Transactions on 7th August 2013

There was some positive response to the start-up of this blog and I'm hopeful that readers will become more confident investors.

Remember, this blog is simply a "diary" of the trades on my SIPP. The intention is to detail what I've bought and sold, and provide a brief explanation as to why. You should be aware that this is not a share "tipping" site. I will make no recommendations to buy or sell shares as I am not regulated to do so by the FSA. I will simple state what I have already bought and sold personally. You should ALWAYS do your own research and come to your own decision on share trades. If you follow my trading and lose money you only have yourself to blame, and not me.

I've decided to re-shuffle some of my share holdings today. There is a lot of positive news coming from the media, although Mark Carney is not so positive at the Bank of England stating today that the UK recovery is the weakest on record (with records going back over 100 years). As such, I've decided to increase my exposure to banking by increasing my holding in the HSBC Group (HSBA) by 500 shares at a cost of £3,561.46, taking my holding to 800 shares.

This has been financed by selling some of my Barclays Bank (BARC) shares, and I sold-off 1000 to re-coup £2,817.70 leaving me with a holding of 2000 shares. While I like the banking sector, I feel that Barclays is not so good a bet as HSBC who have a much stronger dividend yield.

I've also sold my small 400 shareholding in International Personal Finance (IPF) to recover £2,479.92. I've been a fan of this company for about 6 months as they seem to be capable of significant growth. However, for some reason (unknown to me) their shares are being sold-off from a recent high of 667 (they are down to 619 as I write) and I am of the opinion that they may go below 595 at which point I will start buying again.

With the funds, I re-invested quickly in Ashtead Group (AHT). This company has been a huge earner for me as I bought 1050 shares at an average price of 448 earlier this year. They are down to 706 from a year high of 736 and, tho' they do not have significant dividend potential, they should be capable of maintain recent growth from the economic recovery on both sides of the Atlantic. So, I bought another 350 shares at a cost of £2,488.28 taking my holding to 1400 shares.

I still hold nearly £9,000 in cash in my SIPP and I'm looking for a couple of companies that will benefit from any economic upswing in the UK. Any thoughts from readers?

The value of investments can go down in value as well as up, so you could get back less than you invest. It is therefore important that you understand the risks and commitments being undertaken when investing in a Pension (SIPP). This blog is not personal advice, but is a record of the authors own investments.