No posts for a few weeks, been very busy.
The SIPP is looking tremendous. The value is at a record high and I think there's a long way to go this year. My target for the year-end is £300,000 and at one stage this year (early March) I was getting a bit worried that I was likely to fall well short of that target - but my, what a rally in recent weeks!
Since my "birthday blog" on 8th November 2020 (long-term plan is to "retire" on the day before my 67th birthday in 2026) the SIPP has gained £29,500 of which £6,000 is contributions; so that's £23,500 gain, equivalent to just under 10% - if this keeps up the £300,000 for 31st December could be hit a bit earlier.
My "bellweather" holding of Blackrock Smaller Companies IT (BRSC) which should always be about 10% of my entire SIPP portfolio value is just ahead: having gained £5,154 in the same period, or 22%. Personally, I think there is a fair bit of headroom still to fill as smaller companies have huge potential to unlock in the immediate post-Covid period. If the holding reaches 12% of portfolio value then I shall re-balance.
The major factor of the portfolio in the past 6 months has been the reduction in the individual company holdings and transfer of the value into Investment Trusts and ETF's. There's a couple of reasons for this. 1) Plain SIPP management: I'm happy to accept that I do not have the expertise to beat professional financial managers. Occasionally, I strike lucky and play against the market; but finding situations that my "gut" tells me is an opportunity is time-consuming. 2) I want to be in the market, and diversified, but to mitigate the risk of violent fluctuations in value.
So, in respect of reason (1) above, I sold holdings in:-
Dunelm (DNLM): wrong move as sold at 1200p and the SP is now 1440p (up 20%)
Dechra Pharma (DPH): sold at 3200p and the SP is now 3850p (up 25%)
Hikma Pharma (HIK): sold at 2340p and the SP is now 2365p (n/c)
Homeserve (HSV): sold at 1164p and the SP is now 1184p (n/c)
Spirent Communications (SPT): sold at 263p and the SP is now 243p (down 9%)
That's 3 out of 5 good calls, but the couple I called wrong would not have compensated for the 3 that I called right - so, overall, I made the right calls.
In respect of reason (2) above:-
I sold my holding in (US) S&P500 Info Technology ETF (IITU) at 1178p as I thought my holdings in technology were too great for my portfolio, and the SIPP was vulnerable to a negative market sentiment. That ETF is now at 1300p (up 10%).
New additions include:-
iShares - MSCI Europe Momentum Factors UCITS ETF (IEFM): it's a bit of a mouthful, but a ETF specializing in "momentum" shares of European companies.
iShares - CORE FTSE 100 UCITS ETF (ISF): and ETF specializing in the FTSE100.
Schroder Asia Pacific IT (SDP): I have been in & out of this share, and now I'm back in.
Vanguard - S&P 500 UCITS ETF (VUSA): this is a more general S&P500 ETF that the S&P500 Info Technology ETF that I sold out of (see above).
The "cash" element is not in cash: it is invested in Chelverton UK Equity Growth (Class B - Accumulation) Fund; but the London South East (www.LSE.co.uk) website does not track funds.
I like to keep an eye on the moving averages, and if the SP of any holding drops below the 50-day MA then I make a note to keep an eye on it, and be prepared to sell if required.
The current 50-day MA's (as of 16th April) of the holdings are:
BRSC - 1785p
DPLM - 2525p
GBG - 850p
HGT - 330p
IEFM - 730p
ISF - sold since at 685p (50-day MA @ 665p)
KWS - 2600p
SDP - 640p under scrutiny
SGRO - 940p
VUSA - 5400p
WWH - 3725p
