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BeeBop
29-01-2017, 06:30 PM
Percy had suggested I start a thread on the UK market.


The UK has most of my sharemarket time at the moment. We do not have to consider tax implications as we live in the M.E, however, we have invested in the UK market for many many years, a good portion from when we were in our home country (NZ). I work via growing a portfolio and then "banking" some profits over a certain level back into my NZ property mortgages at favourable exchange rates (mostly).


Tips and ideas come from three main sources: iii dot co dot uk and its front page, Investor's Chronicle (podcasts, free reading and sometimes I buy their weekly e-magazine for coffee time reading), fool dot co dot uk plus many other links (FT dot come, Questor and some dubious sources. All buying and selling are through TD Waterhouse international (think they are being or have been bought by interactive investor). I only buy and sell once or maybe twice per quarter (to manage fees).


I use UK dot advfn dot com to get a lot of my first screen data and see the bulletin boards (iPad app is the best way for me as the site is not user friendly). For subsequent screens, as always, I go to the company financials.


Currently I have one disaster (BON) and one high flyer (TRI) plus around eight other holds. My historical straight-lined return p.a. is 18%. Current holding return for this calendar year is zero as BON.L has successfully and gradually eaten my gains. However, as I am not wanting to realise this loss and I think there will be a recovery, I am going to stubbornly hold on (paying a 4% yield on my purchase price and around an 8% yield on current value), if you want to take a risk on 50+ women’s retail, it may be worth looking at (80p now).


My requirements are for (generally): a low debt level, must pay a dividend of at least 2% (targeting 5%), a "regular" company (i.e. One that fits my metrics and I can get my brain around), price to sales less than 1.0, and a depressed PE ratio. Of course the usual quick and current ratio screens apply. If these metrics fit, I then apply the old CCVI and look for a level of above 15 (I like 25). CCVI = ((eps + dps)/ $sp)+((eps-dps)/$NTA or $BV).


Rather that go through historical reasons for buying etc, I shall merely put down my most recent purchase and the shares I am currently considering.


MANX.L : this is MANX Telecom and is domiciled in the Isle of Mann. It is held by a few high performing equity funds (James UK Equity Income Fund) and I like the Isle of Mann! First look on 3/11/16. PE = 13 and DY5.2%, CCVI = 17 (on the low side) and P:S up at 3.0 (too high for my liking) ROCE 10.3%. BUT they are new, were down from high when I bought, conservative with some really really good future plans. I dumped in my profits from UDG healthcare (ran from GBP4.60 up to GBP6.95 then sold as I had a bit too much overall in healthcare to turn this into a longer-term hold). I only bought a small value parcel (GBP4K) as it is on the AIM so my buy and sell fees are so much less and this cost me GBP16 to buy).


A day prior to purchasing MANX.L, I did buy into KIE which was a much larger holding as it met most of my metrics (CCVI =30, low debt and higher ROCE), I also liked their plans (was rewarded walking around Canary Wharf on holiday at Xmas to see their name emblazoned on some “works”).


I don’t have any more spare funds to invest until the end of February so I am researching: PhotoMe, a potential re-entry into AMS (a medical wound care company that I was in a couple of years ago 75p up to 1.35 and sold), ALU (but debt is too high but it has done a recent run), and packaging company MNDI.


So this is merely my activity and it keeps me busy: I have time on my hands to wait for recoveries but I am also taking a bit of a cautious approach (balancing a tad) as I want to be able to buy a house to live in in the UK if all goes belly-up here (means I don’t need to sell NZ property and shares).

noodles
29-01-2017, 07:17 PM
Paul Scott's value blog is a great resource for small caps
http://www.stockopedia.com/contributors/paul-scott/

percy
31-01-2017, 05:44 PM
BeeBop.
Thank you for starting this thread.
The links you and Noodles have given should be very interesting.

BeeBop
01-02-2017, 05:21 PM
Percy, my pleasure.
I would also suggest having a quick look at The Naked Trader. He has a blog/website and shows his trades. Of course, he follows the "fashion" of small cap stocks which is not quite my approach, however, his works for him and would be worth checking in on.
I now need some "fresh" cash - have to wait a while (and watch all of the identified opportunities pass me by).

BeeBop
01-02-2017, 11:54 PM
Following the disappointing financial update from Unilever today (UK time), I think I will be putting them on my consideration list....will just have to check and see that they are not in my dividend paying ETF (IUKD.L). It could be a good time to start looking into them.

BeeBop
16-03-2017, 04:22 PM
My recent purchase of Manx Telecom is going nowhere, but at least not going down. However, Monks Investment Trust (MNKS.L) is going gangbusters! Currently I am doing homework into Staffline STAF.L, the metrics look great but I am not finding a lot out about their forward strategy so I am spending a bit more time in reviewing them. Also, I am going to reduce the amount of free cash I put into the market as I am becoming more cautious.

BeeBop
25-03-2017, 09:38 PM
BeeBop has purchased again. Luckily timing was good as I had USD equivalent and bought my GBP the day before the Trump Dump. Purchased three lots: EMR.L (AIM HR outsourcing company) as they have global exposure, good income and across several recruitment areas. I had been intending to buy STAF.L but I didn't like their website (go figure!) and they seemed very UK focused. Got some LLOY.L as it is still low and although I am a wee bit cautious about banks, this one looks fairly sound and should have some recovery available in the share price. Finally I got some Jupiter India units as I have nothing in emerging markets at the moment. Overall the UK portfolio is good and I probably need to decide if I am going to continue to sit on my BON.L shares where I have made a hearty loss (or, do I continue to hold as maybe maybe maybe)..... Now I have a total of 20 shares/fund holdings across the US, UK and NZ.

Valuegrowth
27-03-2017, 06:19 PM
Any potential upside for following two?

EasyJet plc(LON:EZJ)
Greggs PLC (LON:GRG)

I found interesting link on the latter.

http://breakingfinancenews.com/investing/a-report-released-today-by-investec-about-greggs-plc-longrg-keeps-the-target-price-at-1225-00gbx/215192/

BeeBop
28-03-2017, 05:27 PM
Any potential upside for following two?

EasyJet plc(LON:EZJ)
Greggs PLC (LON:GRG)

I found interesting link on the latter.

http://breakingfinancenews.com/investing/a-report-released-today-by-investec-about-greggs-plc-longrg-keeps-the-target-price-at-1225-00gbx/215192/

For me Greggs seems like a sound long-term hold. Most of its metrics are ok by me but I think their price is a bit high compared to their sales and I suspect their cost base is a tad high. Thought about getting into them in 2013 when I sold a lot of high gainers - bah humbug, I didn't! I think they will be a long term hold rather than a short-term gain. Plenty of competition in the area now e.g. EAT (not sure what the ticker is for that one).

As for EZJ, I was burnt a tiny bit on American Airlines AAL.US so other than having shares in AIR.NZ, I stay away. That said, their metrics without digging are good (but airlines seem to always be low PE etc), and if you took a good look into their future plans possibly they could be in for some better times (although lots of low cost competition now).

A punt worth homeworking could be Sainsbury's...it you are looking for a well run main board stock - I have been in and out of it three times and would go in again if I had the free cash but I need to wait until my next quarter.

A good website for a quick screen is: http://uk.advfn.com/p.php?pid=financials&symbol=L%5EEZJ

If I had a huge portfolio, I would consider holding GRG (because I like them) but wouldn't hold EZJ (because I am nervous of airlines metrics and market pressures) - I don't mind missing big rises but I hate getting in on big falls.

Valuegrowth
28-03-2017, 07:30 PM
Thanks BeeBop for your useful information. Royal Mail PLC (RMG), Anglo American plc (AAL) and McCarthy & Stone PLC (MCS) also may have some opportunity. In an over valued market only great bargains can have some opportunity.

BeeBop
17-04-2017, 06:33 AM
BeeBop is in the UK at the moment for an Easter break.....had a good look at a few Sainsbury mega shops and wasn't impressed....certainly buzzing but didn't have the brands I was looking for, seemed "cheap" and messy. Think I will steer clear of these shares. Followed my gut with Pumpkin Patch and its global stores....burnt myself with Bonmarche by not going in to see them, so now that I have been bitten, I will not enter the supermarket game with my own handpicked stocks - leave that to any potential funds I buy into.

Valuegrowth
25-04-2017, 01:54 PM
Their property and stock markets are not listening to Brexit. Pound also should begin its uptrend next.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39691366

(http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39691366)FTSE 100 up 2% as European stocks rally after French vote (http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39691366)

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-house-prices-record-high-housing-market-brexit-latest-rightmove-eu-referendum-a7698721.html

UK house asking prices hit record average high of £313,000 as property market recovers from Brexit blip

BeeBop
19-05-2017, 09:19 PM
BeeBop's UK portfolio has been growing at a rather unsettling fast rate; rather unnerving. As a result, I have taken a tad more of a conservative approach and decided to trust myself a little less. These days I am not paying down my remaining property mortgages as my debt is down to 29% of the total value, so apart from dealing with the odd maintenance issues via the PMs, it is hands-off and forgotten. This means, the share portfolio doesn't get sold down when it gets higher, hence, my new, and previously avoided, leaning to actively managed funds. Around three weeks ago I sold off my IUKD.L EFT (an ETF UK dividend focused). The TOTAL return on it over two years was around 20% so I was happy enough to sell and put funds into a higher growth folio. I have just upped my investment in MONKS Investment Trust (MNKS) and kind of bought into a slightly overlapping global focus fund (also has Apple and Alphabet in it) by Fidelity Funds (Fidelity Funds Global Focus). My Jupiter India is also doing well.

I think BeeBop needs a winter in New Zealand to quietly consider the next individual share purchase. The market heat is matching the heat out of doors and my brain in frying....deep breath...step back and monitor, maybe the cash will not grow but if things turn down, I can buy some more select stocks at that point. BeeBop has never liked soaring markets, BeeBop usually sells.

As for the GBP, just got my GBP bought before the last upward hike!

BeeBop
05-06-2017, 03:00 PM
As usual, BeeBop doesn't like to stay still. Clearly, I am fearful of the rapid speed of the market but don't want to sit out (well not totally).

Last week I sold my smallest holding, CCL.L, of Carnival shares (we enjoy the Cunard cruise line so purchased shares a while ago). My total gain was 39% (or 27% annualised) and there was still growth available BUT I had not purchased the full 100 shares required for cruise shareholder benefits - silly me - so rather than purchase the full amount, I sold what I did have. Monies were all put into another AIM listed share that seems to be a turnaround opportunity Speedy Hire (SDY.L). I haven't purchased a turnaround since the early noughties (on the ASX), so this will be interesting.

On my recent purchases, overall the portfolio is looking good. EMR is up 35% and MNKS is up 25%, KIE is down 9.9% and BBOX is up 12%. My others are all up between 3 and 8%. I look hard at stocks that are down (e.g. My Bonmarche remains a sad wee puppy at -50% but I have the time and its losses have been covered by the total portfolio). KIE has cycled and again its fundamentals are good.

On Thursday, I sold my AIR.NZ shares he he he.....a nice wee pay day that was....I am slowly getting out of individual holds in NZ. I need to decide whether to put it into the remaining flexiloan, send it to the UK, or put it into my NZ Milford Assest Management account (yield above that of my Flexi) or look for something else on the NZX.

percy
05-06-2017, 08:47 PM
BeeBop.
Thank you for sharing your interesting investing.
I thought I would have had more time on my hands this year,which I had intended using looking at the UK market.
Unfortunately I haven't found it,yet.!.

BeeBop
05-06-2017, 10:02 PM
BeeBop.
Thank you for sharing your interesting investing.
I thought I would have had more time on my hands this year,which I had intended using looking at the UK market.
Unfortunately I haven't found it,yet.!.

Percy
Many thanks for your thanks...it does take time especially if you are just entering into it so wise to stay out until you have that most precious (and highly depreciating) of commodities.

BeeBop
12-06-2017, 02:50 PM
BeeBop has been thankful for "my" chosen approach as the portfolio has been stable through the UK election. KIE has been down a bit but MNKS is up...everything else has tread water.

For my NZ portfolio, I shall wait for my IFT dividend to come in, sell my CEN (as it is already part of one of my managed funds) and slug the lot into my balanced MAM fund....again, caution for the time being, and I really can't find anything exciting to invest in within the NZ market.

Note: I am not transferring monies from NZD to GBP (even though it makes paper sense) as I do want to have plenty of spare readies for property and shares in NZ should something tickle my fancy during the winter.

BeeBop is also thankful for emergency planning and has called on it now due to certain diplomatic rows and hurried flight rebookings. Current plans are to spend a bitter winter in southern NZ, hopefully the sandpit fights will have settled by the end of August Again, BeeBop is thankful that no new properties were added to the greater portfolio and current rents coming lead to a worry free holiday in the frost - along with a wee sojourne to the Pacific Islands, midwinter, to warm up a little bit.

BeeBop
12-07-2017, 05:30 PM
BeeBop is freezing in NZ.

The UK portfolio seems to be stable with no significant growth since mid-June but the divvies are coming in so I am happy with that. As for the NZ portfolio, I am kicking myself that I sold my AIR.NZ at $3.00 - I always sell too early! But due to the cold weather, and a desire to improve cashflow, I am considering a property sale: this would somewhat increase my portfolio management activities - exchange rates are favourable! My big question to self is: should I pay the exorbitant fees charged by the wealth management companies in NZ, or, manage myself, or split the difference (leave some in NZ wealth management and take the rest to invest off-shore myself) and swallow the fee (I value every single individual dollar). I seem to have been spoilt with my int.TDwaterhouse fees (now bought out again and back to its original www.internaxx.lu).

Currently, I have no plans for UK share purchases in the near term and remain happy with my MNKS.L and Jupiter India purchases - these two are my wee shining stars at this point.

Valuegrowth
16-07-2017, 04:37 PM
BeeBop

What do you think about top performing stocks such as Easyjet (LON: EZJ), International Consolidated Airlns Grp SA (LON: IAG),InterContinental Hotels Group PLC(LON:IHG). Will they perform well in the second half of this year as well? Thanks.

BeeBop
17-07-2017, 08:57 AM
Marketwinner

Hmmmm, of course I can not answer your questions about future performance. However, in my reading I have heard positives about EZJ....and the very top line fundamentals have a lowish PE (albeit a tad high for airlines globally) and a good yield of around 3.8% (which I like) there has also been some good commentary. As for IHG, I know very little about the fundamentals (but it has a 1.8% yield), having stayed in the Holiday Inn chains recently and been very impressed, I put them onto my radar but felt they were fairly valued.....net results, I was wrong and they continued tracking upwards. I have no idea about IAG.

I am currently considering shares in the following article which can be found on iii.co.uk - I have just copied the title for you.
10 'crisis-proof' shares to buy and hold forever
By Kyle Caldwell (http://www.iii.co.uk/category/author/kyle-caldwell) (Money Observer) (http://www.moneyobserver.com/) | Thu, 13th July 2017 - 09:34

Valuegrowth
18-07-2017, 08:51 PM
Beebop

I really appreciate for your reply and Thanks.

BeeBop
22-10-2017, 06:12 PM
Beebop

I really appreciate for your reply and Thanks.

I am wondering if you purchased IHG - it has done quite well according to the news reports.

BeeBop
22-10-2017, 06:22 PM
So an update on my thread:

My UK portfolio is continuing to do well. As I sat in NZ over the winter, I "fiddled" with the mix, the end result was a slightly more concentrated folio as I sold my infrastructure share HICL and the bond holding putting the funds into more TRI.L and EMR.L. I also sold the KIE.L (infrastructure) but I decided to play a little game and use a different strategy for that money: here I put it into one of the Top 5 performing Investment Trusts (using a selection tool) and I will hold for either 3 or 6 months and then sell (if another one at the time overtakes it). Independent Investment Trust (IIT.L) was the one and it doing this I keep my trades going with at least one per 3 months (fees at the minimum point).

So far so good and the performance of my UK folio has lifted from good to "gooder". Mind you, now with the NZD:GBP as less desirable so I want to fund UK costs out of the UK folio - the NZ folio is more conservative so I will just let that lot compound and sit untouched.

If anyone had purchased UK funds pre election (say around 6 months ago) they would have been sitting fairly pretty on a theoretical return to NZD!

MARKETWINNER - As much as I like IHG, I have recently discovered the Premier Inn chain...I can get nights at GBP29.90 connected to T4 and Heathrow Airport (nice rooms too), so am now looking at the owner - Whitbread (I think)....this may be a long-term pick for me once I have taken the time to look into their reports...although, staying in Holiday Inn when I am in New York as there is no Premier Inn there and Holiday Inn is pretty dang good. No more Accor chain for me again!

Valuegrowth
22-10-2017, 08:21 PM
BeeBop-Thank you for the update.

It is good to hear you are doing well. To tell the truth I was studying their market behaviour. Suddenly out of the blue moon I found a special situation in a frontier market. Some opportunity comes unexpectedly. We can reasonably expect further fall in overvalued NZD.

fungus pudding
23-10-2017, 04:38 AM
BeeBop-Thank you for the update.

It is good to hear you are doing well. To tell the truth I was studying their market behaviour. Suddenly out of the blue moon I found a special situation in a frontier market. Some opportunity comes unexpectedly. We can reasonably expect further fall in overvalued NZD.

Is that you Winston ?

Valuegrowth
23-10-2017, 08:41 AM
You are wrong Pungus pudding. I didn’t follow politics much and not much interested about it. I have some idea about policies of both Labour and National. Because of election heat I got some idea about green as well. Suddenly MP WP came to my mind as he was tried to negotiate to form a government.

Anyway I just now found the following link.

https://www.interest.co.nz/news/90256/nz-first-leader-winston-peters-discusses-overvalued-volatile-nz-dollar-housing

BeeBop
14-11-2017, 11:27 PM
So another update: all goes forth well. As eluded to in prior posts, I have been proceeding cautiously but it seems that the market does not. Currently, I am thankful that I concentrated my folio a little as the “concentrates” have just reported very well. TRI.L, SDY.L, and VOD.L have all reported today all all above expectations. The new investment trust (IIT.L) is doing what is should have and remains at the top of the performance board along with my MNKS.L investment trust.

Shortly, I will have more funds to invest (capital input combined with dividends). The capital may be split between Whitbread group and/or an Asian/Pacific income delivering fund - I just need to do some homework to ensure that my current investment trusts do not have an overlap.

Folio is up 6% since my August tweak.

Really enjoying the energy of the UK market, plenty of news to read BUT I remain cautious and have increased my cash holding for our emergency plans.

BeeBop
21-12-2017, 05:33 AM
Beebop continues on the UK listed equities run. To clarify though, these are trusts and shares listed on the LSE and purchased with GBP. I have not taken exchange rate gains into account (if I had, then the folio would be up quite a bit more). But as my GBP has been purchased for UK spending, exchange rate gains are irrelevant.


As I am on “holiday” in the North Atlantic Ocean, I have decided to review the folio, read my investment sources, and dissect in detail. The net result is an adjustment. Previously I was becoming cautious and hoarding cash in a 0% GBP off-shore account but this was growing, as we save a bit too much, so I have decided to create two folios: the first is a conservative, wealth protection, income folio to pay for outlandish UK public school fees and the second is my growth folio (the interesting one).


The conservative is high on cash but I have added the Lloyds shares to it and intend buying more as they pay a circa 6.5% dividend with considerable upside value available once the market sees their strength (as I hope they do once I have finished adding shares). I will also add a listed trust such as Ruffer (RICA) and/or Royal Dutch Shell. My aim here is to get exposure to the global markets via active management as my timeframe is three to five years. If I were looking to a much longer time horizon, I would go for a global tracker ETF but I am not looking looooong so active management and direct dividend paying shares should be okay.


The second growth folio is essentially my main one and it continues to do very well. Rather than becoming predicative of the impending crash that I have been preparing for since 2013, I have decided to ride some momentum themes. Namely buying into Japan via the Bailley Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) listed trust (I like Bailley Gifford because their Monks Trust has a good strategy and performance behind it so I think their management is great). My second new momentum play is also regional as I have entered Europe via Jupiter European Opportunites (JEO). Within their Top 10 holdings they have a few shares that I was looking to buy but decided that Jupiter would do a better job than me. Overall my winners are still winning (Trifast, Monks,), my absolute disaster is recovering (Bonmarche), and my income stocks are paying me enough to feed and grow the conservative portfolio. I also note that the folio is about 25% weighted in technology based equities (grouped as information technology, new healthcare technology, and robotics/automation). As for older technology, my Trifast holding represents about 12% of the folio and it is literally boring old nuts and bolts with an exquisite logistics system and has now doubled in value. I like this folio very much.


If there is a crash, I will be hit hard in the growth folio but this won’t really affect much else (enough other assets spread around other places include properties) and I will still be able to cover school fees. But I can assure you, I will be upset, very very upset because I don’t like loosing very much.

morphs
21-12-2017, 12:36 PM
Beebop - which broker do you use to buy your UK shares?

BeeBop
29-12-2017, 01:04 AM
Beebop - which broker do you use to buy your UK shares?
Sorry for the slow response - ship internet is far too slow to use easily.

I have used www.internaxx.lu for the past 15 years and have been happy - they are based out of Luxembourg. A hassle to set-up but worth the security.

BeeBop
15-02-2018, 07:37 PM
Beebop has mostly been sitting on fingers. I use the phrase ‘mostly’ as I did take the opportunity to realise a significant loss in one of my UK retail stocks (Bonmarche) and it has been unpleasant knowing that my historical performance has halved due to a 60% loss in this investment. However, there are better recover opportunities available and I shall avoid being married to my performance charts when long-term choices are better.

Overall, I remain in the same position I was in in early January - my holdings appear stable - flat to a slight upwards trend thanks to Trifast and Empresseria.

And yes, I did get have to “prove” to Internaxx that I did understand that prices can rise AND fall so that I could trade ‘complex’ instruments...he he he...thanks for the warning fellow gulfer.

At this point I still have no new cash to inject into the GBP pool (USD to GBP is swinging a bit so am leaving non-schooling cash as USD as I am hoping the USD will strengthen a tad) - however, I splashed a little on high end on ultra-lightweight camping gear for a spot of wild camping in the warmer UK weather for future holidays (preferable to hotels and cruises)..plus a few ultra-long haul flights (as it is far far cheaper to fly return from the UK to NZ than the Middle East).

BeeBop
26-03-2018, 04:22 PM
So Beebop is no further ahead than at New Year. Well, I do admit, marginally ahead but this week could adjust that. Emresseria (EMR) has declined a tad but Trifast (TRI) continues upwards. My stable dividend stocks have eased (VOD and MANX) but both have paid out healthily. On the growth side, my MNKS and JEO have both pulled back whereas my Japanese units are up and stable.

I do have new cash to inject into the portfolio (not a lot but enough to either add to a holding or to start a new holding), however, I am in two minds what to go for. I really felt that I was on to a great micro-cap stock based on numbers and "tips" but when I went to their website, I couldn't for the life of me understand what their core business was (BATM). Their momentum looks steady, products align with good sense, but, I just couldn't get a good gut feel Then I found a great income based emerging market trust (MYI) but they were holding too much in tobacco and I won't invest (knowingly) in these companies. So now I doing diligence on Henry Boot (BOOT) who seem to fit what I look for.

We shall see what the next few weeks hold...it has been interesting and I have no opinion on what is going to happen going forwards!

BeeBop
02-05-2018, 03:57 PM
I thought it was about time I gave another update as the markets continue their volatility. Overall, I am up this past 4 months by about 4%. Most of the increase can be attributed to my Trifast holding (which is now my third largest holding due to its own appreciation) and Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon fund. The other funds are still around their early January purchase prices. Not surprisingly my defensive telecom stocks have edged upwards also.

I did buy into BOOT.L, a very small holding from dividends earned. It is a good yielder with a solid earnings and balance sheet. Of course, I hope it will do well. I now have two small hopefuls: BOOT.L and SDY.L. TRI.L was (once upon a time) a hopeful and is now a portfolio core. Both SDY and BOOT are dividend payers which is a fundamental requirement for me (in direct share holdings).

As to new activities: I have plans but they don’t seem sensible as all holdings are doing what they should be. In the back of my mind, I have the notion of selling all of the holdings and shooting it back to NZ (I will do well on the exchange rate at the moment) to put into some kind of conservative tracker fund or diversified income fund. My reason for doing this it to secure what I have - I am no financial expert, nor share market expert and as the portfolio grows, I get more cautious. I would then ‘start again’ putting fresh cash into the markets. Oh dear, what is one to do?

Cheers
BeeBop

BeeBop
11-05-2018, 06:50 AM
BeeBop is really happy, now up around 9% for the year thanks to MNKS and BGS. To satisfy my trend towards caution, I have just sold one of my large global mutual funds as it was quite heavy into technology (some overlaps with MNKS). Also my off-shore broker has changed their fee structure so I will be charged each quarter for holding each fund. Last night I purchased another listed investment trust - BlackRock Throgmorton - focusing on UK small caps.

I have been slowly putting more money into the listed trusts and have found a good way to screen them due to a range of tools available on-line. I have used both Morningstar.co.uk and FEtrustnet to screen for return, discount, momentum, and yield taking several different timepoints. It is quite a manual process but worth it.

Now I must get off and read my next issue of the investor’s chronicle to start planning my next purchase (likely to be Asia excluding Japan and one individual stock-pick).

Valuegrowth
11-05-2018, 06:50 PM
BeeBop

Have you noticed some strength for LON: FERG, LON: ULVR?

Cheers

BeeBop
12-05-2018, 06:51 PM
Valuegrowth

neither are shares that I follow, albeit ULVR was of interest to me a while ago. From my cursory scan both seem to be fairly solid, of which, FERG is a bit too “fairly” valued...I.e. according to me, it could do with a bit of a higher price and it seems to have a little bit of recovery available (as does ULVR). if I were to look at FERG, I would be looking at why they’re are not as strong as their balance sheet / sales ROE etc would indicate (management?).

If I lived in the UK and wasn’t watching the exchange rate and wanted a solid investment, I dare say I would look at holding both provided their vision/strategy presentations made me feel enthusiastic.

Not sure, I would put NZD to GBP to purchase as the gains could be negated (if they don’t perform strongly). I am putting USD to GBP at the moment so that would mean it could make sense for those investing from a USD base.

I think there is a bit of a recovery available in UK value - and it is what many commentators are suggesting (overall PE and debt levels better than the US market).

Just my opinion.

Valuegrowth
12-05-2018, 07:13 PM
Thanks Beebop.

Buying quality stocks in countries with weak currencies could bring great return. Few years back USD was weak. Those who parked money there before others made bundle of money. Brexit made another great opportunity. Pound was under pressure but intelligent investors parked their money in the UK taking advantage of brexit panic. Some UK and Europe stocks still could do well specially overlooked, neglected and underperformed stocks over the last 18 months.In an extended market, discounted firms with strong balance sheets could stand out from the rest.

BeeBop
13-05-2018, 05:21 AM
Valuegrowth - the UK (and its internationally listed trusts and shares there) do seem to have room to run - I am just hoping that the GBP doesn’t creep up any further (no interest rate rises forecast there until August at the earliest), or maybe I should say that I am hoping the USD continues to strengthen (depending on which commentator I am reading).

I have fresh funds seeking a home in next short while so I am going to have a little bit of a dig into FERG following your post but I have quite a big holding in LLOY (bond proxy with hopefully a capital upside) so wanting to ensure that any individual holdings actually have upwards price movement.

Valuegrowth
13-05-2018, 02:07 PM
Beebop I agree that UK (and its internationally listed trusts and shares there) do seem to have room to run.

FERG and ULVR

Yes both Ferg and Ulvr are fairly valued.FERG has delivered an ROE of 28.59% over the past 12 months. ROE has generated from its capacity to increase profit without a large debt burden. It also has a lower PE ratio. So far it maintained its five year, one year, one month and five day bullish chart. At some point it also will have correction once it hit top. ULVER also had a five year bullish chart. Over the last one year, It has underperformed but there was some good support during past one month.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/did-ferguson-plc-lon-ferg-143822542.html

LLOY

Some analysts are expecting it to outperform the market.

Your decision to pick individual stocks in Asia is a wise decision as there are attractive stocks. I just completed accumulating one particular company in Asia that I like most mainly because of its understandable business, attractive valuation (current and future), growth and strong balance sheet (current and future) and ability to add cash flow for foreseeable future. I am hoping to add more.


I saw somewhere that company with a strong balance sheet is "antifragile." The word -- coined by best-selling author and trader Nassim Taleb.“Try to invest in companies that have some trouble in their past and have come back from it,” Taleb recommends in his book Antifragile. Taleb says this is important after 2008.

Asian markets such as Pakistan, Philippine, Vietnam, Indonesia and Thailand have slowed down after their mega bull run during last five years. In addition to above frontier and emerging markets, Poland and Argentina also had some great bull markets. Argentina market is also slowing. Above markets were darlings of fund managers and investors during last five years and some markets ended up with too hot. As a result of it, Investors turned into strong profit taking and selling stocks heavily.Investors and funds are looking for new markets now.

BeeBop
23-05-2018, 08:33 AM
A further update as my fingers are sticky wanting to buy and sell again! Thankfully, I have “lost” (temporarily) money in an international transfer due to middle eastern banking troubles AND I have needed to pay full independent UK boarding school fees so I have been shackled.

Separating my portfolios has now made my self-control a bit better. The growth one is up 12% for the year with the current three top performers being Baillie Gifford’s Shin Nippon Fund, Jupiter European Opportunities, and finally a small holding in SDY.UK (Speedy Hire). In fact, the only share not to have moved strongly in the past three weeks has been TRI.UK which makes a change. My next purchase is still waiting and it will be Asia as eluded to in a previous post. The conservative portfolio has made no capital gain, mind you most of it is accumulating cold hard cash for school fees, however, it has produced some nice dividends which puts it up 1% in total for the year to date. I am planning to now put my next lot of cash into a property fund called Regional REIT (RGL.UK) so that I can park some of the 2019/2020 cash into it. It is nicely diversified and has a current yield of around 7.1% with a little bit of capital growth available. Overall, I am tempted to sell up and put everything under my pillow but logic and numbers reign supreme. A 100% loss in both portfolios is easily survivable and of a low probability. A 20% loss is more likely and would cause no short-term issues as I have the conservative portfolio.

This is the most interesting hobby I have and would thoroughly recommend it.

BeeBop
15-06-2018, 03:57 PM
As I have now transferred hemispheres (again), it is time for another short update. On May 11th, I said that I had sold one of my large global funds, I had sold most of it but not all. So recently, I sold the remains and put it into my Japan small cap fund (BGS.L). Luckily, I did the transfer following a bit of a two week boom on the fund and into a price/NAV discount on my BGS.L so the portfolio is decidedly healthy.

TRI.L reported last week and yet again, it performs steadily. Cross checking its metrics against my targets there is no reason to sell. It is no longer a high growth stock as one of my key metrics is just shy of target but well within a healthy level. It, however, now makes up 14% of my growth portfolio and I don't want to have a single share taking up much more than 10%. As I have concentrated my holdings down, a decent weighting is acceptable. Another solution to this weighting is to merely add some more funds to the portfolio and another share which would dilute the holding a tad - a bit sneaky but it will do the job.

So over the past two weeks my growth performers have been TRI.L, MNKS.L, JEO.L, and THRG.L.

In the education/conservative portfolio, sweet nothing has happened. LLOY.L is like watching paint dry and VOD.L is so fickle that I am fed up. That will be sold once it gets back to its last cycle top (it seems to like going up and down according to which way the wind is blowing). Nice dividends though!!

On the cash front, I have yet another stash lost in the ether - international banking is a dang humbug.

BeeBop
21-06-2018, 05:15 PM
What a week but what a surprise for me as the folios barely noticed the swings, although as of last night, at a new all time high (just). Fortunately, the missing funds have shown themselves AND another tranche of funds will come available. Needless to say that my reading over the past few weeks has me lined up for some new purchases.

The funds will be unfairly split over my two folios: 2/3 into education and 1/3 into growth. The education folio gets most as most of the money is a company refund for insanely expensive UK fees. I was intending to put 1/3 into the property IT, REIT.L, but I may put it into SLI.L as a slightly more liquid alternative both are good and have good yield. Another 1/3 will be into EAT.L a European small/mid assets trust, again paying a high yield. This will give me good weight in Europe (as the growth folio) has a European Growth IT in it (JEO.L). The final 1/3 is into the growth folio and should be BBT.L, which is a world-wide healthcare trust running at a small discount to NAV. We shall see (1) how well the funds initially arrive (2) if I can transfer them out to the target account without them hitting the ether again (3) if I get the buys placed well and (4) if the folios remain steady.

VOD has started to go up! Albeit fractionally.

Raz
11-08-2018, 07:53 PM
What a week but what a surprise for me as the folios barely noticed the swings, although as of last night, at a new all time high (just). Fortunately, the missing funds have shown themselves AND another tranche of funds will come available. Needless to say that my reading over the past few weeks has me lined up for some new purchases.

The funds will be unfairly split over my two folios: 2/3 into education and 1/3 into growth. The education folio gets most as most of the money is a company refund for insanely expensive UK fees. I was intending to put 1/3 into the property IT, REIT.L, but I may put it into SLI.L as a slightly more liquid alternative both are good and have good yield. Another 1/3 will be into EAT.L a European small/mid assets trust, again paying a high yield. This will give me good weight in Europe (as the growth folio) has a European Growth IT in it (JEO.L). The final 1/3 is into the growth folio and should be BBT.L, which is a world-wide healthcare trust running at a small discount to NAV. We shall see (1) how well the funds initially arrive (2) if I can transfer them out to the target account without them hitting the ether again (3) if I get the buys placed well and (4) if the folios remain steady.

VOD has started to go up! Albeit fractionally.


Thanks for sharing your investment history, I appreciate at as I know few people investing over there now.

The AIM market has more loser than winner over its history, I have had large and long term investments in Britain's two listed pawnbrokers, Albemarle & Bond and H&T. Done well as an investment if you understand the business.

BeeBop
13-08-2018, 03:15 PM
Thanks for sharing your investment history, I appreciate at as I know few people investing over there now.

The AIM market has more loser than winner over its history, I have had large and long term investments in Britain's two listed pawnbrokers, Albemarle & Bond and H&T. Done well as an investment if you understand the business.

Thank-you Raz,

I will take a look at your two investments out of interest. You are right about the AIM as my biggest looser was from there...but also my biggest winner. Now I am focusing on BlackRock’s Throgmorton Invesment Trust (for small caps) instead while running my winners...selling my small holdings (e.g. Speedy Hire). Overall, I have won nicely in the AIM but as my skin in the game becomes more important, I feel the folio should have diversification in small caps. Easier for me to focus on other invesments too without runnning after small cap individual holdings.

BeeBop
13-08-2018, 10:32 PM
With the economic crisis in Turkey, the risks of a no-deal in Brexit, and the tension in Iran all on my radar as each issue can have a significant bearing on my day-to-day life. Turkey provides military security and food to my adopted home, Iran provides food and is threatening a sea-strait block, and the no-deal brexit affects my GBP savings and next house purchase. With these in mind, my investing is active.

As the GBP has fallen significantly against the USD again, I am funnelling as much USD over there as possible. This means more investing in the short-term and me as a happy camper (literally).

My last set of purchases were completed at a good exchange rate. I bought SLI.L, MRCH.L, and BBH.L. Both SLI and BBH have gained (well BBH is has grown 10% in 5 weeks) and all have gone ex. dividend. MRCH, even with dividend accounted is down about 2% so I am not really complaining. SLI is a Property REIT, MRCH is. boring old FTSE income trust that, at the time of purchase, had a 6% DY and no tobacco stocks. Unfortunately, the devils have just bought into Imperial Brands so I indend to sell out as soon as I have a reasonable exit point (tobacco is against my investing rules). BBH is a global healthcare trust that was trading at a discount when I bought and has gone very well.

The overall portfolio is up with nothing showing any significant hits. I am selling some of my small cap specs (e.g. BOOT, SDY) as I will buy more of what I already have - the small caps can go into BlackRock’s Throgmorton which again, has been doing nicely.

Methinks that this Investment Trust lark suits me quite well especially as I buy on the discounts and there are hundreds to choose from including plenty of on-line material to read and chunk through. I can also just walk away and leave it without too much stress.

Now I must off, as I am finalising my 300km backpack hike in the UK...scored some BackCountry freezedried meals from Invercargill so I shall enjoy them from the side of my 1 person Hilleberg Akto tent whilst nursing my pained feet.

Joshuatree
13-08-2018, 10:36 PM
Cool slice of life..

BeeBop
15-10-2018, 09:41 PM
BeeBop thinks it is time for another update....and this time folks....the update is dead flat! I daresay that is a good thing. My star fund Monks, is down at end of December levels. My European fund is now down at March levels, however, much of the remaining stock is flat (in list price) but dividends have paid out.

At times like this, I am forever thankful that I beat up my greedy side. In recent months I have been sorely tempted to release my cash holdings and to stop saving. My cash is in a Jersey Island cash account earning a fantastic 0% in interest. However, this cash allows me to pay horrendously expensive UK boarding school fees, and deal with crises that may arise within an 18 month time horizon. For NZ residents my degree of cash holding would be ridiculous but for an expat in a volatile sector of the world, it is seemingly wise insurance. I have no need to realise any sharemarket stocks for at least 18 months as of today.

While the stockmarket has been decidedly inactive for me (due to its own hyper-volatility), I have focused on my property folio. The numbers are bigger and, I would even deign to say, the risks/impact higher, and for me, really boring. But the opportunity is here and seemingly the council are happy with plans. I just hope that the expensive and slow journey to consent is worth it (at least I am capitalising my expenses so that my balance sheet stays the same).

Now I must get back to the Jamal Khashoggi murder mystery: Did MBS order it? Has it been staged? Will the "truth" come out? Will the "Davos in the Desert Desertion" be the start of the investment decline in Saudi? Will there be leadership pressure from within? Will Saudi be able to hold anything over global oil prices in 2018 and create oil price chaos if it doesn't go their way? Intriguing and dangerous for the world's economy.

Valuegrowth
25-10-2018, 07:17 PM
https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/top-of-the-stocks

BeeBop
01-11-2018, 08:21 PM
https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/top-of-the-stocks

SMT is s more concentrated version of my monks....Lloyd’s ever popular but it remains in the dole drums....I will need to wait years, meanwhile I clip the dividends.

BeeBop
29-11-2018, 01:27 PM
BeeBop is merely treading water....and ever thankful for the sell down on funds with high exposure to US based tech and caution towards the US. Net result is a ‘yawn yawn’ period. The dividends are fruiting nicely, my three NZ holdings still have annual (decently modest) gains, but my pure UK holdings (of which I have only two) are flaccid, albeit, one delivers a 6% yield.

My (by life direction as opposed to intelligent choice) hedging is keeping the investments in USD positive territory. The declining GBP reduces my MRCH.L fund value (6% yield though) but increases my ability to purchase GBP and thereby costs of education and investments in other UK listed trusts that are comfortable. I wish I could buy NZD as the moment though, as I have good investment opportunities there. However, my current plan involves GBP and I am doing my best to stay focused.

Meanwhile, I am now ‘holed’ up in Christchurch, NZ, lamenting my focus and wishing I could change direction and buy a central city townhouse. Christchurch is amazing, the support services, the hospital, the townplanning, and the open spaces. Why, this week, could the weather not be better?

BeeBop
04-02-2019, 01:59 PM
THis is merely a brief update as very little has changed. I have stuck to my focus and my shares/investment trusts have recovered from their Xmas eve rout.

I did manage to sneak some NZ share purchases...shhhh...don’t tell the spouse....

Mostly, I now am back into sending GBP to the UK market. I optimised my buying at 1.27 USD to the GBP and am thinking that I am going to buy a holding in Diageo as a very long-term quality company and add to one of my property REITs. I did have a “little bit” of good news with one REIT (MedicX) being merged into Primary HealthCare properties (PHP) which gave an instant +14% uplift. I shall also add to my healthcare REIT holdings as there is no stamp duty to pay on them making it easier to pound-cost-average into the holding.

GTM 3442
08-02-2019, 07:05 PM
Diageo - ah yes, every time I pass through duty free I try and pick up a bottle of one of their whiskies. The aim is to drink myself rich.

It doesn't seem to be working very well as of yet, but I am enjoying trying. . .

BeeBop
24-02-2019, 08:51 PM
Diageo - ah yes, every time I pass through duty free I try and pick up a bottle of one of their whiskies. The aim is to drink myself rich.

It doesn't seem to be working very well as of yet, but I am enjoying trying. . .

Put a dart board in front of your drinking chair with some shares to aim for....may well get rich that way....or by Diageo directly via an offshore broker....less CGT!

GTM 3442
24-02-2019, 09:04 PM
Put a dart board in front of your drinking chair with some shares to aim for....may well get rich that way....or by Diageo directly via an offshore broker....less CGT!

My gains from Diageo are slightly outstripped by my losses in Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI.BR), so the NZ CGT position would be roughly neutral.

But what's the world coming to when you can't make a buck on the world's biggest brewer!

BeeBop
01-04-2019, 07:28 PM
Probably a good time for a little update. I must admit that I didn’t buy Diageo; definitely a quality share but I had a second fortunate surprise with yet another “buy-out” so decided to finally buy into some Asian shares via a listed investment trust (with no stamp-duty) and buy into some commodity metals as I thought I might take a bit more of a buy-low approach with the funds.

I had been holding a telecommunications company (MANX.L) based in the Isle of Mann. It hadn’t really done anything on a capital gains basis for me but it had been spitting out a neat wee 6% yield for me and formed a base to pay a portion of the child’s school costs. It seems that others are beginning to see the value in the UK as a takeover came out and I got out for a +31.7%. The profits from that and my extra cash were funneled into Central Asian Metals and Henderson Far East Ltd. Both listed on the UK markets and stamp-duty free.

As a side, my “small” NZ purchases on January 3rd are paying off nicely. SCL is about to hit $5 (and I got the dividend days after buying), and SKL has done quite nicely too. My SCT is merely sitting there doing not much and IFT is doing very nicely. If this were three years ago, I would be selling and reducing a flexible mortgage but again, as the LVR is low, I might as well stay invested for the long haul.

The UK markets is about to open as I type and it looks like another good day. Overall a modest uplift since January but nothing spectacular. As the brexit debarkle is going to come to some kind of conclusion soon, I am preparing to invest back into USD. My current plan for that is to do what I don’t prefer and that is to purchase an ETF (Vanguard) which specializes in global infrastructure with a decent yield and overall a good annualized return over the past 10 years.

We shall see how things go; good things take time, and it seems that time struggles to fail me on long holds (mostly).

Happy international investing to those of you that do,
BeeBop.

BeeBop
20-04-2019, 07:17 PM
On April 1st, I typed that I had "modest uplift since January but nothing spectacular". That would mean that the past three weeks have been spectacular. Asia has flown, my global investment trust: MNKS.L (a more balanced sibling of Scottish Mortgage Trust)...and then, my main win has been my conviction stock; the Industrial share: Trifast TRI.L listed on the UK's AIM market, however, it now means that my portfolio is 17% loaded with this stock (shhh....don't tell any trained Financial Advisors). My metals purchase in February has merely delivered a 1.27% gain so far but a great dividend is due shortly.

For my USD, I purchased into an exchange traded fund on the NASDAQ (IGF), an iShares ETF covering Global Infrastructure. I liked it due to its ability to hold out in more volatile recent markets (it didn't hold out well in 2008 but it listed in the peak of 2007). The yield is a tidy 3.5% with a good presence in Australia, North America, Asia and Europe. I found that some of the other options were more weighted to the USA with much lower presence in lower hemispheres. This one is now tucked away in a new folio for child's post secondary education, whatever that may be, and in whatever country that may be. I will probably add to it as well as pick up another ETF or two.

Meanwhile my NZ stocks seem to have settled into their new price ranges...until the next reporting time, I don't expect anything much there. I will just have to sit and take a good dose of self-control and try not to fidget too much...I am so much better now than I was many years ago.

Happy Easter break to all
BeeBop.

nizzy
28-04-2019, 10:01 AM
just to say, I enjoy the updates on your investing journey BB.

BeeBop
29-04-2019, 03:10 PM
just to say, I enjoy the updates on your investing journey BB.\

Thanks Nizzy, knowing that it is being read makes it worth posting. I appreciate you posting that.

BeeBop

voltage
29-04-2019, 04:15 PM
Hi BeeBop, also interesting reads. I also invest in investment trusts with a large holding in Scottish Mortgage, low cost active management which compliments my passive index vanguard funds. Investment trusts are not really advertised in NZ, a pity.

BeeBop
29-04-2019, 06:26 PM
Voltage:

Thank-you to you too.

Ah, Scottish Mortgage...very much the big sister to my Monks (which is a tad more diversified than SMT but both Baillie Gifford globals). I did seriously consider SMT as an alternative to MNKS but at the time had a managed fund that was high in tech (I sold it last June when the race up had been exciting). I think SMT will continue to go from strength to strength due to their holdings in unlisted companies. I am so excited to hear that someone else is into SMT....my MNKS now makes up 22% of my UK growth folio so I daren't switch it into the more aggressive but superb SMT.

Sadly, I saw that the NZX is listing more iShares (BlackRock) on the NZX...what a pity as it is just driving "standard performance". There could well be a business opportunity for someone to set up an IT in NZ all in NZD. That said, Bankers, F&C, Henderson's FE, City of London, and Templeton EM are all available. Banker's was a great one for me (I bought it 2010)...and sold after a 120% run up and decided to pay off one of my Auckland property mortgages with it in 2013...back in the day when I was securing gains.

It is a pity that more investors don't know about these sorts of "shares". There is definitely a place for ETFs but it seems investors are getting very caught in the "low fees" angle, rather than looking at overall performance. Currently I hold only one ETF and that is on the NASDAQ - IGF. It is run by Blackrock (iShares)...and is a "bottom draw" medium/long hold (University fees for child)....

Now on to a subdued Monday morning for me, nothing much happens on the UK exchange until the USA opens...no company updates etc....and Asia wasn't exciting this morning either.

Have a good night,
BeeBop.

voltage
29-04-2019, 08:17 PM
Totally agree Beebop. I use ETFs for my core part of a portfolio and Investment Trusts as the satellite component. Fees are dropping for ITs. Look at SMT around .4% for an actively managed fund. with superb performance. I use to hold F&C but I would rather hold something like the SP500 ETF which is very diversified and can out perform most active managers. Most ETFs via smartshares have fees around 0.5% quite expensive. I hold the Nasdaq in my kiwisaver via Craigs.

GTM 3442
29-04-2019, 09:52 PM
Another interested reader. . .

The UK Investment Trusts! I'd forgotten about them! Yes, these are well worth looking into again!

Since I'm a lazy sod, is there any decent "selection tool" for them - something along the lines of the Internaxx ETF Selector and Fund Selector tools - which lumps the entire universe into a database and lets you select by geography, asset class, category, currency, etc.

Or is it more a case of identify the individual companies and then plough through each companies' selection of funds to see what they have?

As far as Infrastructure goes, it's a fairly small universe, and it seeems to me that most of the Infrastructure ETFs are variations on the same set of 20 to 30-odd companies for their major holdings.

BeeBop
29-04-2019, 10:31 PM
GTM

Yes, there are selection tools. As I am only looking at the UK for them, I use the following tools and mix them up a bit depending on the finer detail I want:

(1) Trustnet.com

This is my primary search tool. I find the ranks easier to use. Of course, you need to set for IT's. At one point when I was building my BIG list of five funds, I looked at toplevel performances vs yield vs normality (discount or premium) and took points at 3 months 1 yr, 3 yrs and 10 yrs to see how the funds performed through the courses. I also take careful note of the manager e.g. Alexander Darwell for my Jupiter European Fund.

(2) Morningstar.co.uk

This is my second favorite as I can see the funds regular performance vs its norm discount vs premium. I also like the articles on this site

(3) theaic.co.uk

This one is fine, I use it sometimes

To add in, I also like citywire.co.uk for articles on ITs

Infrastructure: yes, I agree somewhat BUT I did find my recent iShares Blackrock ETF had Australia included and was a bit different to the standard Vanguard offering. The UK is also offering a few ITs for infrastructure e.g. HICL and IPP...but I am hesitant with the UK due to the possibility of a labour government and Corbyn's bright idea to bring them all in-house. I was also alarmed at how some of the school buildings were being managed....it kind of went against my ethics (I only found out about it via a Panorama documentary).

I am also including a video on SMT here....for those that don't know about it: this is worth watching: https://www.bailliegifford.com/en/uk/individual-investors/funds/scottish-mortgage-investment-trust/?video=2018-q4-sm-brand-film-2018-invest-in-progress-ind-we-1156&related=false

On the same site there is a good one covering Monks: even if you are not interested in investing in it, the set-up they describe it really worth keeping in mind for personal share investment. I am sort of keeping it in mind with my selections.

Cheers
BeeBop

GTM 3442
30-04-2019, 12:40 AM
Thanks BeeBop.

Strange - I use Morningstar Australia and Morningstar US, but it never occurred to me that there would be a Morningstar UK. It's strange, the blind spots that you find you have.

Baillie Gifford look an interesting crowd.

Cheers and thanks

voltage
30-04-2019, 07:58 AM
purchasing UK ITs is not simple unless you do this through a full broker which I have done. Previously I use to go direct to the investment trust and purchase through their savings schemes. This, unfortunately starts to get messy and complicated. As I get older I want to keep things simple. There are a few on the NZ stock exchange. Buying overseas stocks is not easy using discount brokers from NZ.

BeeBop
30-04-2019, 01:50 PM
purchasing UK ITs is not simple unless you do this through a full broker which I have done. Previously I use to go direct to the investment trust and purchase through their savings schemes. This, unfortunately starts to get messy and complicated. As I get older I want to keep things simple. There are a few on the NZ stock exchange. Buying overseas stocks is not easy using discount brokers from NZ.

Yes, using NZ brokers is not ideal at all for this type of investment. But it can be easy.

I did it when I lived in NZ after I had opened an international broking account. I have successfully used www.internaxx.com (GTM does also, I believe) since 2003. Things may have changed but as long as you hold less than 50k, the investment is tax free, over 50k then you pay 5% on value gain over that.

It it takes time to set it up but is well worth doing as you will have access to international markets and around 15 currency accounts (including the AUD).

i have used this as my main global brokerage but when I am dealing with NZ shares, I use a NZ discount broker.

GTM 3442
30-04-2019, 02:40 PM
Fully agree with BeeBop about Internaxx. Access to a multi-currency account, and to all the markets I'm interested in (EXCEPT New Zealand).

I'm not sure what the setup process is these days - almost certain to be more difficult than when I did it - but they are internationally focused on the expat market, so it will be as painless as AML regulations allow.

I use them mainly for ETFS, with the occasional foray into individual shares. They've certainly opened my eyes about what's available in the ETF space - the granularity is mind-boggling.

777
30-04-2019, 03:32 PM
Yes, using NZ brokers is not ideal at all for this type of investment. But it can be easy.

Things may have changed but as long as you hold less than 50k, the investment is tax free, over 50k then you pay 5% on value gain over that.




It is the purchase cost that has to be below $50,000. If the investment increases above then it doesn't matter.

BeeBop
30-04-2019, 04:51 PM
It is the purchase cost that has to be below $50,000. If the investment increases above then it doesn't matter.

Superb especially if you have many years ahead of you.

BeeBop
02-05-2019, 05:37 PM
Voltage

With respect to SMT....This article has recently popped up and may be of interest to you: https://www.moneyobserver.com/investment-trust-awards-2019-premier-group-award

And another chat site (that I shadow) had some recent discussion on SMT: https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=17419

Cheers,
BeeBop

kiwico
19-05-2019, 12:05 PM
Fully agree with BeeBop about Internaxx. Access to a multi-currency account, and to all the markets I'm interested in (EXCEPT New Zealand).

Interactive Brokers is also very good with share costs typically being US$1-2 a trade. If trading the ASX if is typically AU$6 a trade. There is a minimum charge of US$10 per month if you hold less than US$100,000 cash or shares with any trading costs included within this US$12.

BeeBop
21-05-2019, 12:04 AM
A good trading price....I haven't heard any negatives about IB which is a good thing.

BeeBop
13-06-2019, 08:33 AM
Now that I am about to enjoy my summer in the Southern NZ winter; it is time for another update on my UK investing and hasn’t it been a volatile month or two!

SO far, I am up, again, but I expect the growth folio will continue to swing a little up and down. My good performers have been Alexander Darwell’s Jupiter European Opportunites (JEO) and Monks Investment Trust (MNKS). For JEO, the “little hassle” over Germany’s Wirecard (WDI) fraud accusation has gone away returning the fund to near its previous highs. The fund is quite concentrated and is dominated by WDI at around 16% so I do watch what is going on with WDI. Added to JEO, MNKS has been great. In fact, its performance now exceeds that of its big brother Scottish Mortgage Fund over 1 and 3 years (I think). I selected MNKS because I really liked its increased diversification and its careful balance in four key areas allowing a global balance and as it is my largest holding (fees now 0.5%); care was necessary because I don’t like negative returns very much.

On the other side, the education allocation of the folio, I have found that there is effectively near zero growth. Maybe, I should be thankful that it isn’t negative! Anyways, to deal with the fact that I believe I have selected some great income trusts and shares that will soon compound nicely, I bit the bullet and am putting the dividends into a lightly leveraged small cap fund called the Acorn Income Fund (AIF). It pays 5.3% and is made up of smaller cap UK companies, the leverage seems complicated to me but it does swing quite “nicely” both up and down. We shall see no doubt! And over time, things should be fine.

And of course, my single conviction stock (Trifast) produced a solidly boring annual update on Tuesday. At 16% of the growth folio, I am happy with this especially as the dividend is continually increasing, although the cover has reduced to around 2.4x (from 3x). Nuts and bolts seem to be popular at the moment and the company is growing gently taking into account its global footprint.

On a side note, I am thankful that I ignored advice and recommendations to buy into Woodford’s managed fund. The number of people who have told me he was a guru turned me off the fund. Personally, I found him a tad arrogant and he reminds me of characters I saw in my corporate years; he lacks humility. But I don’t like OEICs as it takes me too close to the GFC, I would rather a closed-end fund that has a good degree of liquidity.

I doubt that I will add any significant purchases this year to the UK folio. As the USD/NZD exchange rate is quite in my favour, I will push some cash down south for the next wee while and maybe take a wee holiday from shares. If there was any way I had the self-control, I would leave it all alone and “go bush” for a while and let it do its thing. Does going down to Stewart Island count as going bush?

Must get my life sorted out now as I hop onto my last leg of flights to NZ. I had the pleasure of enjoying a row of seats to myself last night in front of a deportee from the UK being escorted to Dhaka (there were five escorts and one medic). Needless to say, he wasn’t a happy Chappy and had a narrow vocabulary consisting of Mother F c k r on repeat. Having had a 20 hour stopover, I am ready for my ultra long haul night flight. I thank whoever it was that invented noise cancelling headphones.

nizzy
30-06-2019, 08:45 AM
BB, enjoy the break and hope you make to Oban and Stewart Is. Wonderful winter weather at moment and with Trump & Xi talking again, we can expect markets to remain upbeat for a little longer...

voltage
30-06-2019, 10:10 AM
BB you use investment trusts, how do they now compare with the many ETFs available. I use Scottish Mortgage as my active manager with a low MER below 0.5%,. I have a few specialist ITs in biotech and health but have been disappointed.

BeeBop
02-07-2019, 06:09 AM
For me, Investment trust have outperformed. BUT I have been careful on my purchase value e.g I buy when they are below their average price/NAV AND I select strong performance over 1 yr, 3 yr, 5 yr and 10 yrs. SMT has outperformed over the long-term so I am guessing that you bought in on a high. I own MNKS (little brother to SMT) and it has performed exceedingly well for me. I chose it over SMT as it is more diversified and is less exposed to the high tech stocks that have suffered recently. Of course, both SMT and MNKS are long term holds, not for those that can’t weather a down year. SMT has certainly outperformed it’s global passive index (Global IT) over 10 years.

The two screenshots below are of SMT and come from www.trustnet.com

10654
10655



I read this article only a day or so ago, and I think it provides good reading on the topic https://www.trustnet.com/news/7457517/us-market-only-efficient-over-the-next-quarter-says-blue-whales-yiu?utm_source=Trustnet%20Newsletters&utm_campaign=345e906ead-20180107_weekend_07012018_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_2314bd04ee-345e906ead-77298025

I do have one ETF (on the US exchange), and it is IGF which is an infrastructure fund. I purchased this as an ETF as I couldn’t find any Investment Trust that clearly outperformed the index. There are many listed trusts that are merely index trackers (and I have held them too until I wised up to the indicators, in fact, I think that my Merchants is barely better that tracking the FTSE100 but it is more reliable in a downmarket and has a better yield and 130 yr strong performance history).

BeeBop
02-07-2019, 06:30 AM
BB, enjoy the break and hope you make to Oban and Stewart Is. Wonderful winter weather at moment and with Trump & Xi talking again, we can expect markets to remain upbeat for a little longer...

Nizzy;

Thank-you, I have booked and paid for the trip over - super keen on visiting Ulva Island there too.

Thankfully, I have been super busy so have not been spending too much time looking at the markets....mostly focused on preparing another wee property and have been in my ‘grease monkey gloves, swandri, beanie, and 1994 car with old tapes beating out of the ‘stereo’ with my wind-down windows!!...that is what I call a holiday.

BeeBop
03-07-2019, 05:46 AM
BB you use investment trusts, how do they now compare with the many ETFs available. I use Scottish Mortgage as my active manager with a low MER below 0.5%,. I have a few specialist ITs in biotech and health but have been disappointed.

Voltage

in my morning reading today, I have just read this article and thought of your post. I have done very nicely out of JEO, and as an IT it has performed way above its passive index meaning that its fees are not really an issue (for me). However, my big issue is always being aware of its holdings; in particular its very high exposure to Wirecard and by a lesser amount RELX (the main reasons I bought in) AND the fund manager’s name/reputation.

https://citywire.co.uk/investment-trust-insider/news/why-darwall-hopefully-isn-t-doing-a-neil-woodford/a1246578?re=65905&ea=1111324&utm_source=BulkEmail_Investment+Trust+Insider+Dail y&utm_medium=BulkEmail_Investment+Trust+Insider+Dail y&utm_campaign=BulkEmail_Investment+Trust+Insider+Da ily

Recently, Neil Woodford’s Fund has been a disaster for investors. Many investors went with him due to his reputation and he was confident, forgetting (in my opinion) that he was managing other people’s money and that the fund was more of a “patient” fund (you may or may not get the pun). Many, also, believe in Nick Train’s fund which has around a 100% premium on it, again, investors piling in on the brand and history alone. We all know what happens to those who think the past predicts the future. So for me, I am a constant watcher of the fantastic funds as I don’t want the manager to be the value....it should be the holdings.

Short Update on Folio

On another note: I sold my index fund IGF on the NASDAQ 30 minutes ago. It has performed very nicely in my four month holding, was in USD, and the GBP has just dropped again (or more likely the USD has strengthened), so the money is going over to my child’s school fees, 0% interest, forward school fees account, to pay for the 2020/2021 fees, which puts me nearly two years paid up in advance. The cash in the hand, where there is a financial target to meet is fundamental to my sanity and ability to invest. I can buy some more IGF in another market lull when I am gathering USD again.

And today is my last morning of wearing my grease-monkey gloves, old beanie, and driving the old car. I have to done my shirt, blazer, and jump on an aeroplane again ready for a bit of face-to-face property work for a couple of days.....soon after, though, I get my kid off an unaccompanied minor flight from the UK, we slip on our Swandri’s, gummies, beanies, and get ourselves to Stewart Island. The financial market can palpitate all it wants as I will have no short-term bad debt, I have school fees, and have cold hard cash in my pocket from selling old stored stuff on trademe!

All the best, and enjoy investing, just don’t look short, or get caught short!

BeeBop
17-07-2019, 10:10 AM
A bah humbug now....I finally took the bullet and sold my Jupiter India fund. I got a bit caught out with this one due to the takeover of Internaxx which meant that I got hit with increased fees due to the non-compliance of the unit trust (note: I don’t like unit trusts, I prefer listed investment trusts). In addition to that, the fund has not performed well due to the manager having predominantly domestic stocks in India which are not enjoying the growth that the export sector is getting.

As I am trying to concentrate the growth folio, it made sense to sell this. It is a tiny holding and the holding costs are about GBP100 per year, the same cost as my entire folios costs for using Internaxx. So a 14.10% loss has been swallowed (but hasn’t really dented the bottom line just my ego).

Now the challenge is where to put the funds....I think I will add to my CAML (Central Asia Metals) holding as it has no stamp duty, pays around 5.5% dividend, is kind of emerging, is well undervalued, and increases my exposure to commodities.

BeeBop
24-09-2019, 07:10 PM
Over the past three months, I have turned my hand to hard manual labour, and a bit of outdoor hiking. With the markets in the state they have been in, it was a good solution to prevent any mishandling by me. My wee sojourn to Stewart Island was superb and a short stop in both Gore and Invercargill added a lot of interest: thoughts are stirring about a return to rural roots which may actually be a possibility if this accidental property developer pulls off the biggest project in their lifetime (and doesn't end up in a desperate state in the process). The little unit I "lightly refreshed" is now rented, my NZ car stored with gumboots and tools inside, I have finished hiking 100 miles in more northern climes and have returned to the heat of the Middle East and my large iMac with spreadsheets and accounts to complete.

So where are my share folios now? The UK based growth one is essentially where it was in early June, the more conservative one is up a tad, and my NZ folio is up considerable thanks to my penchant for high yield purchases. Other than my opportunistic buy and sell of a US listed global infrastructure fund, I have kept my active fingers off the folios. Exchange rates have been superb for me at the moment with both the NZD and the GBP achieving good lows, I was able to fund one renovation without taking on debt and nearly complete cash gathering for the 2021/2022 academic year (important risk mitigations for the family). Meanwhile with the drop of the OCR, the NZ folio skyrocketed for me. So much so, that now I am beginning to wonder if it is even worth holding on to it as I only really have one growth stock in the folio - maybe I should revert to my old practice of "banking the gains" into a mortgage? Hmmm not the best yield approach but it may well allow me to sleep better at night - the yields on the shares are now barely better than a good bank deposit and the share prices are possibly fair to overvalued. Sometimes I wish someone could tell me what to do! Let us see what happens over the next two weeks or so.

And will Saudi retaliate against Iran, even more jets flying over head now: not only the US grey ones, but also the more local white ones...watch those oil prices!
Invest well and stay patient and take a risk here and there.
BeeBop.

GTM 3442
26-09-2019, 03:20 AM
If you're keen on the U.K. maybe have a look at US Treasury Bills/Bonds (3-7 and >20 years) denominated in GBP thru an Irish-domicile ETF.

CU71 and IBTL have done OK for me YTD

BeeBop
27-09-2019, 12:23 AM
If you're keen on the U.K. maybe have a look at US Treasury Bills/Bonds (3-7 and >20 years) denominated in GBP thru an Irish-domicile ETF.

CU71 and IBTL have done OK for me YTD

I will take a look at both of those. I have quite a bit of GBP cash earning 0% sitting on the sidelines that is looking for a fairly conservative and less volatile home...both of those options may be stamp duty free too.

BeeBop

GTM 3442
27-09-2019, 07:47 AM
Just remember that it's bl**dy sensitive to the exchange rate.

GBP/USD can be a two-edged sword.

BeeBop
27-09-2019, 04:32 PM
Just remember that it's bl**dy sensitive to the exchange rate.

GBP/USD can be a two-edged sword.

Agree, but for me the GBP is the final resting place for the money: independent school fees, hopefully university fees, and most probably a house all to be paid out for in the UK. I think we are lucky (at the moment) with the benefit of a USD income stream - on the right side of timing.

Also happy for the current USD/NZD exchange rate too, makes a bit of a change from around six years ago!

SBQ
02-10-2019, 09:00 AM
Agree, but for me the GBP is the final resting place for the money: independent school fees, hopefully university fees, and most probably a house all to be paid out for in the UK. I think we are lucky (at the moment) with the benefit of a USD income stream - on the right side of timing.

Also happy for the current USD/NZD exchange rate too, makes a bit of a change from around six years ago!

My preference is holding USD in these turbulent times. Can't say much about the GBP as it's been relatively flat to the NZD for the past 5 years, though there's more potential for the GBP to plummet over Brexit.

School fees? What's wrong with public schools?

The NZD is weak to the USD because the NZ economy isn't doing well and potentially we could see under $0.50 in the next 2 - 5 years. How does this translate to the person that has lots of USD or GBP cash? Well you may benefit on the exchange rate but you realise that you do live in NZ and everything you consume and do will go up in price. Inflation is tied to NZ's currency because we simply can't produce everything and since most imported products are based in USD, the retailers are forced to raise prices, and thus inflation becomes a problem.

On the grand scheme, NZ residents won't be doing as well as overseas residents like in N. America. We are plagued with over-regulations, FMA, FIF, AML, etc. The only charm NZ has left is investing in real estate, where the gains can be tax free. But for most places around the world, the principle residence is tax free.

GTM 3442
12-10-2019, 05:45 PM
If you're keen on the U.K. maybe have a look at US Treasury Bills/Bonds (3-7 and >20 years) denominated in GBP thru an Irish-domicile ETF.

CU71 and IBTL have done OK for me YTD

I had to move quite fast yesterday to get shot of these two bond ETFs and lock in the gains when the GBP went above USD1.24. I hope that it's not a one-day wonder!

I left the money in the GBP-denominated S&P500 ETF though.

Now comes the issue of what to do with all those pounds. . .

BeeBop
15-10-2019, 06:50 PM
I had to move quite fast yesterday to get shot of these two bond ETFs and lock in the gains when the GBP went above USD1.24. I hope that it's not a one-day wonder!

I left the money in the GBP-denominated S&P500 ETF though.

Now comes the issue of what to do with all those pounds. . .

Currency changes get me but the opportunities at the moment are high and you are quick (as you seem to have been). If you felt like keeping your pounds and knew which way the GBP was going to go in the future, there could be some good opportunities in the UK market itself as there is a lot that is currently undervalued plus some significant swings e.g. take a look at Lloyds on Friday, it finished up 12% and that was from lunch-time (paying around 5% at the pre-lift yield). Small caps are going well too....although, if it were me, I would probably explore some kind of GBP denominated EFT that had predominantly UK based companies AND it paid a good dividend (?IUKD). Maybe the GBP will recover enough before the NZD does and the money can be transferred back to NZD if that is a better home for it.

I am not good in bonds and wonder if the values will start to come down exactly when I buy them. Yours look good but much of the gain has been made?

Unfortunately for me, I have been absolutely absorbed in my 'other' project where I need to dig and fill some big holes in the ground.

Sold up some good yielders on the NZX as the values had got too high and the cash was better used in reducing my risk exposure e.g. how high can CEN go? Thanks to SCL (bought on its Jan 3 low), Milford div income, and Mr Orr; you lined up nicely for me. But I am sad to have sold as they are good long term holds but me, I, at this point, have a better investment use for the money.

voltage
15-10-2019, 07:58 PM
Hi Beebop, you seem to have great knowledge on investment trusts. I own: BIOG.LSEBiotech Growth Trust, WWH.LSEWorldwide Health and Templeton Emerging. I have been quite disappointed the returns with these specific trusts and wonder if it is more prudent to have a couple of global investment trusts. Any recommendations? I do own Scottish Mortgage. What sites do you use for info on ITs?

BeeBop
16-10-2019, 01:42 AM
Voltage: I really can't recommend anything and neither would I want to (nor should you take anyone's recommendation as often that is how you can go wrong) but I can say that you do have the "popular" ones and they are the ones I avoid, for no good enough reason other than usually at a premium. For instance, two years ago one youthful chap, who was full of information and 'experience' told me I was doing things wrong and I should be in Neil Woodford's Funds....yeah, right mate! He did put his money where his mouth was and invested his modest earnings into the fund (and only that fund); needless I say anymore?

If you read through this conversation you will see the ones that I own and I own them for good reason but they are my reasons, my risk and in some cases my future gazing (speculation) and I could be as wrong as I am right. Also, and early learning for me was to purchase when they are on a discount to their "normal pattern"....not just on a discount to NAV but running well below where they historically have been without a good reason. SMT at the moment is probably at a low due to the global financial angst and you do seem to be quite focused on tech/growth. I didn't choose SMT but selected its more balanced counterpart (own much of the same but more diversified); MNKS.

I use: lemonfool . co . uk and morningstar . co . uk and trust net . co .uk as my main references/data sources amongst other solid sites/magazines (investor's chronicle).

I really don't want to rehash what I have said before.

I no longer have any major emerging market funds (I lost out on India because I wasn't patient enough), I changed my WWH to BBH, I did have a healthcare property fund but it was taken over ($$$$ for me), and I have MNKS instead of SMT. My strongest performance has been from MNKS followed by a small cap fund called BlackRock Throgmorton and my Japan fund has done nicely but has stagnated of recent times...have bought more.

I suspect you could have bought at a market high point? The past year has really delivered very little in these types of funds - that is why I have some dividend payers. AND why I have activities in other markets e.g. the NZX has delivered very very nicely especially on those shares that were bought when everyone else was running.

At the moment, if you are at least treading water or up around 5 - 10% on the past year, maybe it isn't too bad on a global fund basis. On the NZX....the story can be double that for those with more focused share selections.

Then again, good old global balanced dividend paying ETFs...I loved my short hold in IGF on the US market (just the exchange rate benefits for me were too good not to sell!).

BeeBop
16-10-2019, 07:37 PM
Voltage: I just happen to be in a coffee shop drinking coffee (as one tends to do) and reading the 13/9/2019 issue of Investors Chronicle (I buy my issues on my NZitunes account) and your funds were reviewed. Seem IC have dropped BIOG due to performance issues but I suggest you download the magazine’s issue and read for yourself.

voltage
16-10-2019, 08:35 PM
BeeBop many thanks, will do.

BeeBop
17-10-2019, 01:39 AM
My preference is holding USD in these turbulent times. Can't say much about the GBP as it's been relatively flat to the NZD for the past 5 years, though there's more potential for the GBP to plummet over Brexit.

School fees? What's wrong with public schools?

The NZD is weak to the USD because the NZ economy isn't doing well and potentially we could see under $0.50 in the next 2 - 5 years. How does this translate to the person that has lots of USD or GBP cash? Well you may benefit on the exchange rate but you realise that you do live in NZ and everything you consume and do will go up in price. Inflation is tied to NZ's currency because we simply can't produce everything and since most imported products are based in USD, the retailers are forced to raise prices, and thus inflation becomes a problem.

On the grand scheme, NZ residents won't be doing as well as overseas residents like in N. America. We are plagued with over-regulations, FMA, FIF, AML, etc. The only charm NZ has left is investing in real estate, where the gains can be tax free. But for most places around the world, the principle residence is tax free.

If you read my "chats" you will know that I am not based in NZ and I have distinct reasons for GBP.

As for government schools....many countries do not have the general privilege that NZ has with mostly fantastic schooling. If my kid was to go public here, she would be fully covered (except for face) and the international schools are an "expat bubble"....no dirt, no independence, and extremely restricted subject choices (great for a budding engineer, doctor, or lawyer, but not a budding farmer or "world famous actor/ress").

Prior to Brexit hitting the headlines, I did 'store" USD but now the chance to gather GBP has been too good. Further to that, buying NZD directly has been superb. Unfortunately, I am not a quick enough, nor smart enough, expert to figure out how to optimize my USD/GBP/NZD opportunities.

And yes, NZ residents are not doing as well. We were kind of encouraged off-shore as there were no good employment options for us unless we wanted to enjoy the "lifestyle". Just chatting to another academic who has finally decided to leave NZ's fair shores after decades of funding grant applications...offered a place in a great institution and no funding to apply for...get on with the job taking a longview.

So, I DON'T live in NZ and probably another poster or two (on this particular thread) do not live in NZ. But one day, our cash will come back, our spending will be there and hopefully I can return a well educated (at personal as opposed to tax payer cost) young person who believes they are going to work in the agricultural or marine sector.

By the way, I see your location is ChCh: I spent a couple of months there late last year - fantastic city now!

GTM 3442
19-10-2019, 03:07 AM
I like this thread - I always learn something.

Like BeeBop, I have an actual use for actual pounds to buy actual stuff, so this has been a good year to accumulate them.

I also hold other currencies as cash (AUD CAD CHF SGD and USD) - mainly as insurance against the arse falling out of the GBP or NZD (or indeed both).

No, the cash doesn't pay well (or pay at all for the CHF), but insurance always costs.

Thanks for the Investor's Chronicle it looks interesting, and I suspect we'll all need all the help we can get with the UK in the near future.

BeeBop
19-10-2019, 05:30 PM
I wonder what next week will hold for Brexit. BeeBop is doing a little "family" holiday to the UK and Ireland.....crossing back from Ireland to Northern Ireland on the 31st (to avoid any issues)....on to London on the 1st.....Prepaid most of the holiday costs when the GBP was down at 1.23-1.24....we shall take any currency opportunities on offer

Must explore Whitbread shares again....as constantly using the Premier Inn chain....GBP30-40 per night, can't be beat, although I am sure my entire global human network partake in the PI T4 at Heathrow (even works well as a London base if One can be bothered with a 40 min underground journey costing GBP3.20): take that as a London travel tip and use SIXT rental car which is very close and saves using shuttles (but only ever book when you are on a UK VPN to ensure you don't get caught with the extra insurance charge on collection).

I wonder which way Brexit will swing?

GTM 3442
20-10-2019, 12:44 AM
I wonder what next week will hold for Brexit. . . . . . . . I wonder which way Brexit will swing?

Too many people have too much invested in Brexit for it to be allowed to come to come to any conclusion this early in the piece.

On the bright side, I expect your Vodafone UK SIM card will continue to work in Ireland and the rest of the EU just as seamlessly as it currently does for some time yet. . .

In the meantime, I have to decide what to do with a swag of pounds. GBP invested as GBP in the UK economy, or GBP invested elsewhere in the world in a GBP-denominated ETF or fund.

Possibly hedged by some other currency invested in the UK via a CHF/Euro/USD/whatever-denominated fund.

Or buy palladium again?

The possibilities are endless.

Travel safe.

Snow Leopard
20-10-2019, 01:17 AM
...Must explore Whitbread shares again....as constantly using the Premier Inn chain....GBP30-40 per night, can't be beat, although I am sure my entire global human network partake in the PI T4 at Heathrow...

What I particularly like about PI T4, apart from being able to keep your Airport luggage trolley in your room, is the range of discounts, specials & freebies available in the restaurant that the promise of a reasonable tip reveals.

I can recommend SIXT, Avis (I still get a special business rate from them) and Enterprise can be very competitive for medium term rentals.

BeeBop
21-10-2019, 04:09 PM
What I particularly like about PI T4, apart from being able to keep your Airport luggage trolley in your room, is the range of discounts, specials & freebies available in the restaurant that the promise of a reasonable tip reveals.

I can recommend SIXT, Avis (I still get a special business rate from them) and Enterprise can be very competitive for medium term rentals.

Snow Leopard....maybe PI T4 will serve up as a ShareTrader meeting point! I shall check out Enterprise’s medium term rates....I like their wee Vauxhall Adam cars...much better than the Fiat 500s if I am getting a city car.

BeeBop
07-11-2019, 03:56 AM
I had to move quite fast yesterday to get shot of these two bond ETFs and lock in the gains when the GBP went above USD1.24. I hope that it's not a one-day wonder!

I left the money in the GBP-denominated S&P500 ETF though.

Now comes the issue of what to do with all those pounds. . .

GTM

What did you decide to do with your GBP, or have you kept it in your S&P500 ETF (which also will have done well over the past week or so)? I was checking out your EFT bond funds that you sold....if I am correct, your timing was impeccable!

BeeBop

GTM 3442
07-11-2019, 03:54 PM
GTM

What did you decide to do with your GBP, or have you kept it in your S&P500 ETF (which also will have done well over the past week or so)? I was checking out your EFT bond funds that you sold....if I am correct, your timing was impeccable!

BeeBop

Hi BeeBop.

Yes, good timing.

I have been dithering about those pounds, and have done nothing but think.

I have read and heard from a lot of people that come Brexit Day, the arse is going to fall out of the UK financial markets, and that the pound will sink like a stone.

I'm not so sure. I think that there is as much uncertainty in the air as there is pessimism, and I wouldn't be surprised if things went the other way - with a rise in the UK markets, or the pound, or both.

So there is a lump of pounds looking for a home. I'm just too undecided to take a bet on of what will happen should Brexit ever happen. Let alone a Labour victory in the upcoming election. I don't think Jeremy can win, but I do think that Boris can lose.

So I have the FTSE in pounds
VUKE Vanguard FTSE100

and also pounds in:

IH2O iShares Global Water ETF
IHCU iShares S&P Healthcare
VUSA Vanguard S&P500
Also Diageo (I'm trying to drink myself rich on duty-free whisky)


But I am looking at buying the FTSE in something other than pounds. . .

Have a great day

BeeBop
20-11-2019, 06:11 AM
Hi Beebop, you seem to have great knowledge on investment trusts. I own: BIOG.LSEBiotech Growth Trust, WWH.LSEWorldwide Health and Templeton Emerging. I have been quite disappointed the returns with these specific trusts and wonder if it is more prudent to have a couple of global investment trusts. Any recommendations? I do own Scottish Mortgage. What sites do you use for info on ITs?

Spotted this today FYI: from citywire: “Biotech Growth (BIOG (http://citywire.co.uk/investment-trust-insider/investment-trusts/investment-trust-factsheet.aspx?FundID=2790)) has slipped to its widest discount in three years as shares in the underperforming investment trust fail to respond to a recent upturn in fortunes.The £335 million listed fund closed at 752p yesterday at a 10% discount below its estimated net asset value (NAV) of per share of 838.4p on Friday, according to Numis Securities.
In a note to investors this morning, Richard Harris of broker Cantor, highlighted the discount which he said was the result of ‘a rebound in NAV [net asset value] since early October’.
The discount is wider than the 7.4% average discount at which the trust has traded in the past 12 months. It gives BIOG a ‘Z-score’ of -2.3 which, if sustained, will likely put it in our ‘cheap’ list (https://citywire.co.uk/investment-trust-insider/news/investment-trust-watch-patient-capital-slides-to-new-low-on-fund-wind-up-fears/a1294564?section=investment-trust-insider&linkSource=article-body) of this Friday’s Investment Trust Watch.”

GTM 3442
22-11-2019, 04:40 PM
Ha! Funny!

Earlier this year I had some money (pounds) in a GBP-denominated, Irish-domiciled biotech ETF – BTEK iShares IV PLC NASDAQ US Biotech UCITS USD(GBP) Acc.

It did OK, but I pulled it out to dabble in the GBP-denominated US bond funds. However I’ve been thinking about going back in – it’s started to show encouraging price movement over the past fortnight or so.

Looking at BTEK and BIOG, 25% of each fund is made up of these four -

Amgen Inc
Gilead Sciences Inc
Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc
Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc

Which, I guess, just goes to show how small the investable universe actually is, once you start focussing on specific sectors.

And out of idle curiosity, I wonder how you go about working out the discount/premium to NAV for an ETF – or if that’s even possible

BeeBop
23-11-2019, 08:21 AM
GTM...It probably is not possible to work out an ETF discount as it is a tracker of the collection of asset’s NAV, whereas a trust is a unit in a collection of assets. The reasons I like the ITs is because of this window of discount/premium opportunity plus the “theory” that someone/some group is piecing together an intelligent collection of assets. Whereas the ETF scene is more subject to the vagaries of market mood.....that said, both lots are relatively volatile at times especially when the media wants to swing the reading public into a new mood.

And yes, many of the funds are made up of the same components. For the medical arena, I selected BBH.L as it had a different mix and a consistent dividend, although, I did buy Gilead twice on its cycles (nice small gain both times).

I have just taken a look at my UK portofolio and the universe has started changing. My fantastic Monks, remains fantastic, however, the languid BlackRock Throgmorton (small caps) has been on a rocket base in recent weeks.....it now threatens Monks for dominant position in the folio. I never would have thought that.

I think I should try and understand these bond funds more. Please keep posting about your moves on them as it is good to learn something new.

GTM 3442
23-11-2019, 05:13 PM
Like you, BeeBop, I have a use (a need even) for pounds for use in the UK .

So, having decided that I’m going to have pounds, the question becomes where do I hold those pounds as they accumulate.

Cash? It pays nothing. But at least there’s no exchange rate risk.
Shares? That’s another post.
Bonds? Useful for diversification. I’ll put my hand up and plead guilty to a fondness for diversification across asset classes.

But there’s “quality” to consider. Having seen my mother become increasingly exposed to Hanover Finance in the early 2000s, I rate “quality” as important, and am prepared to balance interest rate against credit rating. I think of it as insurance, and am prepared to pay the premium.

Plus, at times of share market volatility, there’s a flight from shares to bonds at the asset class level, and a flight from junk to government within the asset class.

I remember in the GFC when bonds from Infratil, Hellaby, Silver Fern Farms, and others could be picked up at yields well into double figures, while NZ Government Stock went in the other direction. Government-guaranteed South Canterbury Finance bonds at a 25% yield? Oooooooh! Yes please!

But back to the point - whose bonds?

Well, if you’re looking for quality, you can’t go past government, can you? Given the world’s desperate search for yield, coupled with existing government bond interest rates globally (minimal to negative – I mean Argentina being able to sell a 100-year bond - come on!), and the likely trend, this points toward the US government, where the Fed has been raising interest rates, while at the same time the President is looking to lower interest rates. Who will win? And what will it mean for the yield curve? So I buy much but not all of the yield curve, settling on three timeframes

So for bonds, I settled on 3 timeframes:

30-90 days
3-7 years
20+ years

The various forms of tax floating around mean steering clear of the US and the UK, and the fact that I’m buying in pounds means that a US or UK domiciled fund is off the table, except for the 30-90 day US Treasury Bills, which aren’t available outside the US and the USD. Why not break the rules at the beginning, eh?

So knowing whose bonds, and knowing the duration, the currency, and the domicile, it’s simply a matter of trawling Morningstar to find the right vehicle .

iShares run appropriate ETFs out of Ireland, denominated in pounds, which suit me fine, but here are other domiciles.

The exchange rate is important

I know the average value of my pounds in USD, and it’s relatively easy to construct a matrix of fund price and exchange rate which you can plug into a spreadsheet to tell you the effect of the combination of exchange rate movements and fund prices, which gives you entry, accumulate, decumulate, and exit points. After all, if the GBP/USD goes from (say) 1.21 to 1.29, your fund is worth a whole lot fewer pounds!


GBP/USD rises, Fund price rises
GBP/USD rises, Fund price falls
GBP/USD falls, Fund price rises
GBP/USD falls, Fund price falls

So to summarize – pick your asset class, pick your duration, pick your vehicle, and work out what the effect of currency movements will be, and do daily data entry.

And never forget that timing and exchange rate are incredibly important

Joshuatree
23-11-2019, 05:35 PM
Thanks give us a heads when the timing and exchange rate are right.

GTM 3442
23-11-2019, 05:44 PM
Valuing an ETF

I suppose it's possible,but its likely to be extremely inaccurate. The fund manager of an IT knows the portfolio composition on a daily basis, and can mark to market on that basis.

With an ETF, you as a retail punter generally only know what the actual portfolio composition was as at the end of the last reporting period. So whilst you can mark to market, you're probably doing so based on old, out-dated, information, and assuming that the ETF is a 100% fit to any underlying index.

So I guess that yes you can, but why would you?

GTM 3442
23-11-2019, 05:54 PM
Thanks give us a heads when the timing and exchange rate are right.

Currently:

CU71.L on Yahoo! at GBP103.49
IBTL.L on Yahoo! at GBP4.1133
GBP/USD on Yahoo! at USD1.2837

You now have the data, human - time to take a deep breath and enter the matrix. . . .

GTM 3442
23-11-2019, 05:55 PM
Thanks give us a heads when the timing and exchange rate are right.

Currently:

CU71.L on Yahoo! at GBP103.49
IBTL.L on Yahoo! at GBP4.1133
GBP/USD on Yahoo! at USD1.2837

You now have the data, human - time to take a deep breath and enter the matrix. . . .

Toulouse - Luzern
24-11-2019, 10:15 AM
Like you, BeeBop, I have a use (a need even) for pounds for use in the UK .

So, having decided that I’m going to have pounds, the question becomes where do I hold those pounds as they accumulate...


The exchange rate is important

I know the average value of my pounds in USD, and it’s relatively easy to construct a matrix of fund price and exchange rate which you can plug into a spreadsheet to tell you the effect of the combination of exchange rate movements and fund prices, which gives you entry, accumulate, decumulate, and exit points. After all, if the GBP/USD goes from (say) 1.21 to 1.29, your fund is worth a whole lot fewer pounds!


GBP/USD rises, Fund price rises
GBP/USD rises, Fund price falls
GBP/USD falls, Fund price rises
GBP/USD falls, Fund price falls

So to summarize – pick your asset class, pick your duration, pick your vehicle, and work out what the effect of currency movements will be, and do daily data entry.

And never forget that timing and exchange rate are incredibly important

Looking at the matrix, it does not look correct.

What do you think.

GTM 3442
25-11-2019, 11:32 PM
Looking at the matrix, it does not look correct.

What do you think.

Dunno.

My immediate concern is with the result of the upcoming UK election, and whether to buy the FTSE in dollars, the S&P in pounds, or to sit on my hands until B-Day.

GTM 3442
05-12-2019, 07:00 PM
Well, I had a short detour to look at Brazil, but the rocketing IBOVESPA is balanced by the plunging real, so no, nothing to see here, move along please.

In the UK, with the strengthening pound, it seems as if a short-term punt on the FTSE100 in an ETF denominated in USD is in order.

I'm anticipating a Conservative victory in the election with a small but workable majority, and a subsequent euphoric rally in the FTSE and the GBP.

Fingers crossed.

On the other side of the world, the Australian bank term deposits are coming due, but the current Australian TD rates aren't worth having. So I think I'll ship the AUD to Luxembourg and put them into an Australian government bond ETF. No change to the asset allocation, no change to the currency diversification either. And with the RBA looking likely to cut rather than hold the equivalent of the OCR, there's the possibiity of a small uptick in price.

BeeBop
17-12-2019, 06:29 PM
Hopefully you made your moves soon after your post.

My lazy inaction has paid very nicely, well into double digit gains on horribly undervalued stocks and funds over the past two days - even accounting for the improved GBP value. My highest gains have been in Lloyds, Merchants, and Throgmorton, with the others doing very nicely also (but they were not as badly undervalued).

I have started returning spare USD to NZD to "earn" interest in my flexible loans (currently funding my property development activity)...might as well leave it there and transfer to the UK to pay school fees....better saving interest payments in NZ than over contributing to a UK bank account giving me 0%.

GTM 3442, again, you did really well on selling your bond funds when you did.

GTM 3442
18-12-2019, 09:13 PM
Sometimes the best course of action turns out to be doing nothing. Congratulations on your creative and well-rewarded inertia!

For me, I also see this as a year to remit NZD to take advantage of New Zealand interest rates.

BeeBop
01-01-2020, 05:42 PM
BeeBop is happy with how the portfolio progressed through the year. All credit goes to near absolute inertia as Mr GTM 3442 has noted.

I had not intended to be so hands off but with the unpredictability of Mr Trump and Mr and Mrs Brexit, I had little choice, unless of course I had felt that I could more wisely predict the future than anyone else.

As the folios were growing, I realized a nasty wee loss in my AIM listed EMR share at -60% - these things have to be done sometimes! The proceeds were put into Lloyds down at 54p due to the high dividend payout rate and my lack of interest in seeking a growth based home for it. In hindsight, I think I did the right thing as LLOY.L are currently trading at between 62 and 65p.

The real winner for me since mid-December has been THRG.L (BlackRock Throgmorton) which is a small cap growth trust...its performance is beginning to threaten the leadership of my MNKS.L (Monks) holding.

So now I question what my new year moves will be. The income folio (for child's education) requires no action other than reinvestment of dividends which will according go into either SLI.L, MRCH.L or LLOY.L; I don't think I want to do anything interesting here merely hold the slow and fairly steady growth (if I regard growth in a 2-year timeframe and ignore the volatility). The growth folio may get a few more pennies as leftovers from unspent cash get directed to the UK. Maybe I will find a new trust that is at a discount and in the tech sphere - who knows - but the folio has experienced a 20% upswing since 12 December!

Then again, comes the bigger question, do I continue to hold? I tell myself that I will, my rules say I will, but it is incredibly tempting to take all profits in the growth folio out of the market and secure them in NZ (at a secure exchange rate) within one of my mortgages. But no, I won't do that because I don't need to!

Anyway, this year looks to be another year of carry-aboard living along with long-distance hiking. Counting up my NZ days (due to family issues), I am getting close to the maximum days allowable as a non-resident....but never fear....careful flight pricing means that I can fly from the UK back to the Middle East (go figure pricing?) and down to Asia on one ticket, spend a couple of weeks there and then fly on to NZ optimizing travel and days! It won't be hard to work while eating several bowls of noodles in a vibrant Asian city.

BeeBop
08-02-2020, 02:27 PM
Another month has past and the volatility remains. I have been investing in shares since 1996 and other than 2001, I can not remember volatility to this level when you account for 2018 also. Not even the GFC, for me, was as swing-based as this.

However, the net result is that the folios are certainly on an upwards trajectory. There is not one single share (save my NZX SCT) that is down. BlackRock is full of energy as it shorted Woodford. I also didn’t like the Woodford fund, nor its ‘cult followers’...one arrogant 30 something told me I was naive for thinking Woodford wasn’t the best in his field and I should put everything into his fund! And of course, my trusty Monks...again volatile but up. Several others have come into their own and the dividends are coming in.

I now have a short-list of some ITs that are at an unusual discount to their normal range....so am awaiting cash to buy...

Meanwhile, I am waiting out some days in SEA enroute to NZ as I am not needed anywhere else until mid-February....of course, I am not complaining! Although the Coronavirus fear here is real, very very very real for what looks to be a good portion of the population. One bloke even had a baseballl cap tied around his face - each to their own security, I guess...and it kept his hands away from his nose and mouth (at least).

BeeBop
21-03-2020, 06:58 AM
Whew! What a few weeks. Like most others, I can safely report that my folios are down, and comfortably so, you probably wouldn't miss the "significant ease". During February, I will still comfortably UP, now I am comfortably DOWN.

However, this is where the "hedging" (by accident) has come into play. Our USD are now valuable and we suddenly have around a 10% uplift on our GBP and NZD buying power. Needless to say, as hard as it was through the sharemarket hype-days, I am thankful that we have had a heavy loading in cash. Cash was a necessity for our life-style as we have had a few crisis in the past few years, both political and personal - all now totally eclipsed by Coronavirus.

My energies have been suddenly diverted to keeping my wee family together, somewhat unsuccessfully. The key component was urgently couriered from England to Southern NZ and now is contently tucked in a bedroom with Instagram, Netflix, and a dang USB speaker that was stupidly purchased as a "you made it back" present. The other half of the adult equation is under house arrest in our resident country and I as a non-citizen am barred from entry. Them's the breaks.

So now, I am focusing on my other investments as the shares are just being left alone, as I did in the GFC and after 9/11. All generally good companies with low debt (see I learned through the GFC) and life will return to normal - look at post WWI and WWII - life returned to normal after those global crisis.

Meanwhile, I am off to buy a car. I sold my old NZ get-around for $300 as it was no longer economic to fix - I have spotted a fairly solid 2010 1.4L NZ new car for under $7k that should last me a decade or so.

Safe investing people; wait out the volatility, things will all be okay if we all do our bit.

"The only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time".

GTM 3442
25-03-2020, 05:46 PM
Good luck with the car, congratulations on the family reunion, and commiserations to the other side of your family equation.

In New Zealand, I am following the SSH notices on the NZX to see what the "big boys" are doing - be it buy or sell.

Currencywise, I am getting nervous about the US and it's dollar. If the current COVID19 trend continues, and the current inept political situation continues, I see a possibility of a decline in the value of the USD. So I am looking for sensible countries with sensible currencies, where I can stash some cash under the blanket of a government guarantee or a deposit insurance regime.

I'm not sure whether time is on my side or not. . .

BeeBop
26-05-2020, 01:25 PM
Heavens, this has been a ride and I have still managed to make zero changes. With the low GBP and low NZD there have been some cash transfer opportunities, and I got super lucky to catch 55c US to the NZD a pure good luck, no planning situation.

My conviction stock is doing poorly and sits at its purchase price down 80% from its all time high! Buffet would suggest I buy more, as would its fundamentals, but it made up such a large portion of my growth folio, I shall not put any more in.

And of course, my big treasure, the baby brother of SMT, Monks, it goes from strength to strength and is toying yet again with its highs. In hind site, I could have even have traded it. But I am an absolutely useless trader that I don't bother trying.

On another positive side, my healthcare holding is feeling quite perky and I am up about 25% from purchase price excluding my 5% yield from it. BBH.L.

All of the others are uninteresting except for Lloyds bank that has successfully stopped dividend payments and dropped 20% but I don't think I will loose my shirt....Mr Lloyd will pop back up at some point.

And I am still very fortunate to be 'stuck' in NZ!

Happy times to you all.

voltage
04-06-2020, 08:52 PM
Beebop, I also take an interest in investment trusts. I have SMT and looking at purchasing Monks and Edinburgh Worldwide which specialise in global smaller companies. I compare with global ETFs and these funds outperform long term and are a great way to get a global spread. I find the likes of Bankers available on the NZX are similar to index funds in performance.

BeeBop
26-09-2020, 06:56 AM
No doubt, it is probably time to do an update. Although, there has been so much change it is difficult and at the same time, rather simple.

In short, the UK folio has lost its gains from January 2020 and is effectively sitting in a neutral position - all very very boring! Significant rises in Monks Investment Trust and Shin Nippon have off-set significant losses in my Standard Life Investment Property and Lloyds holdings! So net out a fairly good result for the UK market.

Accordingly, my activities have completely changed! My focus has been on the NZX and my 'other' project (property based). Being 'trapped' in NZ has helped both, and in one way, I think, rather blessed. COVID did not help some aspects of property, so being NZ based meant that I could step up/in and resolve some significant issues. Now I am back on track and the market seems to be on some powerful steroids.

Overall, I am incredibly thankful that our household planned for potential disaster. I was able to recover young teen from the other hemisphere (for a five month 'holiday'), establish a comfortable living arrangement in NZ, and get on with a COVID restricted life.

Never, ever, ever, ever, will I doubt keeping cash on hand. Never, ever, ever, ever, will I doubt attempting to have a bolt-hole in NZ.

Hopefully, my UK folio is nicely positioned for a post-COVID and post-Brexit recovery...meanwhile it can continue to pay me dividends and support accommodation costs in the UK. Meanwhile, the NZX folio is strong and providing a goodly degree of fun.

BeeBop
29-12-2020, 09:29 PM
Now I am out of NZ and have time on my hands again...leaving business running with a capable project manager in place!

So time for a further update....what is there that I can say! An absolutely wild ride! My star performers remain stars with MNKS up 125%, BGS up 50% on the year. The gains with these and others certainly outweigh my big cap losses (Lloyds and Standard Life Investment Property Trust). Overall the UK folio is up 16% as of this morning which is pretty good going for the sluggish plague island. I have changed my Merchants Investment Trust into another trust (Mercantile which is more FTSE mid-caps) but due to the weakness of the USD/strength of the USD, I am not buying any more GBP so not adding new cash to that folio - I am now buying US shares and funds (looking for lower volatility though).

NZX, of course, has been doing exceedingly well and other than adding some small recovery stocks and an emerging markets ETF, I have left well enough alone there.

SMT holders will have done extremely well - there is a good write up in the recent Investor's Chronicle!

Swala
31-12-2020, 01:02 PM
Now I am out of NZ and have time on my hands again...leaving business running with a capable project manager in place!

So time for a further update....what is there that I can say! An absolutely wild ride! My star performers remain stars with MNKS up 125%, BGS up 50% on the year. The gains with these and others certainly outweigh my big cap losses (Lloyds and Standard Life Investment Property Trust). Overall the UK folio is up 16% as of this morning which is pretty good going for the sluggish plague island. I have changed my Merchants Investment Trust into another trust (Mercantile which is more FTSE mid-caps) but due to the weakness of the USD/strength of the USD, I am not buying any more GBP so not adding new cash to that folio - I am now buying US shares and funds (looking for lower volatility though).

NZX, of course, has been doing exceedingly well and other than adding some small recovery stocks and an emerging markets ETF, I have left well enough alone there.

SMT holders will have done extremely well - there is a good write up in the recent Investor's Chronicle!
Thanks for heads up on SMT article. This is my favourite of all my investments and the last I would ever consider selling!

BeeBop
01-01-2021, 09:10 PM
Thanks for heads up on SMT article. This is my favourite of all my investments and the last I would ever consider selling!

Swala - SMT's baby brother - MNKS - also a Baillie Gifford is my favourite too. It isn't as volatile, with lower returns but not by a lot. I spent ages deciding between the two. Overall, I think that BG are an exceptional financial management group. Recently some of their other ITs have outperformed their peers also.

BeeBop
03-02-2021, 04:55 AM
I am now closing my thread. The UK market has really picked up and my value proposition has paid great gains overall. To close, my best performer has been Monks Investment Trust and my worst, Lloyds. I still hold both!