It’s Tough Out There - How Our Analysts Are Coping In 2025

8th Apr by Megan Boxall

15 comments 2990 reads

In last week’s analyst meeting, the team at Stockopedia commented on the fact that the challenges in the markets seem to have bubbled up rather rapidly. As 2025 began we were all feeling relatively (or perhaps cautiously is a better word) optimistic about the outlook for global equities. Three months later and our collective feelings have changed somewhat.

We know you’re feeling it too. Our message boards are littered with comments ranging from mild uncertainty to hysterical anxiety. And although there is no joy to be shared in these feelings, it’s nice to know that we’re all in the same boat - investors with whom we can weather the storm.

Here’s how the team at Stocko are planning on waiting it out and (hopefully) taking advantage of opportunities as they come.

Megan

I’m a long term investor with a strong bias towards quality and growth. It’s a strategy which has served me well as US tech giants have taken the market by storm (I hold four of the Magnificent 7). I also seek to emulate the wise words of Terry Smith and look to make changes to my portfolio as infrequently as I dare. To do so requires strong conviction in the stocks that I own and also resilience when faced with markets behaving as they are right now.

As of 7 April, my portfolio is down 12% in the year to date, with NVIDIA (NSQ:NVDA) acting as an especially heavy weight on the performance. I am glad I stuck to my strategy of rebalancing overweight positions in December - slicing the top off my NVDA holding means it was worth less than 10% at the start of the year. There are nine companies in my 25 stock portfolio which have fallen by double digits so far this year and only ten have risen.

I take comfort in the fact that one of those companies is L'oreal SA (EPA:OR) - a stock which has caused me some trouble over the last couple of years, but I have retained my conviction that the underlying investment case remains the same and, as such, share price weaknesses have presented a buying opportunity. And I am quite pleased to have added Next (LON:NXT) for the first time in January based on the hunch that I might need…

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grout123

8th Apr

Excellent comments ladies and gents.

Assuming you buy good companies and do nothing, time is the only commodity that matters.

Trader Jack

Meagan and team - what a brilliant timely article. Thank you. This is why I love Stocko!

FREng

Thsnks for these reflections. It’s helpful to read how others see the turmoil and how you are responding.

jamesalastair

Thanks you for this ... very interesting to read the different approaches.

With reference to Keelan's comments, you may also like to have a look at the royalty companies and one gold company I think has a bright future. I like the diversification the royalty companies provide and the protection from the inflation which has afflicted the miners.

Gold bullion is my largest position and Wheaton Precious Metals (NYQ:WPM) my largest equity position. Two others which I do not own but am having a close look at are royalty / streaming company Triple Flag Precious Metals (NYQ:TFPM) and Lundin Gold (TSE:LUG) . The Lundin family are well known multi-generational mining family whose great grandfather started out as a wildcatter in the Canadian outback. You can also buy Lundin Gold here Lundin Gold Inc (STO:LUG). Don't confuse with Lundin Mining (Lundin Mining (TSE:LUN) which is an intriguing copper play with a 50% JV on the Argentinian / Chilean border with BHP ... same family though.

If you have any interest in gold, it is worth signing up to the Incremental Teams monthly Gold Report and their annual "in Gold We Trust" report. Both are entirely free:

ingoldwetrust.report - Incrementum

Gold has returned 10.8% pa in sterling terms for 30 years .... not too shabby and of course, it comes into its own in times like these when people are seriously questioning the competence of central banks, sovereign indebtedness, and the continued status of the USD. Gold also provides you with optionality to rebalance into equity weakness.

I remain 40% cash and think the market has further to fall. My problem - shared with all the other cash holders out there - is when and where to deploy. The "Where" is easier than the "When". I am also looking forward to selling gold down to a 10% position and deploying the capital into equities. Who knows when that will be though, but it will be a mixture of the value on offer in equities and the overbought status of gold. We are not there yet.

Anyway, good luck everyone ... I'd better go and help my nephew and his wife with the lambing (issue instructions from the pick-up). We started yesterday as we are up in the mountains here and way behind everyone else, even in Scotland! Helping new life into the World keeps things real.

intuitive6191

A fine article - but mainly from a younger investors perspective who will hopefully have time in the market to recover any losses.

Age is a crucial consideration when discussing investment strategy. I would guess from the comments over the years that Stocko has a relatively small subscriber base of defensive long term investors who are likely to be older . Hardly any discussions about short dated gilts. preference shares, defensive funds and gold etc etc.

Defensive strategies are not only effective for the older investor but useful for those who want to take a more passive investing approach and have reserves to take advantage of market pull backs.

I appreciate that Stocko makes its living by attracting more active investors who use Stockranks for active portfolio management. That is fine, but maybe broadening the scope of investment strategies would attract more subscribers?

mortimer

the point of this site is,it gives you the tools to form your own strategy as to what suits you emotionally. For me as long as my winners out way financially the losers thats all that matters but we all have someone to help us with that old man time and his son dividend

Andy Garsed

Thank you, Megan and your colleagues, for this - very helpful. I was only thinking yesterday of pleading for insight into all your thinking because I, for one, am becoming disillusioned with Stockopedia. I have been investing for over 40 years, nearly 100% in the UK ( I try to be loyal !), and I always try to ride out downturns. I have made all my own decisions, other than a very poor 5 years wedded to a well-known advice service from 2010. Most of the purchases that I have made over the past few years following research with Stockopedia simply haven't worked, including VSVS, SFR, NESF, and WYN - all well down. The real success story for me has been MGNS - thank you. My boring, largely value FTSE 100 investments owned for years have performed much better, and SSE, ULVR and NG would have but were sold to make the purchases above. I am obviously doing something wrong! So thank you, though I am disappointed as it looks like most of you don't invest largely in the UK using your own Stockopedia rankings? Best wishes, Andy

Darei

Thank you Team

Really appreciate your views at this particular time

But also find your investment strategy very useful and wise. Will keep this article and reread

Many thanks to you all

JASVFS

9th Apr

Thank you guys and good luck, as you say we're all in this together and I cope better by being a member of this community. I note the observations about Warren and his cash pile, perhaps we should keep in mind he's used part of it previously to recue banks and help the financial system -- at a price. I was tempted to add and buy a few others on recent comments yesterday but held off, I think we need to learn more about how every company might be affected by the man with the wrecking ball. Our portfolio has been hammered but as Ramsdens is now our top holding by value, yesterday brought a bit of relief. My short list yesterday was Van Elle Holdings - Ninety One - IPX - DFCH. Bioventix was tempting too.

Anthony127

Thank you for this excellent article which I think complements the recent event 'Market Outlook for the New Financial Year.'

There are some interesting approaches to the current situation including the psychological approaches to take when you are in a down market. I think that making money in a down market is one of the ultimate tests for an investor.

Generally I tend to not do well in down markets perhaps because I have a tendency to invest in cyclical shares which tend to do well when the market goes up but not when it goes down. It is notable though that Graham's defensive approach seems to be working in the prevailing circumstances.

Plenty to think about.

Chasbas

10th Apr

Roland likes TP ICAP (LON:TCAP) for its exposure to market volatility. I would add that volatility is extreme and as far as I know TCAP acts only as an intermediary so does not take any principal risk. It has just gone XD a final div of 11.3p. Of course the IPO of Parameter may be delayed. Do I care? Not a jot. I think TCAP could have a blow out 2025 year!? At 240p Stocko has a current PER of 7 and a yield of 7.2%! Cheap yet high quality? I am a holder

bsharman

Excellent article thanks. I'd love to see a longer article about the investment idea of PayPal Holdings (NSQ:PYPL) Keelan, as it looks very intriguing !

raggedtp

Perhaps have a look a the Investment Trusts discussion thread, where some of us older ones congregate about high-yield and/or defensive collectives. I don't need growth, do need income. These offer the second, with the strong possibility of both, when bought as value shares. If I were to add my now nearly 10% collective yield to our portfolio value, we would not have shot the lights out but have not lost this year so far.

SCI20

12th Apr

Could the number crunchers at Stocko look at the performance of the ranks from 2/4/25 “ liberation day” to 11/4/25? By any measures this must be classed as a black swan event and I think it would be useful to understand the relative performance of the ranks in this short period.

Noris

What a great article! Thank you.

It’s tough out there - how our analysts are coping in 2025

Megan

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Megan Boxall

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