Month: December 2017

2017 in Review

2017 In Review – Portfolio Performance

ChrissPortfolio Posts

Another year, another all time high for UK markets.  Both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE All-Share ended at their highest point ever, with returns of 12% and 13% for the year, respectively.  Before looking at how the portfolio has performed alongside this, let’s get the numbers out of the way.

Year-to-date, my portfolio has returned 42.72%, dividends included.  Since I began it in August 2015, it has returned 65.28%.  I have said all along that so long as I am capable of beating the All-Share index (my benchmark) I will pick and choose my investments.  I’m delighted therefore to say that I have beaten this benchmark again in 2017.2017 in Review

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Valuations Full-Year 2017

CAPE Valuations Full-Year 2017

ChrissCAPE

For those of you following my quarterly CAPE updates, you’ll know I have been tracking the ten cheapest markets worldwide, as listed on starcapital.de.  This post marks the first full year holding a virtual portfolio of nine ETF’s, tracking these ten cheapest countries by CAPE ratio.  So to finish out the year, let’s see how your returns might have fared had you held for the full year.

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Dialog

Dialog Semiconductor: A Reminder to Pay Attention

ChrissPortfolio Posts

Last week wasn’t a fun one for my portfolio, thanks largely to one particular holding: Dialog Semiconductor.  On November 3oth it was revealed that Apple may begin producing its own power chips from 2018, and Apple is Dialog’s largest customer (74% of revenues).  The following Monday, a statement was released from DLG confirming that Apple are in a position to begin producing their own chips.  The share price is down by over 35% since this news first came to light.  So today I am admitting I haven’t kept my eye on the ball with this particular holding.  Let’s look at what happened.

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Write

Why I Write, And Why You Should Too

ChrissGeneral Musings

Recently my website hit its fifteen month anniversary.  I have now been writing for well over a year, endeavouring (and occasionally failing) to publish something once a week.  The past few weeks, however, have been a real challenge.  Work has been exceedingly busy, and if I’m honest I’ve been finding it tricky to summon the motivation to write.  It makes sense to me now why so many bloggers eventually stop writing.  It’s hard.

My valuation last week of XL Media ran to approximately 1800 words, and took around four to five hours to write.  This may not sound particularly troubling, but fitting it into a full-on, full time job means it is occasionally a struggle.  That being said, I’m not giving up.  It’s too valuable.

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