LM portfolio as at 28/06/2024:
| Code | Sector | Date Bought | Cost | Value | Gain/Loss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LM055 LM055-2 LM055-3 |
General Financial | 11/01/2023 02/05/2023 20/12/2023 |
£3850 | £6520 | 69.45% |
| LM058 LM058-2 LM058-3 |
Support Services | 17/01/2023 20/07/2023 23/04/2024 |
£4060 | £4640 | 14.19% |
| LM061 LM061-2 LM061-3 |
Aerospace & Defense | 20/02/2023 13/10/2023 08/02/2024 |
£3820 | £4770 | 24.82% |
| LM071 LM071-2 LM071-3 |
Construction & Materials | 24/07/2023 22/09/2023 29/01/2024 |
£3840 | £4630 | 20.60% |
| LM078 | Banks | 03/01/2024 | £1270 | £1440 | 13.83% |
| LM079 | No specific Industry | 22/02/2024 | £1270 | £1450 | 14.25% |
| LM080 | Media | 27/02/2024 | £1290 | £1330 | 3.12% |
There's no easy way to say this so here goes - the portfolio value has been decimated. The bank is back down at March 2022 levels.
Which is disappointing to say the least.
Since the last update 5 positions have been closed at a combined loss of just under £400.
LM075 was closed on the 3rd June for a loss of £133.29. The share was INPP - International Public Partnership.
I also closed LM076 and LM077 on the same day.
All three of these trades were experimental and not placed using my typical rules for purchasing shares. I'd watched them all for several weeks after they had made 52 week lows and then made an initial purchase when their prices closed over their 200 day SMAs.
It was an experiment and in these 3 cases it didn't work. In the end I held them for about 5 months and as they didn't do anything I sold them - for reasons I'll go into shortly. The other 2 shares were N91 (Ninety One PLC) and SXS (Spectris PLC).
Last Monday (24th June 2024) I closed off two more positions - LM081 which was ANTO (Antofagasta PLC) and LM082 (AV., Aviva PLC).
The ANTO position made a small profit of £50.16 and the Aviva position lost £77.02.
So now the LM portfolio is left with the above 7 positions and each one is looking pretty healthy.
Unfortunately that's the only good news. Those 7 positions represent the only value left in the portfolio - aside from a little bit of cash (think very low 3 figures).
Despite my best efforts I have been forced to withdraw some money from the LISA, something that was always a worse-case scenario for me.
I had mentioned before that my contract was being finished early. In fact it was finished 8 months early because of severe budget issues and restructuring at the organisation I was working for.
Over the last 3 months it has become clear that the UK job market in my industry is very, very quiet. There are hiring freezes galore, vacancies have been cancelled and people told that anyone leaving will not be replaced. For some reason sentiment has changed and everyone, everywhere has suddenly panicked and decided not to take the risk of hiring anyone new - even short-term, temporary workers (contractors) like me.
Those who do have job vacancies seem to be acutely aware that it is a "candidate-heavy" market and so this has led to two problems:
One: They can offer lower wages than the recent past as there are lots of people looking for work. Employers can squeeze the market at the moment because new jobs are at a premium.
Two: They can be very, very choosy. Ridiculously choosy. I, like everyone else in the world, am not an expert in everything but the job descriptions I am seeing are asking for the universe and its surrounding stars yet offering only paltry wages.
In addition to blasting my CV everywhere I've plumbed the depths and signed up for Linkedin, such is my eagerness for a new role.
It's not a great website - I don't like social media full stop - and as soon as I am back in work I'll close the account.
Aside from being irritated by seeing all kinds of idiots I used to work with now being in ridiculously fancy sounding jobs, I have seen plenty from recruiters despairing about the antics of hiring managers. They find the perfect candidate but then won't pull the trigger because they feel they need to see a few more people. Or they find someone who has everything they need for the role but then decide they need more experience in some esoteric software no one has ever heard of.
My days at the moment consist of searching for jobs, applying for jobs, checking Linkedin (for as short a time as is necessary to get it done), running my betting software and revising for industry-relevant exams. I figured I'm out of work so I may as well use the time to get some further certifications... whichever employer is smart enough to hire me after this will get a bargain...
But in the end the bills still need paying and with no income I had no choice but to raid my precious LISA.
This is a disaster, no doubt, however I cannot help but feel relieved that I have this rainy day fund to fall back on. It was never supposed to be an emergency fund but needs must.
Once I get back into gainful employment I'm going to work my behind off to get the portfolio back to where it was - and then higher than ever before.
If anyone reading this is in the same position of underemployment then my thoughts are with you. Best of luck with your job hunting, something will show up, it always does.