June 2014: Portfolio Update.

So we're at the halfway point of the year and as things stand my portfolio, the Merchant Adventurer's index, is down -1.59% for the year to date and lagging the FTSE100's flat -0.09%.

An number of dividends landed from BAE, William Hill, Centrica, Microsoft, Morrison's, and BP, which means that the capital returned to my portfolio in 6 months of 2014, almost matches the total received in the whole of 2011 (2013 Dividends profiled.),
Of course it should be noted that this also includes a one-off amount received from Vodafone as part of the post Verizon Wireless restructuring.

Back to my portfolio and there is a small initial investment in Barratt Developments, as I take on the view that impetus will remain behind Housebuilders as the economy returns to growth. This may seem a little late to the party but we shall see. My view is that dividends in this sector will continue to recover as a more stable environment establishes itself in cashflows.
However, it is a more cyclical sector than I like as fortunes ebb and flow with interest rates and political will. 
There is also the periodic concern of maintaining landbanks as current holdings are consumed, which obviously become more costly inline with house prices which, in turn, squeezes profit margins along with higher labour costs as the sector approaches capacity.
I plan on making a further top up in July.

As you would expect with a fall of- 0.90% in the month, there isn't too much upside to discuss. But its nice to see my index's fall of -0.90%, better the FTSE100's -1.47% fall, which, hopefully, suggests a return to more normal performance relative to the FTSE100.

Merchant Adventurer's Index
			Forecast	1 month	YTD	42 mth
	Price	% holding	Div. yield	% gain	% gain	% gain
R-R	1069.00p	30.56%	2.17%	2.79%	-14.58%	62.84%
National Grid	840.00p	14.59%	5.15%	-5.62%	6.60%	51.90%
Aviva	510.50p	11.83%	3.22%	-2.58%	13.52%	51.09%
BP	514.50p	5.91%	4.54%	2.29%	5.42%	13.57%
Apple **	$650.51	6.84%	0.26%	2.78%	14.24%	52.33%
Vodafone	195.00p	2.11%	5.85%	-6.92%	-22.71%	-22.71%
Verizon **	2981.57p	1.54%	3.61%	0.00%	7.43%	7.43%
IG Group	587.50p	4.17%	4.36%	-2.33%	-4.63%	23.11%
William Hill	328.00p	2.95%	3.75%	-7.76%	-18.39%	78.09%
Imperial Tobacco	2630.00p	2.91%	5.32%	-2.30%	12.49%	16.42%
BAT	3478.00p	2.60%	4.20%	-3.40%	7.41%	3.69%
General Electric **	$26.28	2.01%	2.91%	-1.90%	-7.61%	60.35%
Microsoft **	$41.70	2.02%	2.31%	1.86%	9.78%	39.01%
BAE Systems	432.90p	1.71%	4.76%	2.32%	-0.48%	31.18%
Centrica	312.60p	1.55%	5.63%	-6.85%	-10.09%	-5.73%
SSE	1567.00p	1.71%	5.71%	0.71%	14.38%	27.92%
Morrisons	183.40p	0.91%	7.16%	-9.07%	-29.73%	-31.46%
BG Group	1235.00p	1.42%	1.49%	1.15%	-4.82%	-4.71%
Tesco	284.20p	0.90%	4.94%	-6.37%	-15.00%	-28.76%
Barrat Dev.	373.70p	0.67%	3.67%	6.18%	6.18%	6.18%
Cash		1.10%	0.00%
		100.00%	3.34%
				1 Month	YTD	42 mth
Virtual Portfolio gain (incl. Dividends)
- 1 month gain   2124.30 -	2105.28			-0.90%
- YTD gain         1644.62 -	2105.28				-1.59%
- 42 month gain 1264.20 -	2105.28					66.53%
- 54 month gain 1000.00 -	2105.28					110.53%
FTSE gain (excl. Dividends)
- 1 month gain   6844.55 -	6743.94			-1.47%
- YTD gain         5897.81 -	6743.94				-0.08%
- 42 month gain 5971.01 -	6743.94					12.94%
- 54 month gain 5412.88 -	6743.94					24.59%
Transactions:
02/06/2014	Div	BAE @ 12.1p per share
07/06/2014	Div	William Hill @ 9.65p per share
11/06/2014	Div	Centrica @ 11.78p per share
13/06/2014	Div	Microsoft @ 12.5p per share
11/06/2014	Div	Morrisons @ 8.31p per share
20/06/2014	Div	BP @ 5.83p per share
23/06/2014	Buy	Barrat Dev. @ 351.94p
Notes:
*     US Dividends are adjusted for exchange rate and 15% withholding tax
**   Sterling : Dollar exchange rate = £1: $1.67563 as at month end Chart wise, its still looks like my index is on an earlier uptrend established in 2012 and therefore, a stronger uptrend than the FTSE100.

Click to enlarge, close to return.

So the half year report reads as slightly disappointing, with a few concerns regarding underperformance: Tesco, Morrisons, BG, but signs of consolidation (supported by dividends), as we enter the second half.

Previous Posts:
- May 2014: Portfolio Update.
- April 2014: Portfolio Update.
- March 2014: Portfolio Update.
- 2013 Dividends profiled.
- February 2014: Portfolio Update
- January 2014: Portfolio Update
- December 2013: Portfolio Update.