Having reported a depressing 42 per cent fall in my portfolio last year, I am pleased to say that, to date, 2009 has delivered a 19 per cent gain – in spite of a blow from Dawson Holdings, as its share price has slumped from 80p to 10p.

This happier tale has played out against the backdrop of a strong recovery in equities which took many investors and commentators by surprise. Looking back, I took the view that the collapse in values presented one of life’s great buying opportunities and acted accordingly, but cautiously. I maintained a useful liquidity reserve, and still do. Of my 2008-9 purchases, particularly pleasing have been the performances of BBA Aviation, Fenner, Interior Services, Marshalls, Vitec, and Victoria. All have appreciated substantially.

However, as my portfolio is essentially of a long-term nature, the majority of holdings have been owned for many years. Thus, in most cases, I stayed with them through the maelstrom and now see them recovering well – James Fisher, Nichols, PZ Cussons, Primary Health, Quarto, S&U, and Treatt. Question marks remain over others: Ensor, Norcros, Pochins and Titon. But, overall, I am much happier than I was on January 1.

I have seen an expected influx of new money into my portfolio from a pension fund cash lump sum. Adjusted for this factor, my underlying portfolio performance has been a gain of 8.1 per cent in the past three months, and 12.1 per cent since the start of the year – compared with an overall market gain of about 6 per cent.

The star performers of late have been my fund investments related to the bond market. Invesco Perpetual Monthly Income Plus, the iShares Sterling Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF) and Fidelity Moneybuilder Income have risen respectively by 15.4 per cent, 10.4 per cent and 9.1 per cent since the end of May. My holdings in gold bullion and Blackrock Gold & General fell slightly in value, and equity-related investments rose overall by about 6 per cent – slightly less than the gain in the index.

The influx of new money – about a third of which I have invested in equities and equity funds – has changed my portfolio weightings significantly. Property now represents 36 per cent of the total (42 per cent last time round), collectables 9 per cent (11 per cent) and cash and bullion 13 per cent (5 per cent ). I am waiting for market setbacks to add to my equity holdings, probably via ETFs, and I also expect to rebuild my weighting in collectables.

Double digits at last! But will it last? Despite a dire first four months of the year, between January 1 and July 31 the value of my self-invested personal pension (Sipp) increased by 12.06 per cent after deducting dealing and Sipp charges. Most of the shares in the portfolio have now shown some increase.

Premier Oil shares were 985p at the start of the year and I’m glad I increased my Sipp’s stake by subscribing for rights issue shares at 485p each in April. By July 31, the share price was £12.37. Another rights issue success – so far – is Lonmin , up from 911p to £13.81. The rights shares were acquired in May for £9 each.

Industrial engineer Weir Group also performed well, rising from 310p to 546.5p on good results, while Bodycote, in the same sector, moved from 123p to 142.7p on hopes of recovery.

Immupharma has proved a great investment, having risen from 57p to 86.25p. I originally bought in at 25p per share in 2003, and more than recouped my entire outlay by selling parts of the holding in 2006 and 2007 for 46p and 67p respectively. In July, I reduced my holding for 86p per share. Another pharmaceutical company, BTG, also performed well, up from 140p to 179.25p.

I don’t think I have ever outperformed the FTSE 100 by a greater margin than I have in the first eight months of this year.

While the index has risen by 10 per cent, my UK portfolio holdings have raked in gains of 40 per cent. My exposure to recovery stocks between March and May accounted for most of this performance, but there has also been a contribution from corporate bonds as prices have recovered at a furious pace since March.

I am particularly pleased that, since May, I have continued to outpace the broad market, as I have also increased my cash holdings from five per cent to almost 30 per cent.

However, the growth achieved by the entire portfolio has been softened by a disappointing US performance – particularly in a poorly judged hedging exercise undertaken in May which has since been unwound. As a result, the US segment of my portfolio is down 10.6 per cent year-to-date, while the S&P 500 index is up 13.2 per cent. Fortunately, my American exposure represents less than 10 per cent of the portfolio, so the overall rise is a very satisfactory 33.8 per cent.

The authors are active private investors, writing about their own investments. They may have a financial interest in the companies, securities and trading strategies mentioned.