Well April proved to be a washout for UK markets (in more ways than one) with negligible changes to the FTSE100 or the portfolio.
Spanish, Greek, and European debt problems compounded by political concerns continue to be under the microscope and April saw a bumpy ride for Apple with the stock pulling back from record highs ahead of its 2nd quarter update as doubts were cast about the company's performance going forward.
In the historical short term, Apple once again blew away forecasts which prompted a bounce although the stock has since started to deflate again (buying opportunity perhaps? - Apple: Cheap at 11.4 times 2012 earnings? ).
Spanish, Greek, and European debt problems compounded by political concerns continue to be under the microscope and April saw a bumpy ride for Apple with the stock pulling back from record highs ahead of its 2nd quarter update as doubts were cast about the company's performance going forward.
In the historical short term, Apple once again blew away forecasts which prompted a bounce although the stock has since started to deflate again (buying opportunity perhaps? - Apple: Cheap at 11.4 times 2012 earnings? ).
On the up, William Hill also delivered a well received quarterly statement and romped on 7.65% in the month.
The perceived defensive qualities of National Grid also came back into demand amidst Euro concerns pushing the share price up 5.55% in the month.
Aviva did fall back though with its speculated exposure to European bonds.
The announcement of a management restructuring also had a mixed reception, with unexpected departures of management talent, as did the rumour that it could sell its US operations at a loss.
Grumblings on executive pay put the cherry on the cake and the bottom line is that the shares have lost all of this years early gains although there is also a dividend to account for.
The announcement of a management restructuring also had a mixed reception, with unexpected departures of management talent, as did the rumour that it could sell its US operations at a loss.
Grumblings on executive pay put the cherry on the cake and the bottom line is that the shares have lost all of this years early gains although there is also a dividend to account for.
Supermarkets also continued to be under pressure with industry price wars and Tesco concerns at the fore.
Exchange rates discounted the value of the portfolio's US holdings as the dollar : sterling rate rose to more than $1.62 to the £1 with the old pound note benefitting from perceived confidence in the UK economy as a safe haven in troubled time (bizarre).
Transaction wise there was a small quarterly dividend received from General Electric, and two top up purchases in Aviva and BP which brought the forecast forward yield (if held for 12 months) back up to 3.96% against the portfolio's current valuation.
As a result the portfolio has a cash position of 4.25%.
So what does each holding look like this month?
| Merchant Adventurer's Index | |||||||||||||||
| Forecast | 1 month | YTD | 28 mth | ||||||||||||
| Price | % holding | Div. yield | % gain | % gain | % gain | ||||||||||
| R-R | 823.50p | 32.67% | 2.39% | 1.42% | 10.31% | 70.32% | |||||||||
| National Grid | 665.50p | 17.57% | 5.90% | 5.55% | 6.48% | 22.62% | |||||||||
| Aviva | 308.10p | 8.85% | 8.83% | -5.98% | 1.25% | -9.87% | |||||||||
| BP | 445.00p | 5.84% | 4.60% | -2.35% | -2.05% | 1.73% | |||||||||
| Apple ** | $584.03 | 5.51% | 0.21% | -3.90% | 38.01% | 196.85% | |||||||||
| William Hill | 281.40p | 3.15% | 3.74% | 7.65% | 38.76% | 64.57% | |||||||||
| IG Group | 463.00p | 2.94% | 4.67% | 2.89% | -2.91% | 53.89% | |||||||||
| BG Group | 1450.50p | 2.54% | 1.09% | 0.17% | 5.38% | 33.07% | |||||||||
| Microsoft ** | $32.01 | 2.43% | 2.03% | -2.09% | 18.01% | 27.75% | |||||||||
| General Electric ** | $19.56 | 2.35% | 2.61% | -3.86% | 4.52% | 23.18% | |||||||||
| Centrica | 306.90p | 2.31% | 5.36% | -3.00% | 6.08% | -2.82% | |||||||||
| SSE | 1321.00p | 2.19% | 6.36% | -0.60% | 2.32% | 14.78% | |||||||||
| Morrisons | 280.60p | 2.12% | 4.33% | -5.84% | -13.98% | 10.89% | |||||||||
| Vodafone | 170.50p | 1.98% | 7.44% | -0.99% | -4.70% | 5.81% | |||||||||
| BAE Systems | 295.20p | 1.77% | 6.57% | -1.57% | 3.54% | -7.53% | |||||||||
| Tesco | 317.35p | 1.52% | 4.75% | -3.83% | -21.34% | -20.45% | |||||||||
| Cash | 4.25% | 0.00% | |||||||||||||
| 100.00% | 3.96% | ||||||||||||||
| 1 Month | YTD | 28 Mnth | |||||||||||||
| Virtual Portfolio gain (incl. Divs) | 0.31% | 8.25% | 52.58% | ||||||||||||
| FTSE gain (excl. Dividends) | -0.07% | 2.97% | 6.00% | ||||||||||||
| - 1 month gain 5742.03 - 5737.78 | |||||||||||||||
| - YTD gain 5572.28 - 5737.78 | |||||||||||||||
| - 28 month gain 5412.88 - 5737.78 | |||||||||||||||
| Transactions: | |||||||||||||||
| 11/04/2012 | Buy | Aviva @ 312.2p per share | |||||||||||||
| 20/04/2012 | Buy | BP @ 436.36p per share | |||||||||||||
| 30/04/2012 | Div | General Electric @ 14.46c per share | |||||||||||||
| Notes: | |||||||||||||||
| * US Dividends are adjusted for exchange rate and 15% withholding tax | |||||||||||||||
| ** Sterling : Dollar exchange rate = £1: $1.6235 as at 30/04/12 | |||||||||||||||
And, the usual graphic:
 |
| Click to enlarge, back to return |
Coming back to dividends, there are now quite a few dividends that the portfolio has qualified for but not yet received from:
- Aviva @ 16p per share payable on the 17th May
- BG Group @ 12.96c per share payable on the 25th May
- BG Group @ 12.96c per share payable on the 25th May
- BAE @ 11.3p per share payable on the 1st June
- Centrica @ 11.11p per share payable on the 13 June.
- Rolls-Royce @ 10.6p per share payable on the 4 July.
- Tesco @ 10.13p per share payable on the 6 July.
- Tesco @ 10.13p per share payable on the 6 July.
Added back in (to this updated valuation), these dividends would give the portfolio a further boost of 0.98% on top of the current year to date gain of 8.25%.
Very pleasing.
Looking ahead I still have some funds in the portfolio and could yet be tempted to top up again on existing holdings as I look to build a platform for further gains if global economies can move forward.
And although it doesn't alter my long term view, I am also fighting the feeling that there will continue to be turbulence and value making volatility in the short term.
I am also looking for some signs of economic stability to support the view that my portfolio holdings can at least continue to maintain their dividend payouts.Other than that, I am reasonably satisfied with things at the moment.
Further to that, the added expectation of dividend entitlements to be paid, and further ex dividends to come from William Hill (2nd May) and National Grid (est. 1 June), can only help to galvanise my portfolio at this time.
Related Posts:
- Portfolio Updates.
- March 2012: Portfolio Update.
- February 2012: Portfolio Update.
- January 2012: Portfolio Update.
- December 2011: Portfolio Update.
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