SIPP Portfolio as at 30 September 2018

Current holdings in the SIPP

British Aerospace (BA.) holding now = 731 (n/c); Value = £4,605 (UP £177)

Blackrock Smaller Co IT (BRSC) holding now = 1200 (n/c); Value = £17,184 (down £516)

BP (BP.) Bought 1565 shares; holding now = 3065; Value = £18,084 (cost £17,366)

FDM Group (FDM) holding now = 855 (n/c); Value = £8,294 (UP £257) 

GB Group (GBG) Dividend 3 shares; holding now = 2558; Value = £14,836 (down £1,082) 

Genus (GNS) holding now = 160 (n/c); Value = £3,824 (down £739)

GVC Holdings (GVC) holding now = 1390 (n/c); Value = £12,732 (down £2,572)

HG Capital Trust IT (HGT) holding now = 840 (n/c); Value = £16,716 (UP £504)

Homeserve (HSV) holding now = 1526 (n/c); Value = £15,641 (down £229)

Keywords Studios (KWS) holding now = 779 (n/c); Value = £15,120 (down £460)

Legal & General (LGEN) holding now = 6500 (n/c); Value = £17,030 (UP £520)

Safecharge Group (SCH) holding now = 2464 (n/c); Value = £8,008 (UP £247)

Sage (SGE) holding now = nil : SOLD

Segro PLC (SGRO) holding now = 2600 (n/c); Value = £16,536 (down £634)

Cash: holding now = £2,637

Portfolio Value = £171,247 was £173,433  DOWN £2,186 or 1.26%

The loss in the month was worse that as reported as the current SIPP value includes a monthly contribution of £750, so the loss in the period is actually £2,936.

Major transactions include a sale of the complete holding in SAGE, as I cannot see a recovery in the SP in the next 6 months.  The business is undergoing major restructuring, which is something that I did not take into account.

The proceeds of the sale have been pumped into oil share BP: there's a few factors behind this a) the company has finally completed the payment of damages for the Texas oil spill; b) the company is now leaner and more efficient and has new income streams coming into play; c) the USA is about to launch trade sanctions on major oil producer Iran, and that could well push up the price of oil to US$90.  Since I've been a shareholder of BP, the share-price has improved and we should see it top 600 (my initial purchase was at 550).

I'm concerned that the actions of US President Trump have affected the SP of Genus (GNS) which is a company with large markets in China, and it seems unlikely that there will be a recovery soon.

I am also concerned about the drop in value of GVC from summer highs of over 1100 to under 930 today (2nd Oct 18).  Personally, given the strength in the management of the company, I see this as a buying opportunity and will be looking to increase my holding.

The same can be said for GB Group (GBG), this company should have a significant future and may well be in the FTSE100 within 5 years.

SIPP Portfolio as at 31st August 2018

During 2018, in managing the SIPP I have endeavoured to maintain a fair spread of holdings to alleviate risk and (hopefully) seek value, but sometimes this spread brings in holdings which although not losers, are not performing as well as expected. As such, they affect the overall performance of the portfolio and - if the portfolio is to hit the annual 15% growth target - then other holding have to do even better to compensate.

There are 2 holdings within the portfolio that I’ve held for some time that have underperformed in the past 12 months, and they are both Investment Trusts: 

JP Morgan Emerging Market IT (JMG) and 

Schroders Asia-Pacific IT (SDP).  

In the past year they have grown barely 5% and that has been a hindrance to the performance of the SIPP.  As such, I’ve decided to sell-off both of these holdings and have reinvested the proceeds in other companies held in the SIPP.  

As I wrote last month, I have also sold-off my entire holding Senior (SNR) as I thought this company had gone as far as it could in the short term.

Overall, the month of August has not been a great one for the SIPP, the value remains approximately unchanged at around £174,000 as while some holdings have done well – GBG has gone from 540 to 620+ and KWS has gone from 1818 to 2000 – some holdings have lost ground.

This month, I have increased holdings in 

GBG (bought an extra 1050 shares); 

HSV (bought an extra 476 shares); 

and KWS (bought an extra 324 shares). 

I also made an investment in oil company BP (bought 1500 shares).

I am conscious that I may have come in a little to late to the BP party as the SP in this company has improved considerably in the past 2 years. However, the rally looks like being sustained on the back of improved profits as oil prices continue to rise.  I am also hopeful that BP will make the move into more sustainable areas of energy generation.  

Sage (SGE) has been particularly disappointing as this time last month I thought we were on our way to 700+.  Little did I know that the CEO was about to be shown the door – apparently this was a friendly departure from the company, but he still leaves with immediate effect. If I had not already made my share purchases and emptied my “bank” in the process, then I would have topped-up my holding in SGE, but at this time I’m having to consider whether to sell other elements of the SIPP to provide funds or plough-in the balance of my small cash holding.

Current holdings in the SIPP

British Aerospace (BA.) holding now = 731 (n/c); Value = £4,428 (down £362)

Blackrock Smaller Co IT (BRSC) holding now = 1200 (n/c); Value = £17,700 (down £420)

BP (BP.) Bought 1500 shares; holding now = 1500; Value = £8,219

FDM Group (FDM) holding now = 855 (n/c); Value = £8,037 (down £85) 

GB Group (GBG)  Bought 1050 shares; holding now = 2555; Value = £15,918 

Genus (GNS) holding now = 160 (n/c); Value = £4,563

GVC Holdings (GVC) holding now = 1390 (n/c); Value = £15,304 (down £949)

HG Capital Trust IT (HGT) holding now = 840 (n/c); Value = £16,212 (UP £252)

Homeserve (HSV) Bought 476 shares; holding now = 1526; Value = £15,870

JPM Emerging Markets IT (JMG)  holding now = nil : SOLD

Keywords Studios (KWS) Bought 324 shares; holding now = 779; Value = £15,580

Legal & General (LGEN) holding now = 6500 (n/c); Value = £16,510 (down £578)

Safecharge Group (SCH) holding now = 2464 (n/c); Value = £7,761 (down £246)

Sage (SGE) holding now = 1532 (n/c); Value = £9,091 (down £419)

Schroders Asia/Pac (SDP)   holding now = nil : SOLD

Segro PLC (SGRO) holding now = 2600 (n/c); Value = £17,170 (down £114)

Senior PLC (SNR)   holding now = nil : SOLD

Cash: holding now = £1,069

Portfolio Value = £173,433 DOWN £770 or 0.44%

Some notes on my Brexit investment strategy

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.

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.

Save more in your pension or face poverty

A stark headline on todays City AM (daily business free-sheet). A study by Policy Exchange - a government funded group gathering information for a better society - reckons that saving for a pension should be made compulsory. Today, average savers have just £36,800 in their own pension pot, well below the £240,000 target for the minimum required for a decent pension in retirement.

I fully support any move for enhancing pension pots for retirement but, rather than just pumping money into mis-managed funds or low-interest-rate bonds, my opinion is that more should be done to educate the population into managing their money throughout life.

This should start at school with lessons demonstrating principles such as compound interest, and pound-cost-averaging. The introduction of SIPP's was a significant step in removing the blinds from the "dark art" of pension funds. Now, the people of Britain need to be educated to know how to get the best from them.

I have set myself a Pension Fund target of £640,000 to be in my SIPP on my 65th birthday (8th November 2024). It may seem an impossible task from my current value of approximately £74,000 but you have to set yourself a goal.

SIPP off to a great start for 2014

Having ended 2013 with a SIP value of £70,400, the fund has picked-up nicely and as of today (lunchtime Tuesday 14th Jan) it has a value of approximately £72,900 - that's an increase of £2,200 less the £300 added to the fund myself on 7th Jan. I'd have been happy with that much growth in a month, never mind just 2 weeks.

The main driver has been £OPAY; valued at 351 at the start of the month, this share is now at 424 - an increase of 20% in a couple of weeks. I honestly think this share could have a market value of over £1 billion, which means there is plenty of growth from its current market value of £645 million, basically another 50% and more. It surely must be coming under scrutiny from a couple of major players in the financial markets who are stake-building pending making a bid offer.

I've also increased my shareholding in the Herald Investment Trust (£HRI) and now hold 650 shares. The plan is to reduce my shareholding in Imagination Technologies Group (£IMG) and move that money into £HRI. What is happening at £IMG is anyone's guess. Essentially, the firm is growing well with (according to the December 2013 interim statement) increased revenues of approx £14 million (or 19%) in the 1st-half-year. This time last year the share had a value of 435 which rose to peak at 540 - so why the shareprice is languishing at 178 is beyond me. There is a bit of bid activity going on elsewhere, and I'm sure that this company is currently being looked at by potential suitors.

I've also recently trimmed my shareholding in JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust (£JMF) from 1315 shares to 1140, which was basically just a piece of rebalancing.

The share price of International Personal Finance (£IPF) continues to fluctuate wildly between 480 - 520, and is may be some time (8 to 12 weeks) before this share stabilises and starts rebuilding confidence. Given the efficiency of this company, I have faith that it wont be long before we see the share price above 600 again.

So, onwards and upwards.

What does 2014 hold for the SIPP?

There has been a bit of movement within my SIPP since I last updated my shareholdings last September.

I have increased my shareholding in Blackrock World Mining IT (£BRWM) to 1310 shares worth approximately £6,100. These were purchased at an average price of  468.20 and I'm hoping once the world economy starts to grow out of recession that these shares will increase significantly in value. Mining stocks are generally depressed so any increased demand should trigger a movement.

The international bank HSBC Holdings (£HSBA) has has a bumpy ride these past few months, despite most commentators suggesting the share has the potential for significant gains. I have bought again on the lows (another 480 shares at 657 on 10th December) and my shareholding has now cost me an average of 697 per share. My plan is to reduce the shareholding to 1500 shares once the price breaks the 700 level.

Not all life is rosy, two of my shareholdings have recently come unstuck. Imagination Technologies Group (£IMG) dropped sharply in value on 11th December after a warning issued by the company that shipments would be lower than anticipated. My opinion was the reaction was overdone, and so I doubled my shareholding to 3000 shares. I think this company has potential to exploit any economic recovery and I'm in for the long-haul. Even so, having lost £1,400+ of my original investment of £7,037 it may be some time before I see profits again.

Another company which has had a recent problem is International Personal Finance (£IPF). I was very hopeful that this company would have a great 2014 but, unfortunately, as a result of a significant financial "fine" in Poland on Christmas Eve the share price dropped sharply. This correction was not due to the level of the fine, which was £2.40 million, but that interest rate levels in Poland could be capped as a result.  The business model seems solid, so this setback should only be temporary, and so I increased my shareholding by another 300 shares at a cost of 500 per share. As they are 520 today (was 536 yesterday), that seems to have been a good move; altho' this share price is unstable.

I have built-up a small holding in the Herald Investment Trust (£HRI) in response to selling my shareholding in £AZEM. This is another long-term holding which is currently treading water.

My other 3 shares have all done exceptionally well.
Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (£ASL) which was my first share purchase for the SIPP (oh, how I wish I'd made a larger investment now) is at 1095 which considering I bought at an average of 620 is a phenomenal return over the past 16 months; 76%. If I'd put my whole SIPP fund into only this share at the outset, my £51,684 would have grown to almost £91,000 by today!  Smaller companies are where the major recovery in values will come from in 2014.

JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust (£JMF) has also made a significant improvement in value. I started buying shares in this investment trust in July 2013 at about 668 and today the share price is at 780; which is an increase in value of nearly 17%.

Finally, the jewel in the crown is Optimal Payments (£OPAY). My initial purchase in this company was way back in March 2013 at an average of 168. I added a further 1970 shares at 191 thru' the summer of 2013. and another 1000 at 302 in October after a set of brilliant results. Currently at 351, I can see this share continuing to grow in stature as it exploits internet finance and builds a plateform for the coming "cashless" society. With a market capitalisation of only £530 million this company looks ripe for a takeover bid from one of the big banks.

With the SIPP now valued at £70,000 my pension fund target for 31st December 2014 is £86,000.

Update 29th October 2013 - Pension Crisis

I've not updated the Pension Builder blog for a few weeks, but a couple of things have made me return to it today.
First, it's my birthday in early November, so an annual review at this time of year is a good thing to do. Secondly, there is an article in the City AM paper today (free financial newsletter in London) which says that the age-group 45 to 54 year olds saves only 12p in the £ which is the lowest of any age-group and that they are probably the least prepared for oncoming retirement.

As I am in that age-group (just - I'm 54 on 8th November) I can understand the malais regarding pension planning. This age-group has borne the brunt of the financial catastrophes that have plagued the private individual since the early 1990's.

We've had the

• endownment mis-selling scandal;
• endownment shortfall scandal;
• pensions theft;
• pension shortfalls;
• pension mis-selling;
• housing inflation bubbles;
• housing price collapse;
• and so on, and so on....

So, I can understand if there is an attitude of "what's the point?"

The thing is, it is never too late to try and make amends and, with the likelihood that many of us will live to see our 90th birthday and probably live a few years longer than that, pension planning is vitally important given we could spend 20+ years if not fully retired, then living off a much reduced income.

My pension fund looked like hitting it's 20% annual growth target in early October, but has since dropped slightly over 3% in value to be worth just under £67,000.

My biggest loser financially has been AZEM. I hold 2000 shares in the company bought at an average of 323 and, as of this morning, they are at 280. I think they will recover, but it's been a rocky ride.

HSBA has also been an underperformer for my SIPP. Banks haven't been doing well, but HSBA seems to hold strong fundamentals and my hope is that went sentiment swings back towards the bank the share price will jump up substantially from the current 680-685 range.

Both OPAY and IPF have had set-backs from recent highs, but both companies appear to have strong order-books and are good long-term plays for their respective growing markets. I can see both companies being bid targets given their future profit potential.

One new addition to the SIPP portfolio is the investment trust Blackrock World Mining (BRWM). It has a strong dividend yield and will be able to take advantage of any upswing in commodity prices should the economic recovery gather some speed.

Update : 18th September 2013

No posts recently on the blog as I had the opportunity of a 10-day holiday on Mauritius. As such, before I went away, I made a few minor adjustments to my portfolio. With no recent posts, I will give an overview of how my portfolio is currently standing.

My largest holding in in the HSBC Bank (£HSBA) and this has made a small gain to hover around the 700-702 level. So, my holding of 2020 shares is valued at approximately £14,160. My plan is to trim this shareholding down to around 1400 shares (or approximately £10,000) when the shares are valued at about 730+ which I would anticipate to happen sometime in the autumn.

My next largest holding is International Personal Finance (£IPF) in which I hold 1500 shares. This has also gained in value from about 595 to around the 620-625 mark, and is worth £9,300. This company is growing very strongly and I’m very hopeful of considerable growth.

My 3^rd largest holding is in JPMorgan Mid Cap Investment Trust (£JMF) in which I hold 1250 shares. This is a long term play and is only just in profit with a value of £8,563. Investment Trusts are a vehicle that I’ve used (on-and-off) for 20 years. If you have no idea or inclination to “pick stocks” then I would suggest placing your SIPP funds amongst a handful of Investment Trusts as it is like having a personally managed portfolio.

My next 3 holdings are very similar in value. Optimal Payments (£OPAY) is one of the jewels in my crown. I bought my 2600 shares at an average cost of 179. Optimal Payments is at the forefront of the “cashless” society and has just published tremendous half-year figures. I reckon this company almost has a license to print money and I would not be surprised if a big bank does not come along and buy the company at a significant premium to where it is now at 255-260.

Aberforth Smaller Companies Trust (in which I hold 638 shares) is now at the level of 980-990. As I bought into this trust at 638, I am already sitting on a profit margin of nearly £2,200. I intend to hold these shares indefinitely and just re-invest the dividends.

AZ Electronic Materials (£AZEM) is a bit of a recovery play. Although currently showing a loss of £235, I reckon this should be a long-term solid performer, as electronic goods and personal entertainment is were everyone wants to be.

My final couple of shareholdings are:
Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) which has been another recovery play. I bought my 1500 shares at an average cost of 263 and they are currently in the 340-345 bracket. Considering they have been trading at over 500 in the last 12-months and their clients (Apple) are expanding into China, I can see plenty of growth ahead.

Mitchells & Butlers is my final share, and I may have missed my opportunity on them as I bought my 1200 shares at an average of 407 and they topped 470 last week while I was on holiday. It was my intention to sell when I could bank a 15% profit (468) but I did not expect them to “spike” last week from 425-430 up to 470-475. They are now back to a 428-433 level and (as they pay no dividends) I am trying to decide whether to sell or hold.

Value of shareholdings = £61,422

Cash = £5,404

Total SIPP Value = £66,826

PLEASE NOTE: 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 myself personally. You should ALWAYS do your own research and come to your own decision on share trades. If you follow my trades and lose money you only have yourself to blame and not me.

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.

Transactions 19th August 2013

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.

Following the turmoil in the markets towards the end of last week, my SIPP value has taken a bit of a hit and is down about £700 to £62,832 from £63,532 this time last week.

I'm not sure which way Ashtead Group (AHT) is going as - following sharp drop from a "high" of 736 in mid-July - I halved my shareholding to 700 shares last week. If there is a recovery from today's price of 649 then I'll probably take my profit if the share price breaks 700 again in the next could of weeks.

Over the course of last week, I bought a total of 1000 shares in International Personal Finance (IPF) at a average cost of 593 (trading this morning at 605).

I also completed my transfer from Barclays Bank (BARC) into HSBC (HSBA) and I now hold no Barclays shares. This was a great performer for me over the past year since my initial purchase of 100 shares at 184 on 30th August 2012. Overall, I purchased 3836 shares at a cost of £9,522.18 which I sold for a total of £11,15.56 - a total profit of £1,635.38 (or 17.17%). My "banking" investment is now all in HSBC, with whom I now hold 1620 shares purchased at a cost of £11,574.79, or 714.50 (including fees).

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.

Transactions 15th August 2013

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.

The is a bit of turmoil in today's markets with all the major indices showing falls. If you recall my comment last week, I sold my small 400 shareholding in International Personal Finance (IPF) at 619 being of the opinion that they may go below 595, at which point I would start buying again. Well, they've done just that and I've bought 500 shares this morning at a cost of £3,007.31 (average cost per share = 601 including fees). I've been a fan of this company for about 6 months as they seem to be capable of significant growth.

I've been a bit perturbed by significant downward movement in Ashtead Group (AHT) off a "high" of 736 in mid-July, so I've halved my shareholding selling 700 shares to recover £4,504.51.

Sometimes you make a transaction in error and, when it happens, it pays to reverse the transaction quickly before too much damage is done. Last week I increased my shareholding in William Hill (WMH), buying at 444. Since then, the share price has slumped on the back of unfavourable data regarding shrinking markets and the high costs of internet gambling (resulting in lower forecast profits) to 425 this morning. So, I've cut my losses and sold-off all my shares (1000) in WMH to recover £4,246.32.

I've taken another look at Optimal Payments Group (OPAY) and their relentless progress upwards of the share price and I've increased my holding by 870 shares (to 2600) at a cost of £1,727.55 (or 198 per share). In May 2011, these shares were at 38.50p  and have enjoyed a 5-fold increase in value since then, and I can't see this growth stopping in the short-term.

I was hoping interim results today would show (AZEM) AZ Electronic Materials Group in a better light. Unfortunately, they are down 17p to 300 which is a 5% drop. As per my comments yesterday, I think this is a company that will benefit from any growth in consumer spending in electrical goods.

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.

Pension Builder Strategy - Part 1

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.

So far, I've been detailing the trades that I've made on my SIPP, and I make no secret of the target that I've set myself to achieve by the planned "retirement" date of 8th November 2014 - £639,925.00 if I can achieve an annual growth of 20%. What I haven't done is put down a strategy to achieve that growth of 20% to enable me to hit that goal.

To achieve annual growth of 20% there is no point in sitting on the side-lines or investing in safe mediums - you have to take a punt. So far, I've been fairly lucky with my choices of shares. This time last year (actually, on the 18th & 19th September), purely in the knowledge that Apple were about to release iPhone 5, I bought 800 shares in ARM Holdings plc (ARM) at a cost of £4,742 or approx 593 a share. I reasoned that if iPhone 5 was a success, even initially, then ARM - being a major supplier of components for the iPhone 5 - would receive a boost in the share markets. As it happened, the shares jumped up in value markedly and tho' I didn't sell at the top (they hit a high of 1111 in mid-May this year) I managed to sell at 1019 securing a tidy profit. That was an early success, tho' I did wish I'd bought more than 800 shares. So, that is strategy number 1 - finding companies that have the potential to take advantage of event with a high probability of happening, in this case iPhone 5 being a success.

Shares currently in my portfolio that fit this category are:
(AZEM) AZ Electronic Materials Group - this is a company that will benefit from growth in consumer spending in electrical goods, is debt free and cash-positive at the bank. It could also be a takeover target.

(OPAY) Optimal Payments Group - this company is poised to take advantage of the "cashless" society when mobile phones incorporate credit facilities. Again, this company could prove to be a takeover target in time.

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.

Weekly update 12th August 2013

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.

Fair progress from the SIPP in the past week, and it opens this morning with a value of £63,532.79 including cash of £4,858.26. Although the SIPP value is up almost £560 in the week, £300 of that is the monthly contribution added on 7th August.

There have been a couple of disappointments which should (hopefully) be only short-term; Ashtead Group (AHT) ended the week down 30 to 676 although, this morning, the share is up 5 and I'm expecting last weeks correction to be quickly recovered. AHT is riding on the crest of a wave currently on the back of what looks to be only a tentative recovery in the US. If that recovery gets stronger, who knows where the share price will end up.

Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) looks to have finally bottomed-out at 234 (down from a 12-month high of 645 on  9th Sept 2012) and is at 246 this morning. Given the amount of assets and cash held in relation to the market capitalisation value, I'm surprised that there isn't buyout speculation about this company. As such, I'm looking at this as a long-term recovery play.

The best performer of my holdings was Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) and with the good weather set to continue (and, with it, spending in restaurants and bars increasing in most surveys) there should be more to come.

Don't forget, on the 15th August, AZ Electronic Materials (AZEM) release Interim results.

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.