SMT recent performance

itwasntme001

BuildTheWall said:

itwasntme001 said:

BuildTheWall said:

itwasntme001 said

I'm not disputing any of that.  I own all three of the stocks you mention and I am happy to hold.  The fact is valuations also depend on interest rates.  That is all I am saying.

Disagree. Their growth prospects have little to do with inflation. 

You shouldn't confuse interest rates with inflation...

My bad, was supposed to say interest rates. Doesn’t matter anyway given interest rates go up when inflation goes up. And both have negligible impact on tech stocks. 

They do have an impact.  Not the only factor.  But certainly a factor.

Roygroyg

jscol said:

I've never sold any funds before. 
Always thought I was a long term investor. Always believed you can't time markets etc.  However recently SMT had done so well I thought I would sell £2000 worth and bank some profits.  The price at that stage was 980p. This was about 2 weeks ago. Tonight I see they are upto 1056p. I think I've learned something, namely how unpredictable the markets are. I really thought 980 was as high as it would go and I'd get back in at a lower price. I really enjoy reading these forums and learning but sometimes you have to see the consequences of your actions to better appreciate the markets. 

Made a similar bad call back in the summer for no real reason other than banking some long term profits and concern that the good run cannot last. Sold at 930p roughly about 25% of holding and although it did initially fall back below 850p (when I almost reinvested but never got off backside) before going on a run again.
Inertia normally stops me selling but I can never shake the feeling to bank some profits after a good run even though I hear running your winners is where the best returns are made. 

MarkCarnage

I have held SMT for over a decade, together with a number of other BG managed ITs, and quite a few others.
I sold part of my SMT (and a couple of others) last week for the first time. They had just become too dominant in my portfolio, regardless of how well managed they are, and clearly I think they are or I wouldn't have held them for a decade. I added to other well managed ITs with a different philosophy and asset allocation, mainly, but not exclusively in the wealth preservation area. It's all about running your own portfolio risk preferences.
COVID and zero rate/negative real rate policies have probably compressed the share price performance for SMT expected over the next 5 years into 6 months. Quality Growth stocks and funds will keep performing while we have ZIRP as the discount rate for future earnings is nil. 
However, who knows what might happen next? Therefore, I have run my winners far enough for now, and some money has been taken off the table. SMT remains my second largest holding. It was 4th largest three years ago. EWW and Shin Nippon haven't been too shabby either since I bought them. 
Don't agonise over whether SMT was 980p or 1040p, and certainly don't delude yourself that you can 'time' when to sell and buy. Sell some if it's keeping you up at night, you're checking the price several times a day, and/or you've got more in it that you ever envisaged. Just know what you want to do with the cash you realise. And don't pretend you will buy it back cheaper next week, next month or next year. Did I say that already? 

BuildTheWall

123mat123 said:

POLAR CAPITAL TECHNOLOGY TRUST PLC (PCT) seems to compliment SMT nicely,
(in top 10) 
PCT does not contain Tesla or Netflix
SMT does not contain Apple, Microsoft, Alpabet, Facebook, Samsung
Only commonality (in top 10) is Amazon and the Chinese internet companies Tencent & Alibaba
If you're nervous about US Tech, it's irrelevant, but it does give a degree of diversifiaction in the sector, and if you feel the largest threat is these mega companies being forced to split up, this could be helpful

If someone wants exposure to all major tech companies, they can just get a dedicated tech fund (passive or active)? If you keep looking for gaps and filling them with funds, you might as well just get a fund that focuses on the biggest companies or buy the stocks yourself? To me, the individual stocks in a fund shouldn’t be a reason to hold them. One fund manager might think Tesla is overvalued while another thinks it’s undervalued. Their long term results are the best indication of their analysis and research. We need to look at long term performance and not individual stock holdings. 

MarkCarnage

To me, the individual stocks in a fund shouldn’t be a reason to hold them. One fund manager might think Tesla is overvalued while another thinks it’s undervalued. Their long term results are the best indication of their analysis and research. We need to look at long term performance and not individual stock holdings. 

I largely agree. Individual stocks shouldn't be a reason in isolation, but the aggregation of them - which embodies the manager philosophy and style - should be. 

BG tend to have pretty low turnover within portfolios, which is  good thing in my view. 

In my previous life, I met with their fund management team on quite a number of occasions. Tesla was the subject of intense internal debate. I thought they should have sold or at least reduced it, I was wrong in hindsight. 

As you say, the long term results are what matters, and how they are achieved. SMT is sometimes lazily described as a tech fund. It's not. Part of the historic performance came from distinctly non tech sources. A fair part of the fund by number of holdings is still non tech, however the performance has been concentrated in several tech stocks (is Tesla a tech stock??). Disruptive business models with the potential to achieve significantly more than the market is discounting is what they seek. 

BuildTheWall

MarkCarnage said:

To me, the individual stocks in a fund shouldn’t be a reason to hold them. One fund manager might think Tesla is overvalued while another thinks it’s undervalued. Their long term results are the best indication of their analysis and research. We need to look at long term performance and not individual stock holdings. 

I largely agree. Individual stocks shouldn't be a reason in isolation, but the aggregation of them - which embodies the manager philosophy and style - should be. 

BG tend to have pretty low turnover within portfolios, which is  good thing in my view. 

In my previous life, I met with their fund management team on quite a number of occasions. Tesla was the subject of intense internal debate. I thought they should have sold or at least reduced it, I was wrong in hindsight. 

As you say, the long term results are what matters, and how they are achieved. SMT is sometimes lazily described as a tech fund. It's not. Part of the historic performance came from distinctly non tech sources. A fair part of the fund by number of holdings is still non tech, however the performance has been concentrated in several tech stocks (is Tesla a tech stock??). Disruptive business models with the potential to achieve significantly more than the market is discounting is what they seek. 

That’s good - a fund adapting to changes in the economy. 

Sadly not many investors do. Many think the dividends from the old economy stocks (like oil majors, commodity stocks, etc) will get back to normal. And some even think green energy / ESG investing is just a fad. 

bowlhead99

BuildTheWall said:

MarkCarnage said:

To me, the individual stocks in a fund shouldn’t be a reason to hold them. One fund manager might think Tesla is overvalued while another thinks it’s undervalued. Their long term results are the best indication of their analysis and research. We need to look at long term performance and not individual stock holdings. 

I largely agree. Individual stocks shouldn't be a reason in isolation, but the aggregation of them - which embodies the manager philosophy and style - should be. 

BG tend to have pretty low turnover within portfolios, which is  good thing in my view. 

In my previous life, I met with their fund management team on quite a number of occasions. Tesla was the subject of intense internal debate. I thought they should have sold or at least reduced it, I was wrong in hindsight. 

As you say, the long term results are what matters, and how they are achieved. SMT is sometimes lazily described as a tech fund. It's not. Part of the historic performance came from distinctly non tech sources. A fair part of the fund by number of holdings is still non tech, however the performance has been concentrated in several tech stocks (is Tesla a tech stock??). Disruptive business models with the potential to achieve significantly more than the market is discounting is what they seek. 

That’s good - a fund adapting to changes in the economy. 

Sadly not many investors do. Many think the dividends from the old economy stocks (like oil majors, commodity stocks, etc) will get back to normal. And some even think green energy / ESG investing is just a fad. 

ESG investing is very popular and everyone from retail investor to institutions are often found looking for ESG credentials whether investing in public or private equities.

But whether ESG is a 'fad' or not doesn't really matter as plenty of trends or fads continue for decades, certainly long enough for long-term investors to make money.  For example King James I thought that smoking was a fad and a bit of a menace to society. About 350 years later, annual consumption of cigarettes in the US was over 4000 per capita, with half of all men and a third of women smoking more than a couple of cigarettes a week by the mid 1960s. Even though the US surgeon general and their counterparts over in Europe were saying it was unhealthy and starting to regulate advertising by that point, Wikipedia reckons it took another 35 years for the levels to drop to about 2000 per capita. The tobacco groups were a decent place to be invested for that particular 'fad'.

MarkCarnage

King James I thought that smoking was a fad and a bit of a menace to society. 

Well he was at least half right.....and if you take the long view, maybe wholly right. 

sg1000

I bought more SMT, today.  I'm going to duck before the pelters start  

csgohan4

what's been happening to the SMT price, is it because Tesla is currently going down as well? I'm going to fill my boots soon though, still a good active fund in the long run. Shame ATT is going down as well, I've got some in that too.