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LONDON — The Beginners’ Portfolio made its first buy, of Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) shares, on May 18, 2012 — and the first anniversary of the fateful day will be here on Saturday. So how has the first year gone? Here’s a snapshot at market close on May 15, accounting for all spreads and charges:
| Company | Shares | Buy Price | Total Cost | Bid Price | Gain/Loss | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | 289 | 168.5 p | £499.51 | 193 p | £48.26 | 9.7% |
| Tesco | 159 | 305.5 p | £498.23 | 375.3 p | £88.50 | 17.8% |
| GlaxoSmithKline (LSE:GSK) | 34 | 1,440.5 p | £502.22 | 1,717 p | £71.56 | 14.2% |
| Persimmon | 79 | 617.9 p | £500.55 | 1,146 p | £394.79 | 78.9% |
| Blinkx | 1,319 | 36.9 p | £499.68 | 108.8 p | £925.39 | 185% |
| BP (LSE:BP) | 112 | 434.5 p | £499.01 | 467.5 p | £14.59 | 2.9% |
| Rio Tinto | 16 | 3,048.4 p | £500.18 | 2,913 p | (£44.02) | (8.8%) |
| BAE Systems | 146 | 332.3 p | £497.59 | 400.8 p | £77.58 | 15.6% |
| Apple | 2 | $458.4 | £605.98 | $427.3 | (£72.13) | (11.9%) |
| Aviva | 146 | 321.4 p | £499.71 | 323 p | (£36.13) | (7.3%) |
| Dividends | £164.31 | |||||
| Total | £5,100.66 | £1,632.70 | 32% |
p = pence.
It is not a real-money portfolio, but it’s run in exactly the same way — I account for actual bid/offer spreads, commissions, etc., and include dividends in these occasional performance updates.
Since our last update on Feb. 26, Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) shares are in the black again with an overall gain of 9.7%. Further simmering rumors of a merger with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) or a buyout of Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD)’s 45% stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) have helped push the shares up as the two companies play a game of brinkmanship. Then this week we heard that Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) is to receive £2.1 billion in dividends from Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) — we’ll hear what Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) intends to do with it when the company releases preliminary results on May 21.
GlaxoSmithKline plc (ADR) (NYSE:GSK) shares have swung into profit as well, up 14.2% now (they were down 2.2% in February). We heard first-quarter results on April 24 telling us to expect full-year sales to be up about 1%, with core earnings per share up 3% to 4%. Current forecasts suggest a full-year dividend yield of about 4.7%, which would suit me just fine.
Persimmon plc (LON:PSN) shares have soared and are now up 78.9% since purchase (against a 39.7% rise at Feb. 26). The whole homebuilding sector, in fact, has been on a recent surge — and there are clear signs that the government’s “Help to Buy” scheme is having an impact.
BP plc (ADR) (NYSE:BP) has moved slightly into profit, while Rio Tinto plc (ADR) (LSE:RIO) has slipped into a loss as the mining sector has taken a pummeling recently on weaker Chinese economic figures, and BAE Systems PLC (ADR) (OTCMKTS:BAESY) shares have started their anticipated rise (anticipated by me, at least).
But the star of the show is still video technologist Blinkx Plc (LON:BLNX), with our stake almost three-bagging — in fact, ignoring spreads and costs, the share price has indeed more than tripled. The latest boost came from full-year results released on May 13, which revealed an expectation-busting 73% rise in revenue, with pre-tax profit up 129% and basic earnings per share up 336%.
Dividends
You’ll see the dividend figure nicely improved since last time, too, as we’ve had quite a few ex-dividend dates from our companies since then:
| Company | Date | Type | Per Share (pence) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rio Tinto | March 6 | Final | 60.3 | £9.65 |
| Aviva | March 20 | Final | 9 | £13.14 |
| BAE Systems | April 17 | Final | 11.7 | £17.09 |
| Tesco | April 24 | Final | 10.13 | £16.11 |
| GlaxoSmithKline | May 8 | Q1 | 18 | £6.12 |
| BP | May 8 | Q1 | 5.93 | £6.64 |
| Apple | May 9 | Q2 | 197 | £3.94 |
| Total | £72.69 |
The bottom line
Overall, then, our portfolio is up 32%, including dividends and all costs, since the start — even though we were not even fully invested until as recently as March 19. Over the same period, the FTSE 100 has risen 23%.
I think I’m happy with our first year’s performance.
Finally, my idea of shares that should make up the core of a beginner’s portfolio is the same as my choice for an ISA or a retirement portfolio — or, in fact, any portfolio. I’d start with good strong companies that should stand the test of time and potentially reward you for decades.
The article The Beginners’ Portfolio Is Up 32% in Its First Year! originally appeared on Fool.com.
Alan Oscroft has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Apple, GlaxoSmithKline, Tesco, and Vodafone Group (LSE:VOD). The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Tesco.
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