This is the review for January 2013. Subsequent months appear under "comments" below;

A great start to the year from equity markets all around the world. The JIC portfolio rose by 4.7% to £191,715 compared to a 6.4% rise for the FTSE All Share Index including dividends. So mixed emotions; whilst a return of 4.7% will keep the wolves from the door I am a little disappointed not to have done better.

Most of the damage was done by Quindell, which on account of its >200% rise since purchase was the largest holding in the portfolio going into 2013. It fell 22% during January as some holders, including me, banked some profits. There is some scepticism about its prospects mainly centred around its ability to generate sufficient cash and to bed down all the acquisitions it has made during the last year. An Investors Chronicle article in the 25th January edition summed up all these concerns succinctly and caused some damage to the share price. Should the Company prove the doubters wrong there is scope for considerable upside given the low valuation of 5.5x 2013 consensus earnings forecasts. Findel (LON:FDL). also performed poorly following its trading statement and like Quindell, if it can prove its doubters wrong the shares should bounce back strongly.

The best performers over the month were Globo (LON:GBO) 58%, easyJet 22%, Jupiter Fund Management 17%, Gulf Keystone 16% and Intermediate Capital 12%. I have commented on the first three of these during the month, following trading statements and in Globo's case, a meeting with the management.

As for the market outlook, many commentators are saying the markets have risen too far, too fast and will fall back. I don't remember many of them screaming at us to buy stocks when the market was on its downers last May! Best to ignore all the noise and focus on picking stocks.

I have introduced a number of new holdings since the start of the year; St.Ives, Dolphin Capital, Regenersis and Synectics which hopefully will add some value to the portfolio in the coming months.

www.JohnsInvestmentChronicle.com

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