So as I sit here this evening, laptop on my errr...lap and trying to think of something to write about for you, I have come to the realisation that I just find myself getting far too distracted by, well, anything. Be it the TV, the dog snoring next to me, wondering if I can download the new Call of Duty game, stroking my beard (Mrs CT tells me off for doing this all the time!), literally anything. I think it's because of this I haven't updated you all for a couple of weeks. That and the fact I'm currently jobless, but more of that shortly. Hmmm I think I fancy a brew you know...
Oh sorry about that, I just got distracted for a few minutes. Where was I... Ah yes, distractions! So yeah. as I was saying, I think this is why haven't posted updates for a couple of weeks. Each time I've come to write a post, I've struggled for a topic, then found something else to do instead! I feel my trading goes through similar phases also. I'll start the day off correctly, I'll head over to www.investegate.co.uk and check out the mornings news feeds, jot down any interesting tickers to research later, then when later comes, "oh look is that the time, you know I think I fancy a brew". I can go easily go 2 or 3 weeks like this doing not a great deal more than check my portfolios to make sure nothing disastrous is happening, even then not worrying too much as I've got my stops in place. Now this may seem a bit lazy, and well, yes you're right. I can be a very lazy person at times. But one thing I've noticed recently, this doesn't appear to be of detriment to my trading performance. In fact quite the opposite. As I type this evening, my SIPP is currently sitting at it's highest value since I began some 18ish months ago, the shares I hold within my ISA are up a combined 6% on their respective buy prices and I'm sitting on 25% and 20% cash value across the two respective accounts. So what does all this mean? As things stand it appears to back up a thought I had not too long ago where a "less is more" approach to the markets is the way forward. Now this may seem obvious to those of you experienced enough, but to myself this is becoming something of a revelation. In a world where everyone screams "DO MORE", "WORK HARDER", it feels quite unnatural so takes some getting used. Certainly food for thought if nothing else. Mmm food, I'm a little peckish actually... Doh! I did it again!!! As mentioned at the start of this waffle, I am indeed currently jobless! You probably aren't aware but I am a contractor. Which generally means I get taken on at short notice, for short/medium term projects, before being released at short notice. This has it's very attractive pros, and quite a number of cons (unpaid holiday etc.). Unfortunately the company I was working for previously has lost some vital work meaning some colleagues and myself were deemed surplus to requirements. It's certainly not anyone's fault to be honest with you, just par for the course in our field. I have been lucky however in that I've managed to get hooked up with other work pretty quickly and all being well I will start again this coming Monday. In the meantime I have become a man of leisure! So what does a man of leisure do for a week while his wife is working away? Watch lot's of boxsets on Sky, and spend even more time on the Playstation. Bliss!!! In all seriousness, it's not often I take time off just to sit around doing nothing at home so it has been a very welcome change of pace! Markets Please note I am not tipping any shares and would seriously encourage anyone reading this to carry out thorough research on any company they are thinking of buying!!!!!! Once again I report good news across my two portfolios, they have both been performing well. Indeed my SIPP has grown just over 21% this calendar year and improved by 3.7% in October alone. My ISA remains on course to exceed my target for this year as briefly outlined here "The Master Plan" which is a positive as we move towards the end of the year. I purchased Computacentre (CCC) towards the end of October following a positive Trading Update which showed increased revenues and trading for the year was in line with boards expectations, which had been upgraded twice this year already. Those full year results will be released in March so a bit of time before then but happy to sit on these and all being well they won't drift down in the meantime. XL Media (XLM) had a bit of a dicky time where they appeared to have problems with the dividend payment. The company put it down to a banking error but it appeared to be taking some time to resolve. I did come very close to selling these and indeed gave them until the Friday to resolve. Thursday came and they released news that the issue had been rectified and indeed the cash was in my account within a couple of days. The price immediately surged though it has now dropped off a little since. I will watch these a little closer now as another mistake like that could really hit the value. Robert Walters (RWA) broke out into a 52 week high following their positive update I mentioned last time. That see's me around 10% up on my buy price in a fairly short space of time. Morgan Sindall (MGNS) released their latest update yesterday where it was reported that trading has continued to be strong and full year performance is expected to be slightly ahead of previous expectations. Creightons (CRL) continues it's yoyo price movement, this week it's up, next week it'll probably come back down! Well I finally got there, despite all the distractions along the way, I managed a full blog post! Thanks for reading, until next time... Ian
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AuthorConfessions of a Crap Trader is a blog following a regular investor trying to make profit via the London Stock Exchange. Follow his journey as he attempts to hopefully one day pay his mortgage off in full! Archives
April 2018
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