http://www.ft.com/yourmoney/advice/myportfoliohttp://www.ft.com/rss/yourmoney/advice/myportfolioFT.com - My portfolioen© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2008. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.support@ft.comFri, 4 Jul 2008 19:02 BSTWed, 09 Jul 2008 17:05:28 BSTNewspapers60http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/yourmoney/advice/myportfolio(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6a2b9864-49e5-11dd-891a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6a2b9864-49e5-11dd-891a-000077b07658.htmlThe stock market is feeling reminiscent of the secondary banking crisis of the early 1970s. While I do not believe we face an Armageddon, we could have two to three years of stagflation. I decided to create a modest portfolio within a portfolioFri, 4 Jul 2008 19:02 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366dfbea-4461-11dd-b151-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/366dfbea-4461-11dd-b151-0000779fd2ac.htmlWhen stock markets turn down, and investors get panicky they often don't look closely into the subtle differences which distinguish companies from each other. In this downturn any company which smacks of property involvement has been treated harshlyFri, 27 Jun 2008 17:17 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/041417a2-3ef2-11dd-8fd9-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/041417a2-3ef2-11dd-8fd9-0000779fd2ac.htmlAll sorts of things can make me take a closer look at a company – results, share price movements, and personal experience. For example, sometimes when I am in a shop I ask myself: "Would I invest in this business? If not, why not?" And I've been impressed by HMVFri, 20 Jun 2008 19:20 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/86d570e0-396c-11dd-90d7-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/86d570e0-396c-11dd-90d7-0000779fd2ac.htmlPressing family matters prevented me from paying much attention to my portfolio over the past few weeks. This period also coincided with one of my shares being suspended and the other going into freefall. Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:25 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c6d2bfa-33ed-11dd-869b-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c6d2bfa-33ed-11dd-869b-0000779fd2ac.html I never thought I would feel this way but I have to admit to finding the stock market rather boring. No longer is there a frisson of excitement as I put in my daily 8.15am call to my broker, nor is there any eagerness to devouring the financial pages. Fri, 6 Jun 2008 18:34 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/631d6072-2e77-11dd-ab55-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/631d6072-2e77-11dd-ab55-000077b07658.htmlFT Money's My Portfolio columnists Kevin Goldstein-Jackson, Peter Temple and Nick Louth review their investment performance in the year to date – and name the best and worst of their holdings Fri, 30 May 2008 19:46 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/61f9e520-28ec-11dd-96ce-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/61f9e520-28ec-11dd-96ce-000077b07658.htmlFinding good long-term investments isn't too difficult at the moment. Many small companies have dropped off the institutional radar screen. However, sometimes I see something so exciting that it is quite difficult to sit on my handsFri, 23 May 2008 18:21 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aa43b3b4-236b-11dd-b214-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/aa43b3b4-236b-11dd-b214-000077b07658.htmlOn April 23, Acambis announced that it was having a placing and open offer of shares at 115p per share. My self-invested personal pension (Sipp) was entitled to subscribe for seven new ordinary shares for every 20 already held. Should I invest – especially as I was showing a loss on my existing Acambis holding, bought for 134p and 123p per share last October and November?Fri, 16 May 2008 18:24 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31dbc1dc-1dee-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31dbc1dc-1dee-11dd-983a-000077b07658.htmlWaiting for a bear market to end is one of the hardest disciplines for investors to follow. The second hardest is to avoid taking profits prematurely on stocks that have already multiplied in value. I have been reasonably successful at the first, but less good at the second.Fri, 9 May 2008 18:45 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55378ecc-186c-11dd-8c92-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55378ecc-186c-11dd-8c92-0000779fd2ac.htmlWhen it comes to the stock market, I can exercise considerable patience and carefully monitor the wording of company statements. I find that most Plcs have certain characteristics, and often the use or non-appearance of particular words carries a message to interpret. Fri, 2 May 2008 19:38 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fc70c588-12e4-11dd-8d91-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fc70c588-12e4-11dd-8d91-0000779fd2ac.htmlFood supplies across the world have become very tight. With 30 per cent of this year's US maize crop disappearing into vehicle fuel tanks farmers there have been rushing to grow maize instead of soyabeans, wheat and other cereals. The result has been soaring prices, which have proved catastrophic for poorer nations. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 18:39 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/20535978-0d38-11dd-b90a-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/20535978-0d38-11dd-b90a-0000779fd2ac.htmlMoving investments out of cash and into something riskier may not be at the forefront of investors' minds in the current economic climate. But it is now possible to transfer existing cash Isas into stocks and shares Isas, meaning there is a tax-efficient option there for those who want itFri, 18 Apr 2008 17:45 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c88e9c8-0d38-11dd-b90a-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3c88e9c8-0d38-11dd-b90a-0000779fd2ac.htmlRecently, there has been some good news for a number of the investments held via my self-invested personal pension (Sipp) scheme. On March 10, Oxford Biomedica announced its preliminary results for 2007. Although the loss was £15.3m, the company ended 2007 with net cash of £38.1m.Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:27 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e62cab8e-07b3-11dd-a922-0000779fd2ac.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e62cab8e-07b3-11dd-a922-0000779fd2ac.htmlThe past month has been an unusually active one for my portfolio. My normal approach is to make changes infrequently and at the margin. On this occasion, I decided to perform some radical surgery.Fri, 11 Apr 2008 16:36 BSThttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/afe656c0-0235-11dd-9388-000077b07658.htmlhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/afe656c0-0235-11dd-9388-000077b07658.htmlThe Easter weekend's Investors Chronicle Company Index reinforced my view that there are myriad investment opportunities for the investor with both the nerve and liquidity.Fri, 4 Apr 2008 15:48 BST