This page lists my holdings as of December 2024 and summarises my overall investing approach.
A quick overview
In short, I’d like my portfolio to fund my retirement. I’m in my mid-50s at the moment and I suspect I will be working in some form or another for at least another decade. I plan to stay fully invested after I retire, largely living off my portfolio’s income.
I would class my portfolio as slightly conservative but still capable of decent growth. I also want it to be fairly low maintenance, so I lean towards holdings that I can hopefully leave undisturbed for several years at least.
But I wouldn’t say I am completely wedded to any particular investing style and I expect to keep learning and adapt my portfolio accordingly as the years go by.
Going global… with some themes on the side
Based on these broad aims, most of my portfolio is in global investment trusts and funds. Up until December 2024, I held an investment in Keystone Positive Change but as it is being rolled over into its open-ended sister fund I decided to sell it and reinvest the proceeds after several of my existing holdings.
For a little extra growth, I’m investing in a few themes that I like such as UK small-caps, technology, and biotech/healthcare. I’ve got a bit in infrastructure and renewables as well, to provide a little stability and income. I also have a position in a venture capital trust (VCT), but I tend to group that with my UK small-cap trusts as it largely invests in the same sort of companies, plus a very small amount in a crypto investment company that trades on the more lightly regulated Aquis Stock Exchange.
Overall, my investments are still somewhat weighted towards the UK. I reckon about 25% of my underlying holdings are UK-listed businesses, primarily through my small-cap and renewable/infrastructure positions, which is a lot higher than the 4% or so you’d get with a standard global tracker.
In addition to investment trusts, I also own an exchange-traded fund and a couple of open-ended funds. My wife and children also have some investments in global index trackers.
In terms of other assets, a decent chunk of my net worth consists of residential and commercial property. Therefore, I am not 100% exposed to equities. I also keep the usual ’emergency fund’ of cash to cover unexpected expenses. I don’t own any fixed-income securities (i.e. bonds and gilts) although given the rise in rates we’ve seen over the last year that may change in future.
My strategy
I don’t trade very often, typically just a few times a year, and when I do it’s usually to top up a holding I already own. Part of my portfolio is held in taxable accounts so some of my trading is geared towards tidying up these positions, often selling them in a taxable account and repurchasing them within an ISA or SIPP.
Some folks like to trade their investment trusts a bit more actively, perhaps looking to take advantage of discount moves, but I don’t tend to play that game. I’m looking for long-term trends and strategies instead. As Charlie Munger famously said, “The first rule of compounding is never to interrupt it unnecessarily”.
In terms of position sizes, I don’t have any strict limits but I prefer to have no more than 20 separate holdings so that each investment can make a meaningful contribution and I can devote a reasonable amount of time each year to see how everything is progressing.
I tend to avoid market timing as most evidence I’ve come across seems to show it’s extremely hard to do that successfully on a consistent basis. That means I’m usually fully invested and I reinvest dividends pretty soon after they are received.
I’ve written about my investing strategy in more detail, outlining what I am aiming to do and how I plan to do it. You can find my portfolio reviews here, where I track my performance against global equity, global 60/40, and UK index trackers, plus an index of around 200 investment trusts.
My portfolio
None of the investments listed below, or anywhere else on this site, should be considered as buy, hold or sell recommendations. That’s also why I tend to avoid stating any specific position sizes.
Please note that I am not registered to give any kind of financial advice and what I think suits my investment purposes and my risk tolerance may not be appropriate for anyone else.
As the saying goes, you should always do your own research.
I’ve organised my holdings into themes:
Global
- Fundsmith Equity (Fund)
- JPMorgan Global Growth and Income (JGGI)
- Lindsell Train Global Equity (Fund)
- RIT Capital Partners (RCP)
- Smithson (SSON)
- Vanguard FTSE All-World ETF (VWRL)
UK Smaller Companies & VCTs
Biotech & Healthcare
Infrastructure and Renewable Energy
Technology
- HgCapital (HGT) #
Crypto
- KR1 (KR1) *
# Hg is a private equity trust but it’s very heavily weighted to technology so, purely for my purposes, I’m treating it as a technology trust.
* KR1, an AQUIS-listed company that is invested in a few dozen crypto projects and often gets in at a very early stage, is a very small position for me and I regard it as primarily a learning experiment.
Trusts I have sold out of entirely in the last few years
- 2019 – City Of London Investment Trust (CTY)
- 2020 – Murray International (MYI) and Princess Private Equity (PEY)
- 2021 – Caledonia (CLDN)
- 2024 – Keystone Positive Change (KPC)
Outside of my personal portfolio, I also have a beneficial interest in Capital Gearing, Personal Assets, TR Property, RIT Capital Partners, and CT Global Managed Portfolio Income.
Disclaimer
Please note that I may own some of the investments mentioned above -- you can see my current holdings on my portfolio page.
Nothing on this website should be regarded as a buy or sell recommendation as I'm just a random person writing a blog in his spare time and I am not authorised to give financial advice. Always do your own research and seek financial advice if necessary!
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Thanks for that excellent review of HG Capital Trust. My investment journey with HGT is very similar. I started investing in the trust in 2008, took up the 2010 subscription offer and continued to add to my holding between 2012 and 2014. Then sold just over half of my shares in 2018 when they were trading on a discount of 6.7% compared with an average 17.7% over the last year. Since then the shares have continued to outperform and occasionally trade at a premium much to my chagrin. Not being well versed in the dark arts of Private Equity I appreciate your efforts explaining complicated things like ‘carried interest’, and the ways of valuing HGT’s investments, but am also very conscious that I have been very lucky with this trust.
I have had a smaller holding in Harbourvest (HVPE) since 2017. Given the latter’s long-term performance, and its substantial discount relative to HGT, I would be interested in your thoughts on why there is such a wide divergence in discounts and whether HVPE might be a better long-term bet over the next 10 years.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts on your investment trust holdings. They are really appreciated.
Thanks Bill.
HVPE isn’t a trust I’ve looked at in any detail before but I’m aware that HarbourVest has backed some pretty big winners in the past.
I would guess that investors like the fact HGT is more focused (and where it is focused) whereas it’s harder to see through to the underlying holdings in HVPE. The latter’s discount has been 15-25% for a long time now, so I don’t think its current discount level is unusual and it seems pretty typical for private equity investment trusts, albeit a little harsh given HVPE’s record.
The fact that HVPE doesn’t pay a dividend and uses US dollars as its base currency might put off some investors as well and maybe result in a slightly higher discount, although both these factors are pretty cosmetic.
I think a few investors got burnt because of the high level of debt many private equity investments carried into the global financial crisis and so they still treat net asset values across the sector with a little suspicion, especially as the numbers are often only updated fully every 3-6 months.
What’s more, there’s a long-running debate as to how good private equity returns actually are. Many reports suggest they don’t add any value (above global equities) once costs are taken into account, while other reports reckon they do or that the best returns are concentrated among a small group of super-firms.
All that said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the discount gap between these two trusts was narrower a decade from now.
Edison has a recent review of HarbourVest for those interested in reading more about this trust.
https://www.edisongroup.com/publication/rebounding-nav-liquidity-remains-secured/27856/
This is a great blog with a wealth of information – thanks for sharing. I find your portfolio holdings very useful. Any chance you could put percentage figures/weighting’s against your portfolio holdings?
Thanks, Dave. However, I’ve deliberately not put percentages against my holdings just in case that tempts the odd person into trying to copy what I do — I don’t think that would be a good idea for all sorts of reasons 🙂
I usually just say that the global holdings tend to be largest and the themed stuff the smallest.
No problem. Yours is an inspiring journey and I hope you continue to share it so we all can benefit from it.
Any reason you have not considered either North America or Technology given the returns in the past?
***as a theme I meant.
Hi Dave,
I sort of do North America through global trusts as many of them have a hefty weighting towards this region so I don’t feel the need to add specific exposure on top.
Generally, I’ve steered away from country and regional trusts in recent years as I think they’re harder to call than sectors. That said, China is one area I might make an exception for, as it seems underrepresented in most funds.
Technology is something I have been thinking of adding for a while but the recent rapid gains have made a little cautious about starting a position. Again, I do get a fair amount of exposure through other trusts but delaying on this has definitely hurt my performance a little.
I’m generally quite a cautious investor, though, and only make gradual changes to my portfolio each year.
Thanks. I agree, China is underrepresented. I am interested to know which trusts you prefer when it comes to China.
Hi Dave, I did a piece on China trusts a few months ago: https://www.itinvestor.co.uk/2020/09/china-investment-trusts-come-of-age/
Since then their discounts have narrowed a lot and BGCG has even moved to a hefty premium.
VWRP is the accumulating version of VWRL – is this the better option now?
Hi Will, I guess it might be a better option if you’re planning to reinvest the dividends in the same ETF and want to avoid the expense of doing so, especially when smaller sums if involved.
I haven’t looked into the specifics but I think income tax is still due on notional distributions it’s deemed to make, in the same way they are on the accumulation units of open-ended funds.
Would you mind sharing your thoughts on Airbnb IPO?
Hi Dave,
Only just seen this on Airbnb and the IPO has taken place now. It’s not a business I have ever looked at closely although we’ve used their service for a few trips in recent years. I like the fact it’s been around since 2008 and the founder/CEO is still there but yet to hit 40. The CEO also seems very highly regarded from what I’ve read in passing.
Dear IT Investor, really appreciate your thoughts on ITs.
Wonder whether you ever keep an eye on movements in the institutional shareholdings in various trusts?.
When I see sizeable shareholdings by retail platforms, such as Hargreaves Lansdown, II, and AJ Bell, I regard it as a sign that the trust hasbuilt up a sizeable retail investor following.
However, I also follow changes in the trust shareholdings of anoymous institutional investors, such as 1607 Capital Partners, Wells, City of London Group etc.
A case in point is Brunner Investment Trust (BUT), a relatively small global trust where the Brunner family (founders of ICI) have a sizeable stake. Over the last few months Aviva, the trust’s second biggest shareholder, has been steadily reducing its stake from 17.8%, to almost nil which I believe is one of the reasons why it has retained an above average discount of over 15%.
I noticed yesterday that after Aviva had sold its final stake, and 1607 Capital has emerged with 6.2% stake, making its the second biggest shareholder.
I don’t know anything about 1607, apart from what is on their website, but my sense is that part of their investment strategy is to sniff out trusts selling on above average discounts, and buying them in the belief that the discount will narrow in time.
Would be interested in whether you think this idea makes any sense, and whether you ever incorporate movements in institutional shareholdings into your assessments of the trusts you follow.
Thanks again for your commentary. It is really appreciated.
Hi Bill, I don’t tend to look out for this stuff particularly as I usually take a high-level view of longer-term trends rather than trading in and out of individual trusts where I think the discount might narrow. I might look at big holders if I see it mentioned in an article about a trust I’m researching but I don’t tend to look too deeply as a matter of course.
I know a lot of trust fans like this sort of strategy but I don’t think I’m especially good at it! Nick Greenwood who runs Miton Global Opportunities is one to follow if you like this sort of thing. I think you do need to follow the sector very closely for a long time to make this style of investing work.
I think you’re definitely right about those retail platforms indicating a lot of private investor interest though. I know 1607 were big holders of Keystone prior to the appointment of Baillie Gifford earlier this year. I think they’ve sold down from roughly 13.5% to 9.5% there but they seem to have stopped selling for the time being. A search of 1607 + Citywire shows they have been pretty busy on the activity front at other trusts in recent years and they’re described as having a value slant.
Brunner looks like an interesting one as it’s lagged most other global ITs in recent years so its shareholders may welcome a shake-up. I know Lucy Macdonald left last year after being the manager for nearly two decades as a result of Allianz consolidating its investment teams across Europe. But I think the family owns nearly 30% so it may be hard to push anything radical through unless there is already a split in the family about the direction the trust should take. The discount seems pretty wide but it’s been 10-15% for long periods over the last decade.
If you want to know what makes Baillie Gifford tick it might be worth listening to a longish Investors Chronicle interview with Charles Plowden, a senior partner of Baillie Gifford, who has headed the firm’s Global Alpha team and transformed the fortunes of Monks Investment Trust over the last five years. He is retiring after more than 30 years with Baillie Gifford (BG), and has some interesting thoughts on investing and why BG has been so successful in recent years.
Whilst the likes of Fundsmith’s Terry Smith, Finsbury Income and Growth’s Nick Train and Scottish Mortgage’s Stuart Anderson, are lauded by the media as investment management stars, I think Charles Plowden, who has had a much lower public profile, should be added to any list of top class investment trust fund managers.
The podcast on April 30, 2021, is on the IC website. I think you may have to be a IC subscriber to listen to the interview.
Thanks, Bill. I listened to this over the weekend as it happens and it was definitely interesting. You don’t seem to have to be an IC subscriber to listen — https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/podcasts/2021/04/30/charles-plowden-it-is-too-simplistic-to-say-baillie-gifford-stocks-are-expensive-we-don-t-think-they-are/
He did another one with Moneyweek (might have been a video) a few months ago as well.
Always fascinating and educational.
Gun to your head for a simple global 2 holding portfolio.
Fundsmith (quality) and VWRL (or similar global tracker) split equally.
What do you think?
Thanks, Peter.
Luckily, I can see that the gun’s not loaded so I might duck out of that question 🙂
Obviously, holding both of those myself, I would be somewhat biased anyway!
Hi Stuart
I came across your blog and note the level of detail which you provide is impressive. I am often arguing that the typical retail investor is more sophisticated than many asset management firms like mine give them credit for. I wondered whether you would be interested in taking another look at Rights and Issues now that the new managers, Dan Nickols and Matt Cable have taken over from Simon Knott?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards
Nick
Thanks, Nick. I’m planning to look at RIII for the Money Makers site at some point. Will probably wait until they have been running things for a year or so, although that will be still be early days of course!
Only just discovered this blog, really enjoying it so far. I already listen to the money makers podcast, which I also enjoy.
I have a split personality portfolio, part is in my work DC pension, the rest in an ISA. As the pension isn’t easy to swap and change, I’ve just got 5 funds in there, with most in 2 trackers (global ex uk and uk), the rest is in BG USA (why was I too greedy to sell!?!), Veritas asia and a JPM energy resources fund, all fine over my 7 years other than Veritas Asia which is flagging.
As for the ISA, I sold all my Fundsmith for the L&G Global 100 index fund, but do have SSON as my global small cap, and Mobius for EM. I also have a several more income focused trusts, but am also thinking of selling MYI, as the EM/Asia/Frontier theme is covered elsewhere, and I’ve little interest in bonds…might have a proper look in April.
Glad to hear you are enjoying the blog and the podcast, Sam. I tend to have a similar split with my holdings in that the pension holdings change far less frequently. MYI has had a good run recently – I should have a bit more patience with my holding in it!
Thanks for your update. Always an enjoyable read. Im glad I ditched Artemis Income, Lindell Train and Smithson from my portfolio and due to my retirement in a few years time moved to Vanguards. That said I still keep my nice IT like ATS, JGGI and Caledonian along with Bankers, City, Temple Bar, etc. Im now thinking of when to de-risk my Fundsmith… One thing I will never sell are my VCTs which just keep giving outside a wrapper as tax free divs.