FTSE100 companies have done very well that i hold, GSK,AV,ADM, VOD etc but my crappy AIM ones are still crap. Regret even going for those high risk gambles, the steady FTSE ones have done much better (and pay nice dividends)
cheap finance favours the biggest companies. Microsoft can borrow at 1% for five years I think or similar, literally free money as this is below inflation. Inflation is debatable as ultimately it is the expansion in the montary base, QE is not being reversed so you can take it that the currency value has fallen greatly yet inflation does not yet record this
Aim finance on the other hand, Xcite was relying on 14% I think it was ? In many cases companies are greatly suffering. If you go with any it has to be the smart ones or at least companies with options.
Premier oil, big enough to divert or juggle possibly even benefit from strife I think as its a buyers market. Not sure about FPM but I think they are ok financed as Norway refunds their drilling costs. Anyone without cash is in big trouble, POG just had a big cash call to service bonds but its up since then
Centamin though not really small or aim anymore. Cost to mine is 700/oz and no debt, the risk being the country but then BP is in Egypt so I dont see you can avoid risk anywhere. Its just what is reasonable vs returns.
RIO over extended in the past I think hence come off better here now. Some companies just happen to have hold sold off major assets last summer or similar luck
SL was pushed to limits at times but as a consequence faired well long term, luckily not buying assets at the top (vs RBS which absolutely did this, vs barclays which failed in its bid and gained later via LEH). 130 to 487 now and paying off more as they sell Canada.
No doubt the best risk / return was in big shares I think but then QE, inflation, the whole political slant to economies now is to favour the biggest parts of industry (while growth comes in majority from small companies hence lack lustre GDP imo)
Lower oil should help gold production costs. As a ratio gold has not done so badly, sterling falling, etc
Super Shorts on the FTSE if it has a small correct (2x short).
I used to hold a plain ftse short as a hedge. Leverage is very corrosive, ftse could be level for most of this year but the value would drop to pay or roll over the short contracts.
Just selling is a kind of short. You hold less global asset and effectively go long Sterling. Neptune Japan fund, has a short Yen, long Sterling hold while investing in companies there though Yen is most often stronger then sterling
(tl;dr shorting is way more convoluted I think
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http://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/news/135831/lloyds-sells-50-of-tsb-to-spanish-bank.aspx
Speaking of big shares, anyone own TSB shares ? Cant say I had the foresight to see it like a building society selloff which somehow its turned out like
In fact, BP's poor performance over the last five years has made it an extraordinary bargain in the energy sector. I wrote about the company's excellent value proposition in a recent article titled "BP - Buying This 6% Yielder Is Really A No-Brainer," which summarizes why investing in BP is actually a high-reward/low-risk bet for long-term investors.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/302...379a68a91d90e31d8e27e004f93bddd&uprof=45&dr=1
