Thursday, November 30, 2006
YTD: -2%
I will be glad when 2006 is behind me.
Oil has dropped dramatically in price this month, forcing my largest shareholding, SOCO International, back down below £14, the lowest it has been in months. NCipher rallied recently above 300p on bid speculation only to fall away again when nothing came of it. Fayrewood continues to malinger (how many times have I written that?) and I will be glad when this frustrating investment is behind me.
I need new investments to earn returns for what is left of this year and the next. The problem is, everything I have looked at is nearly always just too expensive. Like Touchstone, Gladstone (two different companies) and Pilat Global.
On the short side, I recently took out a spread-bet that Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone retailer would see its share price fall. So far, that bet looks to be coming good but is not included in the returns calculation you see below.
Bah, humbug. Bring on the New Year. 2006 has been a near disaster.
End of October 2006:
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (104p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (104p)
NCipher, 25/04/2006 at 233.5p (257p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1101.5p)
+ cash holdings
(that SOCO figure above is definitely wrong...)
as of close of trade today:
End of October 2006:
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (92p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (92p)
NCipher, 25/04/2006 at 233.5p (263p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1349p)
+ cash holdings
return for the year to date = -2%
(0) comments
Oil has dropped dramatically in price this month, forcing my largest shareholding, SOCO International, back down below £14, the lowest it has been in months. NCipher rallied recently above 300p on bid speculation only to fall away again when nothing came of it. Fayrewood continues to malinger (how many times have I written that?) and I will be glad when this frustrating investment is behind me.
I need new investments to earn returns for what is left of this year and the next. The problem is, everything I have looked at is nearly always just too expensive. Like Touchstone, Gladstone (two different companies) and Pilat Global.
On the short side, I recently took out a spread-bet that Carphone Warehouse, the mobile phone retailer would see its share price fall. So far, that bet looks to be coming good but is not included in the returns calculation you see below.
Bah, humbug. Bring on the New Year. 2006 has been a near disaster.
End of October 2006:
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (104p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (104p)
NCipher, 25/04/2006 at 233.5p (257p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1101.5p)
+ cash holdings
(that SOCO figure above is definitely wrong...)
as of close of trade today:
End of October 2006:
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (92p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (92p)
NCipher, 25/04/2006 at 233.5p (263p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1349p)
+ cash holdings
return for the year to date = -2%
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
YTD: +0%
+0%. That looks like short-hand for some new-fangled way of signing off an email. It is in fact my return for the year so far, so badly hammered by my gross error with Invox but buoyed by successes with SOCO International, SVB Group (now Novae), Chaucer and more recently, NCipher.
My returns for the year would have been approaching +20% if it hadn't been for the Invox debacle. I bought shares at something like 93p, 80p and 50p and sold the whole lot for 23p. Terrible.
Look at that, four winners for the year and one loser. That's forgetting Fayrewood, whose shareprice continues to malinger and do nothing to improve returns. My aim for the year has to be to find some more investment opportunities and hope the shares I hold come good.
End of March 2006:
Chaucer Holdings, 06/10/2003 at 42.88p (75p)
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (104p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (104p)
Invox, 10/01/2006 at 93.13p (66p)
Invox, 09/02/2006 at 81.5p (66p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1101.5p)
+ cash holdings
End of October 2006:
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (104p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (104p)
NCipher, 25/04/2006 at 233.5p (257p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1101.5p)
+ cash holdings
an embarassing return so far this year of 0%. Must do better.
(0) comments
My returns for the year would have been approaching +20% if it hadn't been for the Invox debacle. I bought shares at something like 93p, 80p and 50p and sold the whole lot for 23p. Terrible.
Look at that, four winners for the year and one loser. That's forgetting Fayrewood, whose shareprice continues to malinger and do nothing to improve returns. My aim for the year has to be to find some more investment opportunities and hope the shares I hold come good.
End of March 2006:
Chaucer Holdings, 06/10/2003 at 42.88p (75p)
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (104p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (104p)
Invox, 10/01/2006 at 93.13p (66p)
Invox, 09/02/2006 at 81.5p (66p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1101.5p)
+ cash holdings
End of October 2006:
Fayrewood, 15/04/2005 at 112.5p (104p)
Fayrewood, 19/04/2005 at 111.5p (104p)
NCipher, 25/04/2006 at 233.5p (257p)
SOCO International, 13/03/2006 at 869.5p (1101.5p)
+ cash holdings
an embarassing return so far this year of 0%. Must do better.
