We check up on the progress of our shares.
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We had a quick look at the valuation of the portfolio a little while ago, but it was just a look at the price of the shares and took no account of selling costs.
So, I've now set up a proper valuation method, which looks at the total cash we would get -- after spread and dealing costs -- if we sold each position in the portfolio, and works out a profit or loss between that and the original total buying costs. Here's what it looks like so far...
| Company | Shares | Buy price | Total cost | Bid price | Proceeds | Gain/loss | % change |
|---|
| Vodafone (LSE: VOD) | 289 | 168.5p | £499.91 | 174.7p | £494.88 | -£4.63 | -0.9% |
| Tesco (LSE: TSCO) | 159 | 305.5p | £498.23 | 314p | £489.26 | -£8.97 | -1.8% |
| GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) | 34 | 1,440.5p | £502.22 | 1,404.5p | £467.53 | -£34.69 | -6.9% |
| Persimmon (LSE: PSN) | 79 | 617.9p | £500.55 | 789.5p | £613.71 | £113.16 | +22.6% |
| Blinkx (LSE: BLNX) | 1,319 | 36.9p | £499.68 | 49.7p | £645.54 | £145.86 | +29.9% |
| BP (LSE: BP) | 112 | 434.5p | £499.01 | 435.2p | £477.42 | -£21.59 | -4.3% |
| Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) | 16 | 3,048.4p | £500.18 | 3,114.5p | £488.32 | -£11.86 | -2.3% |
| BAE Systems (LSE: BA) | 146 | 332.3p | £497.59 | 305.4p | £435.88 | -£61.71 | -12.4% |
| Dividends | | | | | £37.32 | +£37.32 | |
| Total | | | £3,996.97 | | £4,149.90 | £152.90 | +3.8% |
Dividends, too
We have a few dividends to account for so far, with an interim payout of 4.63p per share from Tesco, which went ex-dividend on 11 October, giving us £7.63. Prior to the ex-dividend date, buying the shares will entitle you the dividend, while buying after that date will not. It's the date on which the share price will be adjusted by the market to account for the difference, and so it's an appropriate date to account for it for portfolio valuation purposes.
We bought Vodafone on 18 May, and it went ex-dividend on 8 June, so we have a final dividend for 2012 of 6.43p per share to account for, giving us an extra £18.58.
We also have an interim dividend of 17p per share from GlaxoSmithKline, which went ex-dividend in 8 August, after we bought them on 12 June. That's another £5.78.
And by buying BP on 2 August, we just sneaked in ahead of a 5p per share interim ex-dividend date of 8 August. £5.60. Kerrching!
It's dividends that should make the the core of any new investor's long-term portfolio I reckon, and Neil Woodford is an acknowledged expert on the strategy. I heartily recommend the free Motley Fool report “8 Shares Held By Britain's Super Investor” for followers of our Beginners' Portfolio. Click here to get your free copy, while it's still available.
What do we think?
My biggest two surprises here are that Vodafone has fallen, and that Persimmon has risen so quickly. Analysts are still forecasting a 7% dividend from Vodafone, with the shares on a forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of only around 11 and the following year's payout estimated at 7.3%. Those dividends will be less well covered than previous years, which is a risk, but I think we're still on a safe long-term bet.
And I was convinced that housebuilders were undervalued (and I think they still are), but I didn't expect the recovery to be so strong so quickly. Getting the timing right was purely by chance, but it's a nice boost.
A mention for our best-performing share, Blinkx, is in order -- it's early days and we're in it for the long term, but the market's reaction to our small-cap growth share has been pleasing so far.
Please share your thoughts on how we're doing below, or on the Beginners' Portfolio Discussion Board.
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> Alan does not own any shares mentioned in this article. The Motley Fool owns shares in Tesco and has recommended shares in Vodafone.
