Member Info for Meconopsis

I’m out.

I can no longer see the strategy from the reports and RNS.

It’s the only thing in portfolio that I feel a need to keep an eye on.

So, it’s gone. At a loss.

I’ve reinvested in something I have a greater conviction in.

I wish you all well. And hope that I’m wrong.

“ My prediction post dividend tomorrow is £5.25 because this FT100 share is worth much more than it's current price. JP Morgan might put in a pathetic £5.00 value, ignore that this will be £7.00 in a matter of weeks , this is an FT100 share that is going to BOOOOM SOOON gl everyone. Harry”

As the short bloke would say…

…”Welcome to Fantasy Island”…

As much as I’m fully onboard with this share…

…no. No. No.

And thrice no.

My dividend has turned up in iWeb, but seems to be handled differently than previously.

Previously, it showed as cash until it was reinvested.

Now, it's not showing at all, but if you go into Dividend History then it's shown there as "Automatic Dividend Reinvestment". It's marked with today's date - so definitely late.

So, if you can't see it then have a look under Dividend History. This should apply to Lloyds and Halifax.

“ The term 'greenwashing' springs to mind....I don't know if it is apt or relevant in this case.”

Nigel Wilson’s ‘thing’ has always been “inclusive capitalism”, which translates into deploying capital in an attempt to improve society through investment.

Viewed through that lens, the factory-built housing was an attempt to make a meaningful impact on housing supply and quality.

A key challenge, for Calla and other builders, has been the perception of town planners that off-site construction = pre-fab = cookie cutter samey samey housing. Town planners generally prefer stuff to be imperfectly and inefficiently built on site in the belief that it has more “character”.

Personally, I think it’s great that they tried. After all, in any portfolio of investments there will be successes and failures.

HGT have just posted a very good video update on RNS. Very clear and concise.

@greygeorge and @casapinos - you are both right.

@greygeorge - I think the key point about bonds held by a life insurance company is that they (generally) match liabilities that are hard to walk away from - ie. you can’t cash in an annuity.

The “generally” is in brackets because not all bonds match liabilities and vice versa.

But, in the broad sweep of things, life insurance businesses are less bond price sensitive than (say) banks.

“What a boring company. :)Online is here to stay and paper packaging is about as green as it gets.”

Isn’t ‘boring’ what we’re here for?

My point about PHNX was about sustainability of dividend.

From The Sunday Times, 14 March…

“ How sustainable is that dividend? Phoenix has business generating £12.1 billion of free cash, after the repayment of debt and interest costs. That would cover the present £500 million cost of the annual dividend as it stands for more than 20 years without Phoenix writing any new business or M&A deals.”

I agree that LGEN is the better business in terms of potential.

“I can’t find any other ftse100 company that has anything like this.”

I fundamentally agree with your post.

PHNX is probably the purest play in this area - and has even more forward dividends secured.

Interestingly bullish post on RNS this morning!

Before we get too excited about buybacks and divis, it’s worth bearing in mind the following statement reported by Reuters alongside the half year results:

‘Blanc said Aviva was looking at acquisitions in commercial insurance, adding that the Lloyd's of London (SOLYD.UL) commercial insurance market was "something that we have looked at...an area that we are certainly interested in".’

“ DorsetLSE - I'd seriously consider moving those Fundsmith shares over to I class. You've obviously had a poor experience with a previous transfer by HL (no huge surprises there), but in my experience the process is normally reasonably smooth”

FWIW - I’ve found that interactive investor has manage to strike a good balance between price and competence - my and other friends’ transfer have been smooth and angst free.

iWeb was a nightmare every time.

The good news is that a witching between OEIC unit types IS NOT a capital gains event.

See - https://techzone.abrdn.com/public/investment/Guide-Taxation-of-Collectives

Halifax, Lloyds and iWeb are all the same underlying platform run by Halifax. All that differs are the charges - with iWeb generally the cheapest.

Whether a % fee or fixed fee is better for your SIPP very much depends on the value of your SIPP. iWeb have two fee levels and fantastic value for larger pots. The last time I looked, HL would have charged me £5k a year versus £360 at iWeb.

One thing to consider is how far from decumulation you are. iWeb’s drawdown mechanism is both rubbish and expensive as you have to pay every £180 time you want to make a change to your drawdown arrangements.

iWeb are very good value for ISAs as they have a fixed fee for setting one up and then no annual fees. They often discount the fee in the run up to April.

Interactive Investor are expensive for ISAs, but very good value for SIPPs and drawdown is both slick and free to manage.

In summary, if you have a larger SIPP pot then accumulate in iWeb and decumulation it in Interactive Investor.

Swallow the iWeb ISA fee and keep it there.

“I like HG Capital Trust too but decided to go for HVPE because it’s far more diverse and less tech focused.”

And I like HG for exactly the opposite reasons! Just goes to prove that there’s something out there for everyone :)

"So does nobody else have any tips to share on how they’ve diversified to help offset the risk/reward inherent in SMT?"

My SIPP is split 70% in dividend shares and 30% in growth plays.

I'm semi-retired and two years out from needing to access income from my SIPP. It might be slightly longer, but it's good to have a concrete timescale.

In two years time, my dividend shares *should* generate 200% of my retirement income need. They are currently generating 165% of that income need. That gives me headroom for economic shocks and companies messing up. At some point I'll take a view on whether to reinvest any "excess" in growth plays.

In principle, the dividend shares should allow me to sleep at night.

The growth plays are very tech focused - 15% (of the SIPP total) in the L&G Global Tech tracker; 10% in SMT and 5% in HG Capital Trust.

SMT and the L&G tracker have relatively little overlap. HG and SMT provide exposure to unlisted companies.

I've a strong conviction in tech and a belief that over-diversification tends to dumb down portfolio returns to average. Your view will vary.

In principle, the growth stuff should, well, grow faster than the dividend shares. I'll re-evaluate when/if I get to a 50:50 split.

Ask me in five years time if what I'm doing is stupid.

“… you will be selling them to someone who thinks it's the right time to buy SMT shares.”

That’ll be me.

It’s important to look at the reported 1, 3 and 5 year returns from any potential investment. But it’s also important to remember that any returns are personal to your own holding period. If something isn’t up on the year, but you managed to buy on a 15% dip then you’ve made 15%. And, equally, you might be sat in a whole world of pain in the same period.

I’ve avoided SMT for the last 3 years because I thought there was too much froth in the valuation.

Now I think there’s too little.

“ You are not comparing like for like - is the bank bond 6% ROI over the 2 years or per annum?”

As of yesterday, you can get 6.2% for a one year bond from NS&I.

“The nurses and teachers have become the poster children of the poor, when the reality is they earn well over the national average.”

In truth, few of my friends and relations who are nurses and teachers understand or appreciate that their holidays; job security; or platinum-plated pensions. They are worth at least 50% on their salaries.

“…but I bet I could do a better job of defending my opinion than most of the herd followers that pay the obscene wages.”

That doesn’t even make sense.

If you were so good at defending our opinion then you might have more people agreeing with you.