LM portfolio as at 14/02/2025:
| 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 | £8590 | 123.31% |
| LM079 LM079-2 LM079-3 |
No specific Industry | 22/02/2024 16/10/2024 03/12/2024 |
£4310 | £5020 | 16.54% |
| LM084 | Food Producers | 21/10/2024 | £1520 | £1490 | (1.86%) |
| LM086 LM086-2 |
Banks | 02/12/2024 10/02/2025 |
£3040 | £3120 | 2.61% |
| LM087 | Fixed Line Telecommunications | 02/12/2024 | £1520 | £1400 | (7.60%) |
| LM088 | Consumer Financial Services | 06/01/2025 | £1530 | £1440 | (5.68%) |
| LM089 | Investment Services | 06/01/2025 | £1530 | £1460 | (4.55%) |
A second unit was added to LM086 this week as it was looking strong. In fact, many of the shares in the "Banks" sector have been steadily moving higher for the last few months.
Naturally the share price dropped a day or two after I bought the second tranche of shares but this is to be expected. Always happens.
Looking at the portfolio I can't grumble, LM055 is looking very healthy despite being the share that was targetted by shorters late last year. I've invested three units in this particular company and even though it has powered upwards, hindsight is a wonderful thing. I find myself thinking 'I should've added another unit' every time I check the portfolio.
The first unit has nearly trebled, the second has more than doubled and the third is up 75%. Add it all together and in total the position is 123% up. An outstanding result which goes to show the power of pyramiding positions.
I haven't done anything at all to LM055 since December 2023 and it has quietly increased in value month after month. Is this down to it being a wonderful company? No idea. Is it down to people purposely buying it to punish the shorters, as per the Gamestop saga? No idea. Will it continue to rise in price? No idea.
All I know is that the 200 day SMA is currently about 18% below Friday's close price and therefore it would need quite a large downward move before it is sold. In the meantime it is paying dividends so the portfolio rises not just from the share price increasing but also the cash received just for holding the position.
One more week to go in my job and then I move to a new position with a large payrise. I've just done a budget and I should have a small excess each month once I have paid the necessities: household bills, my loan and my "wages". There's about a year left on the loan and I really look forward to getting rid of that. It was for home renovations so all the money wasn't wasted and contributed to an increase in value of the house, hopefully the full £20k, but it made the house much easier to live in and enjoy which is the main thing.
The "wages" I pay myself are a leftover from spending many years as a contractor. Whatever I was paid I typically paid myself a token amount each week for non-household bills and I have carried on doing that out of habit. It also means that if I can stick to paying myself the same amount, even though I've had a large payrise, I will be able to save any excess. This excess should form my LISA payment for 2025/2026.
Seems trivial to talk about finances and shares at the moment - yesterday I went to see a friend who has just moved into a hospice. I've known, and been good friends with, my mate Dave for over 30 years but sadly he has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. Just two weeks ago I met up with him and he was walking around the shop with me buying new pillows for use in hospital. Then this week I got news that he was supposed to be moving into the hospice in a few weeks but they moved it up because he may just have days left.
A load of us went to the hospice yesterday only to see Dave wheeled in in a hospital bed. He's too poorly now to even use a wheelchair.
Cancer can just ravage a body quickly. He can't walk anymore and at times yesterday it was clear he was struggling even lying down in his bed.
Obviously his spirits were lifted seeing a load of his friends getting together and he was trying to keep positive. All this came on when he went into A&E around Christmas in pain and the cancer was found.
So sad.