Investing in UK shares demands patience. Especially for value investors (like me) who like to target troubled companies in the hope of picking them up at a bargain. No strategy is foolproof though. Just because a stock has plunged doesn’t mean it can’t fall further, and that was certainly the case with these two troublemakers.
I was down 40% on both at some point in 2025. I was tempted to dump them from my Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), because they were making it look untidy.
Then I remembered the P-word. So I stuck with them, and now my patience is being rewarded, and sooner than I expected. So are they now off the naughty step?
Burberry shares are back
The first stinker is luxury fashion brand Burberry Group (LSE: BRBY), which I bought in May 2024 after a couple of profit warnings hammered its share price. That taught me another lesson. When bad news strikes, wait. Often there’s more bad news around the corner, and that was the case here.
The was a second reason for buying Burberry. As well as recovery potential they offered income, with the yield heading towards 6%. It didn’t last. Burberry scrapped the dividend to focus on its turnaround.
After that double blow, the recovery has been quicker than expected, as investors bought into new CEO Joshua Schulman’s ‘Burberry Forward’ strategy, outlined in November last year. Improving sales in China also helped.
The Burberry share price is now up 35% over the last year. Personally, I’m 18% up. I’d suggest investors approach with caution today, as the stock may have raced slightly ahead of events. But it should do better as the inflation retreats, and consumers come out of their shells. One day, the dividend may even return.
Glencore’s stock is up
I bought mining giant Glencore (LSE: GLEN) in July and September 2023. Again, the shares were down and I thought they looked good value with a price-to-earnings ratio of around five or six, and a 5% yield. And again, I found myself nursing a quick loss.
The bad news kept coming out of China, the key source of demand for metals and minerals production, as its property market and banking sector struggled. Falling US demand didn’t help.
Again, I considered selling, but the natural resources sector is famously cyclical. And then I remembered another lesson hammered home from years writing for The Motley Fool: investing is a long-term game. The underlying business wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually, events would swing in its favour, and investors would return. So it proved.
Glencore is pointing the right way again. It’s up 37% in six months, although the 12-month return is just 10%. I’m currently sitting on a 15% loss, which is still a pain, but dividends reduce that to a marginally more soothing 10% loss.
Next year could be bumpy for both Burberry and Glencore, as the global economy may continue to struggle. While I’m thrilled at their double recovery, I can see better growth and income prospects elsewhere on the FTSE 100, and that’s where my focus will be in 2026. I’ll hold these two, but won’t push my luck by buying more.
