March Portfolio and Purchases

Slight pause on most things during March due to family illness, and wrecking my back. Now more or less back to normal...

So Brexit drags on into April with no more clarity as to what is going on. This, coupled with prices generally trending upwards left me mostly on the sidelines spectating during March. A few things are in buying territory, but most of what is on the shopping list still looks expensive.

Portfolio
March saw markets continuing the upward movement we've seen since the start of the year. The portfolio was up 2.6% compared to my chosen benchmark the Vanguard FTSE All Share Accumulation fund which was up 2.7% over the same period.

Best performer for March goes to Manx Telecom (MANX), +19% following a takeover bid from Basalt Infrastructure. This is both pleasing and irritating as it's nice to see such an increase, it has only been in the portfolio since January. The bid has been endorsed by the Manx Telecom board so likely to be agreed at the AGM. I would have been happy to keep the shares, but will hang on in case there are any further bids, at least for another couple of weeks. Worst performer was Fulcrum Utilities (FCRM) -22%, again a new purchase - this time since February, but badly mistimed. I should have looked at the longer term trend which was clearly downward, catching falling knives always a risky business. Still a couple of recent FCRM announcements including a trading update have been positive.

Crypto
Cryptocurrency markets look like they have stabilised and could be picking up, and some of the crypto portfolio is moving into the green, plenty still underwater but it is time to take some profits before it all goes pear shaped again. Some nice returns on Binance coin, plus a more modest effort with OmiseGo, are the whales going to dump Bitcoin again, or have we actually seen the bottom this time?

Finances
On the personal finance front, savings accounts have once again moved provider. As usual introductory rates on existing accounts dropped away, leaving virtually zero interest. So they migrated again. It's really irritating to be penalised for loyalty from a bank...

On the cash front, both Mrs Sleepy and myself have bonus payments, Mrs Sleepy has share options maturing from her employer which have been cashed in, and I also have a nice dividend payment from existing shares with my own employer. The shares awarded by both of our employers are not included in the portfolio, I'm happy to take the dividends from my shares for the moment and will sell the shares at some point in order to reinvest in the portfolio. I see these shares as part of a "ring-fencing" strategy for the portfolio, which along with the emergency fund should ensure I won't have to dip into it at an time when prices are unfavourable.

Bonus cash will be split between the portfolio, the mortgage, a few jobs around the house, and a treat of course.