The dreaded "News at Ten" factor has occurred for one of my trades.
This is the theory among some investors, particularly one I have followed for 15 years or so, that when a share or commodity has a price rise that is covered by the mainstream media it means the rise is likely to end soon.
Imagine my dismay on Monday morning when I see that the third headline on the BBC's website is "Prices soar for a metal more precious than gold".
Before I even read the article I knew which metal it was referring to as I first invested in this metal in June 2019 and then added a second investment in December 2019. It has risen in price steadily for months and I am sitting on a very nice paper profit. My plan was to continue sitting on this trade until I see something which signals it's time to close the trade.
Now I'm worried because it's been covered by the BBC so millions of people will be aware of the surging price. When everyone piles in, it surely must be close to the top.
I have my rules for selling and I will sit tight for now. This week the price has only dropped slightly so I remain in the trade. Nothing I can do and selling now, without any reason to sell, would just be gambling.
And so we wait.
Here's the current position of the LM portfolio:
| Code | Sector | Date Bought | Cost | Value | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM001 LM001-2 |
Equity Investment Instruments | 11/06/2018 16/09/2019 |
£2020 | £2276 | 12.64% |
| LM009 | Gas, Water & Multiutilities | 05/02/2019 | £1010 | £1210 | 19.22% |
| LM012 LM012-2 |
Real Estate Investment Trusts | 20/05/2019 28/11/2019 |
£2030 | £2330 | 14.54% |
| LM014 LM014-2 |
ETF | 17/06/2019 02/12/2019 |
£1950 | £2750 | 40.63% |
| LM015 | ETF | 27/08/2019 | £970 | £920 | (5.21%) |
| LM016 | Travel & Leisure | 29/08/2019 | £1020 | £1040 | 2.57% |
| LM017 | Media | 11/09/2019 | £1000 | £960 | (4.13%) |
| LM018 | Construction & Materials | 11/11/2019 | £1020 | £1080 | 5.92% |
| LM019 | Travel & Leisure | 11/11/2019 | £1020 | £1060 | 4.34% |
| LM020 | Software & Computer Services | 28/11/2019 | £1010 | £1050 | 3.50% |
| LM021 | ETF | 16/12/2019 | £1010 | £930 | (4.13%) |
The site has been redesigned this week although hopefully it shouldn't look much different. All of the changes were made behind the scenes with the aim of making it much easier to manage and update.
Also, a contact email has been added to the bottom of each page should anybody wish to give feedback, ask questions or simply get in touch. Although, looking at the visitor stats I'm not sure anyone has actually visited this site yet!