A question (from a beginner) about maintaining a portfolio

crossleydd42

Actually, I think that the Mail on Sunday (Financial Mail inside) has been running a portfolio using this method for some time quite sucessfully. You could follow it blindly, but, of course, as recommendations for sale/purchase are made thosands of other readers will act, distorting the price and reducing proceeds. However, if you delayed taking action for 10 days, the prices by then would return to something normal.

I'm not upset about what is original or not - there are variations - I just wanted to let you know that what I'd put down in my first message WAS the original!

dunstonh

Actually, I think that the Mail on Sunday (Financial Mail inside) has been running a portfolio using this method for some time quite sucessfully.

Financial Mail is very prone to fashion investing and is certainly no guide for anyone's financial planning. This is the same Financial Mail that recommended tech stocks after the prices had skyrocketed. This is the same Financial Mail that listed high risk/high performance funds in a league table with low risk/low volatile funds and made out that people should drop the low funds for the high. Without making any real reference to the massive difference in risk.

The current trend for High yield is considered fashion investing at this time and its time may have passed... for now. Its similar to the fashion investing that existed with index trackers following the large cap growth between 1994-1999 that led to a range of index trackers being launched and past performance is certain timescales making them look better than they really were.

There is no point trying to guess or second guess which market to be in, which stocks or what time to be in therefore when the markets are as unpredictable as they are. Fashion investing usually involves people going in after the fund/shares have performed, when its too late.

EdInvestor

Here's an example of a portfolio based on this type of mechanical investing, refined at the Motley Fool under the name Pyad 26.

It's not a bad strategy but you can get better returns using the non mechanical HYP strategy also, yield based, developed at the Fool by the same chap who goes under the name "TMF Pyad".

The Midas strategy at the Mail is very similar.