Merchants Share Discussion Threads

[goldpiguk] 16/12/2019 12:35

Hi tim 3,

My Investment Trust ISA holdings are for the long term, so I won't be selling anything any time soon. When I looked at my ISA valuation this morning it had risen another £10,000 since Friday. Will we break new highs in 2020? The UK market has lagged global markets for several years so FTSE is trying to play catch up.

There is plenty for investors to cheer about.

Labour's failure at the election means, utility companies have a future; PLC's won't be forced give away 10% of their equity, which Labour had wanted. Corporation tax will stay on hold next year. Labour had wanted to raise it, which would have hurt dividends.

Leaving the EU is happening, which (although I opposed) has provided certainty to the market. Companies can now plan for the future with more confidence.

The new Government has a large majority, which should ensure a full Parliamentary term as well as making it easier for it to get legislation through Parliament

There are a lot of positives!

Negatives do lurk in the background, mostly concerning trade and trade tariffs. The UK has to successfully negotiate favourable trade deals. The US and China stage 2 trade talks won't be easy.

For the moment I will enjoy the honeymoon. At some point there is bound to be a pull back. As things stand my 2020 ISA investment may be more about timing the market rather than time in the market.

Happy Christmas to all and enjoy this party while it lasts.

Goldpig

[tim 3] 16/12/2019 11:38

Approaching all time highs.

[goldpiguk] 15/12/2019 13:02

Hi chart trader2000,

Thanks for the link to the article above. This is very useful as I have nearly completed building my target holding of 20,000 shares in DIG and am actively researching new Investment Trust holdings for my 2020 ISA subscription and ISA dividend reinvestment.

My current Investment Trust ISA holdings are:
10,000 MRCH shares
19,600 DIG shares
5,000 HFEL shares

I also hold LLOY, HSBA, and not so good CNA and VOD in my ISA.

On Friday I was pleased to see my ISA portfolio value rise to just over £230,000 despite the poor performances of CNA and VOD over the last twelve months.

Monthly income from dividends is not my most important consideration in making decisions on which investment trusts to buy next. Income, dividend reserves and discount to NAV at time of purchase are more important and also diversification within my portfolio, although the UK market still looks good long term value. Expected income from my ISA portfolio should be nearly £14,000 in the next tax year which together with a new £20,000 subscription in 2020 will give a total of around £34,000 to invest starting in April.

The UK relief rally on Friday and strong rise in sterling over the last few weeks provides challenges as well as opportunities for investors. Will the stock market continue rising, or at some point can we expect a market pull back when our new Brexit reality sets in? With 'getting Brexit done' a certainty (I was against leaving the EU), uncertainty was becoming as damaging to the UK economy as Brexit itself. There are bound to be huge changes in the UK economy over the coming years and I strongly believe Investment Trusts like MRCH are well placed to take advantage of the opportunities as well as minimise the damage caused by Brexit.

My current thinking is to split next years ISA subscription between two new Investment Trusts. At the moment I am looking more at trusts orientated towards Asia and global markets, but this could easily change, depending on what happens over the next three months.

Goldpig

[mister md] 29/11/2019 09:59

In a sometimes crazy stockmarket, its reassuring to hold a large chunk of your portfolio in Merchants Trust plc ;)

[essentialinvestor] 20/11/2019 13:34

To be fair I'm guessing IVI has been caught up in the Mark Barnett
underperformance press coverage. It's not run by Mark though and
the portfolio it's markedly different from EDIN and his other funds.


That's one of the advantages of IT's, you can take advantage of pricing anomalies.
Shires income was on a near 15% NAV discount for a prolonged time.

[essentialinvestor] 20/11/2019 12:35

Might question if this represents value on a 0 NAV discount?.
MRCH was available on a 10% discount previously.

IVI is on a 17% discount to NAV, most of the UK focussed equity income
funds are available near 10% discounts.