company I hold such little conviction. I should have seen the signs much sooner, but that’s just another lesson learnt!
- SOLD: 27 shares of Affirm (AFRM), reducing my position to 90 shares.
- REASON: These were originally bought as a trade, around 6-8 weeks ago. So I took my ~20% return and called it a day. I have shares remaining, but to me, buy-now-pay-later companies come with too much risk at the moment. Prefer to reduce risk and build cash instead for any upcoming downtrends in higher-conviction companies.
- SOLD: 6 shares of Tesla (TLSA), reducing my position to 18 shares.
- REASON: I love Tesla, but the company has gained $200bn in market cap in a very short period of time. Took some profit off the table, but this remains my biggest position.
- SOLD: 40 shares of Palantir (PLTR), reducing my position to 40 shares.
- REASON: The company hit my ‘overpriced’ range, and its rally was largely down to Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest buying shares. I still hold shares; just wanted to trim the position and take some profit.
- SOLD: 149 shares of Sofi Technologies (SOFI), reducing my position to 54 shares.
- REASON: After a huge rally – putting the stock in overvalued territory – I decided to take profit off the table. I still hold a few shares, and may add to the position if we see sub-$8 prices again.
- SOLD: ALL of my Crypto.
- REASON: See reason stated in the paragraphs above.
- BUY: 4 shares of Enphase Energy (ENPH).
- REASON: I’ve wanted to purchase a few Enphase shares for a long time now, but they’ve simply been too expensive. Now they’re under $170 per share, I wanted to add a small position to the portfolio. If it dips under $150, I’ll add a little more.
- BUY: 6 shares of Disney (DIS), increasing my position to 11 shares.
- REASON: In my opinion, Disney has become a value play. It’s too cheap to ignore for me. I DO think there are a lot of short-term risks, largely due to the writers’ strike, and the issues in Florida. But long-term, I’m optimistic of a good return here.
- BUY: 1078 shares Lloyd’s Banking Group (LLOY), increasing my position to 3,030 shares.
- REASON: Decided to add to my position when the stock fell to 45p again. It’s a fairly solid, stable company that pays a dividend. If it rallies to 55-60p at any stage, I’ll sell these specific shares off, but I’m happy to hold for the long term if it remains stable.
- BUY: 2340 shares of Base Resources (BSE), increasing my position to 8,482 shares.
- REASON: Small add to this position, since we’ve seen a sharp correction due to lower ore prices and delays in the company’s next projects. While I’m optimistic for the company long term, this is a risky play in the short term.
Secondary Portfolio: SIPP
Portfolio Breakdown & Illustration
As I’ve stated previously, this portfolio is meant to be more ‘stable’, so not much to report here either.
Not much has changed here. Though, The Restaurant Group saw a sharp correction, so it’s back to around the price I initially bought it. Who knew that a hospitality stock could be so volatile?!
I received £5.53 in dividends for June, but expecting more in July. It’ll be interesting to see how this grows over time.
Here’s a look at my SIPP portfolio as of 6pm on Sunday 2nd July:
SIPP Purchases & Sales Since Previous Update
No purchases or sales were made during this period.
Let’s Discuss
That’s everything from me. I’d love to hear your thoughts as well:
- What are your thoughts on the portfolio? How does yours compare?
- What’s your favourite stock or fund to invest in?
- How do you feel about the UK/US economy over the coming months/years?
Let’s chat in the comments!
