2017

One blog post in 2017 - my annual review of 2016.  I didn't buy or sell any shares.  I've invested in some funds (KLP Emerging Markets), and perhaps I should treat those the same as shares - after all, I recorded my ETF investments in the past, and there's little functional difference between a unit trust and an ETF - but I've decided not to.  It's my blog, after all: I get to decide.

In sterling terms my shares were up 21% over the course of the year vs ~11% for the FTSE 100.  In USD I was up about 33% vs ~22% for the S&P 500.  In NOK I was up 27% vs ~18% for the Oslo Bors All-Share.  So I outperformed to the tune of 9-11%.

My biggest holding, Berkshire Hathaway, broadly matched the S&P 500 and FTSE 100.  Natwest Preference Shares had a good year, climbing to £1.72 from £1.36 at the start of the year, and paying the usual 9p in dividends, for a total return of 33%.  But the real star of my 3-share portfolio was Plus 500 Ltd, climbing from £3.96 to £9.08, paying 89 cents in dividends, and as a result returning 155% in total.

What will 2018 bring?  I think Plus 500 are looking fairly valued, and they face various regulatory and operational risks, so if I may sell them to lock in my profit.  Natwest Preference Shares are now yielding just over 5%, so no longer obviously cheap, but I have no immediate urge to sell, since I don't have any obvious place to reinvest the proceeds.  I expect to continue holding Berkshire Hathaway unless stockmarkets spiral to yet giddier heights and I opt to switch into cash in anticipation of a crash - shares are already on pretty outrageous valuations, but so are all the alternative asset classes.

At the end of 2017 my portfolio comprises:
- 73% Berkshire Hathaway
- 21% Natwest Preference Shares
- 5% Plus 500 Ltd