An insight into a Private Investors' portfolio... The year that was 2022

28th Dec '22 by InvestorJohn

14 comments 1542 reads

(Thank goodness its over lol)

In Summary my overall investment portfolio is down by 25% for calendar year 2022 almost wiping out my +27.8% from last year!

You can see from the graph below that the portfolio steadily dwindled down across the year as the various headwinds took hold.

Last year in my review I said this...

"This result leaves me apprehensive, feeling set up for a fall! Pride comes before a fall they say and I do worry that I won’t achieve anywhere near this in the coming year… "

Boy was I right on that front! I know lots of investors have had a bad year so I hope you are surviving this and can shake it off and aim to succeed again in 2023! This just highlights that regular risk warning given, that we should only invest with money that we can afford to loose! Markets can go down as well as up!

With the last few years being a bull run some new investors will find this a bitter pill to swallow - there is a lot to be said for experience in investing - I don't count myself old (who does) but I have seen plenty of rough times from the .com boom/bust, the Global Financial Crisis and more recently Covid etc but thankfully I am still here and still investing.

My portfolio performance vs the FTSE All share

How did you perform? Hopefully you did better than me this year? Let me know below!

Visit my website to read my full update if you are interested

http://investorjohn.co.uk/unca...

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Metatron

28th Dec '22

Thanks for enclosing your website which has plenty of interest

InvestorJohn

29th Dec '22

You are welcome!

abtan

I really enjoyed reading this, thank you for sharing.

Paul2148

30th Dec '22

A good read, thank you.

I feel your pain with AdvancedAdvT (LON:ADVT) which I still hold despite the recent deal not working out. There has certainly been opportunity loss holding this share.

With valuations now being depressed for many small businesses do you not think this offers potential for a more advantageous approach to snap up a good company over the coming year?

It certainly should do I agree - although I hold Volvere (LON:VLE) and they should be doing the same and are not so far... so like you say maybe better opportunities elsewhere?

rwh3ue

Yes, a truly awful year for those of us who prefer smaller, less well covered stocks to the big boys of the FTSE. My own portfolio lost 19.7% compared to a gain of 14.5% in 2021. I try to invest long term and not trade in and out but I've been trying to maximise the CGT allowance ahead of the new tax year. My spouse and I each have share accounts and transfers between us are free so if I create a CGT loss on a stock my spouse can buy and receive a stock transfer with a hefty gain, I can sell and offset that gain with my loss. The 30 days rule means not attempting this with volatile stocks as buying back needs to wait..

Dividend tax is another motivator ahead of the changes in April so some transfers have been to shift the income to the lower tax rate spouse.

We currently have 43 stocks, 13 of which are not in ISAs. Some of these have very large CGT liability having bought many years ago e.g. JDG and LTHM but once there is new money in the ISAs we should be able to bed and ISA a few more from the others. I see investing as a long game and regard one off costs that save money in the long run as worthwhile.

My three largest holdings are SRT (12.5%), JDG (7.9) and LTHM (7.6%) but I share holdings in SDI, WJG and KETL with investorjohn. Thanks to him for revealing his activity. Hopefully 2023 will be better - good luck alll.

Richard Goodwin

Hi John. Thanks for your interesting post. I don't want to make you feel worse about performance but because of compounding, if you ran your last year's 27.8% gain and lost 25% this year then you are actually down overall. £127.80 X .75 = £95.85

If you took your profit off the table of course then the maths changes and you were indeed slightly up.

Silver Moon

31st Dec '22

Reading your website John, the ii dealing charge was reduced from £7.99 to £5.99 a while ago I'm pleased to say. Regarding the family's 2022 portfolio chez Silver, the initial figure went from 9 down to 7 and has now risen to 8. You can add as many noughts on as you may be comfortable with, to be realistic. I'm hoping, nay, expecting to see the 10 after crossing the 9 in 2023. Happy New Year!

My own practice has been, and is even more important now tax-wise, is to select from the highest dividend paying and capital gains-worthy shares and bed-and-ISA in the new tax year to the max allowance. Having done this, new money will be used to buy shares in the standard share accounts at suitable intervals. I see no point in saving cash to place in a new year ISA, it being better to make full use of opportunity, Ultimately, should I live that long, all our shares will be in our ISA's.

1st Jan '23

Sounds good Silver moon let's hope you are right!

Thanks Richard ! I am indeed fully aware of that but I do realise that I said it almost wipes out my gain so that is incorrect as you point out - my fingers must have got carried away in my haste lol.

I am simply taking the YTD from sharepad which uses the Dietz modified method so I hope this works at least it will be consistent

Getting a much into an ISA as possible makes a lot of sense... you can also use a SIPP to grow your portfolio tax free but of course it may be taxed on withdrawal

Paul Hill

2nd Jan '23

Hi John

You're obviously a very experienced investor, so please take this observation with a large pinch of salt.

Personally one approach I try to avoid is (unless in exceptional circumstances) "averaging down". Why?

Well, MY hit rate on small/microcaps is only 60%-65%. Meaning at least a third of the stock picks go pear shaped. And if I'd also averaged down on most of these losers, then (due to the maths/probabilities) I'd simply end up throwing far more money down the 'swanee', than the occasional 'recovery' winner would have generated.

Anyway just an observation mate. The key is how this type of 'bottom fishing' strategy works for you & whether its profitable in the long term.

3rd Jan '23

|Thanks Paul - we are always inclined to make excuses for the stocks we hold and blame a bad market etc anyway food for thought indeed

An insight into a Private Investors' portfolio... The year that was 2022

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InvestorJohn

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