Member Info for MrMath

It was worth a try, but too low ...

Will hold, as usual, and still doing well with this share. Since the market always knock down the price by the value of the dividend on the Ex-date (14.63p in our case) regardless of whether the share price is 300, 200 or 100p, I feel that when you are starting from already a very low evaluation the upward pressure on the price after the Ex-date will be much greater.

"I still believe that the whole life/insurance sector in the UK will rerate at some point."

So do I, that's why LGEN is my largest holding and it's certainly out-performed a bank account!

However, I'm about 15% in cash, 15% in funds and 70% in shares. Bought the funds a few years back and initially they did not do very well - fell way behind my individual shares. Nevertheless, they have regained value and would currently be the 6th best performer of the 16 different shares I own (were they an individual share).

"be very careful of AIM stocks"

Exactly what I was thinking. Only 'invested' in two AIM stock and lost substantially in both. Won't touch them now.

"sell rentals and buy dividend companies. Less hassle!"

That's what I did but it was back in 2006, not the best of timing - but definitely less hassle!

Up about £40k in this 'dividend trap' and that's nearly all dividends as my capital has hardly changed in the 4, or so, years that I've been invested here. Love the fact that the SP never seems to have much room to drop but plenty of room to grow. Would buy more but it's already 14% of my portfolio.

"knowing any reduction in dividend payments would invariably decimate the share price"

Not true. Depends where the 'dividend' money is redirected/invested and how the market views it. Could be bad, could be good. Shares still have enormous room for growth.

Now £47k up on this one, so very happy with my buy and hold strategy. Saves all the fretting!

Just not worth the hassle of buying and selling this one, especially with costs and stamp duty. Been in LGEN over 4 years and around 2k down on capital but over 43K up when dividends are taken into account. It's such a great long term investment that produces a decent income that I'm happy to let this one ride.

"I've spent most of my returns!"

Good for you! No point in just admiring the numbers, the real profit comes from what you do with it.

"I KNOW that USA will outperform my FTSE divi payers over 1 year, 5 year, 10 year etc."

Problem is we don't know, nobody does. What we do know is that the FTSE is greatly undervalued at the moment so many believe that at some point things will need to rebalance. I could probably start that happening by selling all my FTSE stocks!

"I just don't get the point of annuities."

To me buying one would feel like giving a shed load of money away, but we're all different and for some it gives them a sense of security.

"My most poorly performing share this year and largest holding."

Surprised by that as it's also my largest holding and it's also my third most profitable share this year! But I did top up when we hit those crazy lows not so long ago.

Merry Christmas!

I prefer to look at total return, capital plus dividends, over several years. My first purchase was in August 2019 and my last in July 2022. Up about 52% which is equivalent of about 10.2% per annum taking compounding into account. The calculation assumes that the entire holding was purchased in 2019, which is wasn't, and so the figure of 10.2% is only a lower bound. The real annual return will be slightly higher.

I too have an average (254p) that is higher than the current SP, but when dividends are included I am up over 16%. One of the best stocks to hold if you want an income and a quiet life.

You may have missed the boat.

Interesting! Though probably won't make a difference to my long term strategy. Might be able to prise me loose from a few of my shares when we're north of £5, but even then not too many.

REL is the only share I own that is down this morning, but if I could have bought just one share it would be this one. The lack of comments here reflects what a fantastic share it is: in the long term it just keeps rising!

Lost on VOD too, bought at 206p around March 2018 and cut my losses selling at 139p in April 2019. Decided it wasn't going anywhere and the dividends weren't covering the loss of capital, unlike LGEN where they've returned significantly more than the relatively small capital loss suffered.

To Sell, Hold or Buy more with a share that's lost a large part of your invested capital. Nearly always a difficult conundrum. But not so much in the case of LGEN. My average is 254p and yet I am up about 15 percent (over 4 years) when dividends are included. Not that great, but still a gain.

LGEN is precisely where I'd put my money right now if I had my current investment in cash instead of shares.

I've never bought into this "paper loss" idea. It feels too much like burying one's head in the sand. I've always valued my investments as they are valued in the moment by the markets.