Greetings from the warmth and sunshine - we're currently on holiday in the Mediterranean for three weeks, and we've already escaped from some prolonged heavy rain at home. I can see via the IP video cameras that it's still pissing down there as I write this post - I'm pleased I cleaned out all the gutters before we left ...
And fortunately we didn't travel with Thomas Cook although there are quite a few people in this particular hotel who did. The younger generations seem a bit stressed out by it all, but the older ones aren't bothered, they're hoping for a few extra days in the sun - the benefits of not having to rush back home simply to turn up for work !
Anyway, here's the usual portfolio update at the end of September 2019 :-
Share / Fund Purchases in the Period
Only WPCT.L, see below.
Share / Fund Sales in the Period
I sold out of RGL.L in July, taking an 18% profit in just over six months. The company held an 1:8 open offer issue in early July with a chance to add to the holding, but the offer price at the time of closing of applications was no better than the market price, so I didn't take up my option and decided instead to bail out altogether after payment of the July dividend. The current price of RGL.L is a few percent below my selling price, and if it drops much further then I might be tempted to buy back in again.
Later in the period, and after initially buying a load more of the shares at 53.2p gross, I sold down my WPCT.L holdings to around 75% of the number I'd held at the start of the period, receiving sale proceeds of 47.6p net per share. This represented a significant loss since the average cost of purchases across several tranches was 68.7p gross.
I'm holding on to the remainder of my WPCT.L for the time being, although I think this is more in hope of recovery than of expectation - there should be more price clarity after Woodford's gated income fund re-opens for trading, which is currently scheduled for December, although the rush for the exits by investors who've been trapped for six months could possibly see the OEIC being wound up, and then market sentiment could hit the IT further.
High Yield Group within SIPP (the HYP)
During the period, I also sold six of the ten holdings from the HYP within my SIPP. I'm still not entirely comfortable holding individual shares, even at relatively small valuations.
BATS,L. VOD.L, GSK.L, SLA.L and CEY.L all showed a profit, but I took a small loss on PSN.L. The average total return of those six shares sold was +11.8%, which seems OK for an eight-month holding period but, since I've now sold all the components that were in profit, the HYP as it remains is currently showing quite a large loss.
If I bailed out totally at current pricing levels then the entire HYP experiment would have made me a total return of only 1% on the initial funding, over a period in which the FTSE100 index has gained 6% and that's excluding dividends.
Over the coming months, I'll gradually sell down the remaining HYP holdings using my broker credits to offset the trading costs, although I might hold on to NRR.L (the sole collective in the HYP) or even increase my holding in this REIT if the price is right.
Passive Income Index
Currently stands at 491.8, which at this three-quarter point in 2019 represents just shy of 90% of the total cash received in 2018, so we're still well on track to surpass last year's passive income stream.
Commentary
Good progress in the period with new portfolio highs reached in July and again at the end of September, despite quite a sharp dip in which the FTSE100 fell 5% between the beginning and end of August, its worst month for a year.
I was concerned that 2019 seemed to be showing signs reminiscent of 2015 and 2018, where strong growth in the early months of the year was wiped out by a sharp slump later.
Of course, a repeat of the 2018 late slide into winter could still happen this year, especially since the Brexit fiasco isn't over yet ...
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