Well it’s that time of year to reflect on 2017 and whilst we have a few trading days left before the New Year I thought I would take a few moments to jot down my takeaways from what I think every investor will agree has been a great year for those holding equities.
For me personally I have had a very satisfactory year albeit I have taken a few knocks in Q4 which is disappointing but par for the course sometimes.
Star performers for me have been:
• APH, ASH, BEG, DRV, FLK all returning between 30 – 40%
• ATK and CMS returning 40-50%
• HYNS and WTM returning between 60-75%
Of the above I sold FLK and CMS during the year having held for many years with both WTM and ATK being acquired at chunky premiums. The rest I still hold.
Worst performers have been:
• TST – down 36%
• D4T4 – down 41%
• WYG – down 54%
• FISH – down 57%
I still hold all of the above but have either added (D4T4, WYG) or reduced (FISH) during the year.
I don’t trade stocks typically but did dabble with both MWG and CALL; returning >300% on MWG selling into the huge spike earlier in the year and 97% on CALL which was equally pleasing. I still hold MWG in my LTBH portfolio and it has returned 98% to-date overall.
I currently hold just 18 stocks across my SIPP and ISA’s (most sub £100m mcap some sub £10m mcap), down from around 30 stocks earlier in the year, partly due to M&A and partly down to a desire to focus more on fewer key (and better quality) holdings. Aside from 2 holdings (CNCT and HYNS) all are AIM listed.
So, overall I have ended 2017 with my SIPP up 16% (excluding cash contributions throughout the year) and my ISA up 29% - both include reinvested dividends. This is against the FTSE AIM All Share being up circa 20% YTD so I have had a good tailwind and should perhaps have done better.
Given this is still very much a part time ‘occupation’ for me given my day job; I feel proud of my overall performance which isn’t just…
