It always pays to have an in-depth look at individual holdings in your account to verify the reasons why you purchased in the first-placed, and whether there is still some purpose in maintaining the holding, or is it time to sell and move on - all the time trying to shape a "Brexit-Proof" portfolio.
As of this month, I've been holding Legal & General shares (LGEN) over 2 years with my initial stake being 1570 shares bought on 11th July 2016 at a price of 181.40p - with dealing costs the average cost per share was 183.07p per share. Back then, the SP was suffering from the post-Referendum reaction which saw some major movements in some share prices. I bought then as I thought the sell-off was overdone - and I was right. Since February 2017, the SP has been moving in a band between 250 - 270 and while I first thought it may strike-out and break the 300 level, it hasn't. Unfortunately, since February 2017, I've made a number of purchases in LGEN thinking I was doing the right thing but really I was just parking the money in the equivalent of a "high interest" account. The company goes "ex-div" on 17th August and that will probably lead to the SP dropping about 4p to under 260p. As such, I'm looking to trim my holding in the company from 6500 shares to 3300 shares; which will be about 5% of the SIPP value. The post-Referendum loss has been recovered and what I have to decide now is what action do I take regarding Brexit. The reason for that drop was most commentators considered the future of LGEN outside the EU was not good. Personally I think the company has a very strong future on the domestic market and, while European growth may be a struggle, that domestic market should hold-up and maintain company profits. However, LGEN has only rarely seen it's SP top 275 and so I will be looking to sell should the SP top 270, which I am hoping will happen in the next 3 months.
Monies released will be invested (in part) in increasing the holding in Homeserve (HSV). The company currently has a market value of £3.32bn and value needs to exceed £4.50bn to enter the FTSE100, but I can see that happening before the end of 2019, and it may well happen in the next 12 months. The stimulus for the SP increase will surely come from its US subsidiary's and this is a company that could well repeat the feat's of Ashtead Group in the USA and see a significant increase in turnover, profits and the SP. Having a large foothold in the US, this company will be outside any Brexit influence.
My current holding of 1532 shares in Sage was purchased at a cost of £10,625.36; an average of 693.56p per share. Unfortunately, since those purchases were made in Feb/March of this year. the SP has been trading at mainly under 640p. What has been pushing the SP down are the domestic markets: sales in overseas markets has been growing significantly, and it is in this area that future growth will come. If, post-Brexit, the £ drops in value to under US$1.20 per £1 those overseas markets will become even more important for the UK balance sheet and this could lead to a major re-value of the company and see it return to levels over 700p for the Share Price. Even so, I shall be looking to reduce my holding by 25% when the SP climbs above 690p.
Currently, my largest invividual holding is in Blackrock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC), and this investment trust has shown remarkable performance over the past couple of years. My first purchase of BRSC was in October 2012 (nearly 6 years ago) and the SP then was 529p; but I sold off that initial investment the following June at 636p. In March 2015 I returned to BRSC and started building-up my holding, acquiring 1391 shares at an average of £12,514.49 or 899.70p per share. Rebalancing my SIPP in January 2017, I sold off 221 shared at an SP of 1000.80p and in hindsight that was a mistake - the SP is at 1555 and is over 10% of the value of my SIPP. What to do with holdings like this before Brexit is a worry.
I've been a long-term holder of GVC buying 500 shares in January 2015 at an average of 446p. Today I hold 1390 shares purchased at an average of 577p and even with the SP at 1140p the growth does not seem to have ended yet. The joint-venture with MGM International opens-up the US Sports Betting market to GVC and we could see the company enjoy a significant increase in revenue as a result, along with substantial profits. Another company that should be able to ride the storm of Brexit.
Currently, my largest invividual holding is in Blackrock Smaller Companies Trust (BRSC), and this investment trust has shown remarkable performance over the past couple of years. My first purchase of BRSC was in October 2012 (nearly 6 years ago) and the SP then was 529p; but I sold off that initial investment the following June at 636p. In March 2015 I returned to BRSC and started building-up my holding, acquiring 1391 shares at an average of £12,514.49 or 899.70p per share. Rebalancing my SIPP in January 2017, I sold off 221 shared at an SP of 1000.80p and in hindsight that was a mistake - the SP is at 1555 and is over 10% of the value of my SIPP. What to do with holdings like this before Brexit is a worry.
I've been a long-term holder of GVC buying 500 shares in January 2015 at an average of 446p. Today I hold 1390 shares purchased at an average of 577p and even with the SP at 1140p the growth does not seem to have ended yet. The joint-venture with MGM International opens-up the US Sports Betting market to GVC and we could see the company enjoy a significant increase in revenue as a result, along with substantial profits. Another company that should be able to ride the storm of Brexit.
I've been looking at the oil companies Shell and BP and they are looking healthier again, and there is a prospect of significant earnings growth. Of the pair, I prefer BP mainly as I reckon the more time goes on from the Deepwater Horizon oil-spill in 2010, the more the memory fades and the prospect of earnings growing faster than Shell. I'm looking for a buying opportunity, although possibly the best time to buy was in May/June 2016 with the SP around 360p. Today the SP is at 575-580 and I want to buy in as soon as I have funds available, as I can see the SP growing 15% in the next 12 months.
To finance the purchase of BP, I'm looking to sell off my entire holding in Senior (SNR). I bought 1560 shares in SNR in March/april 2017 at an average SP of 207p and in the intervening period the company has managed to transform its share price hitting over 320 last month. that was a bit of a spike from the 295-305 range that the SP has been in recently, and I can't see that there is much juice left in this market.
