contact & faq

Drop me a Line.

I would like to hear your views, comments or suggestions either about this site, any of the portfolios, my investment strategy or your own. Fill in the Feedback form below and the e-mail box if you would like a reply. Alternatively you can e-mail me direct on ian@chuffy.net  

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Frequently Asked Questions

The number of visits to this site has beaten my most wildest expectations and the quality of responses has been excellent. A number of questions have requested more detail of the actual mechanics I use running the portfolios. Below I have attempted to answer as many as possible, I hope you find them useful.

How much time do you spend researching companies?

On working days, at least 1 hour per day. At weekends 5/6 hours total. This will vary, depending if it is raining or sunny out! and also if I am being accused of anti social behavior. 

You say that you hold down a normal job, yet you invest over £2,000 per month in Spartan, how do you manage that?

As I have said on the Portfolios page, Spartan and the others receive income from Acorn, any overtime pay or bonuses I receive. I take home £260 per week but none of my ordinary pay goes into Chuffy, not now anyway. Each time I make a substantial profit from a sale in Acorn I will try to find another home for it. If I can't invest in a company as good as the one I have just sold then the funds go into a high interest account pending re-investment. These funds are then drip fed back into Chuffy.

Why do you take funds out of Acorn, which is the most successful portfolio, then put it in the poorer performing portfolios. Surely this is like strangling the goose that lays the golden eggs?

Quite simple, volatility. I have developed an iron stomach riding the ups and downs of Acorn, so anything which helps smooth out the overall performance without impeding returns too much is to be pursued.

Why do you hold so few companies in Acorn?

I have tried in the past to spread the Acorn portfolio over up to 10 companies at a time and found that volatility was reduced at the expense of performance. When I find a company worth investing in I back it fully and watch every move they make, business wise. Also running a portfolio is like having children, you should never have more than you can keep your eye on! 

On the Method page you don't seem to mention statistics like earnings per share, PEGS etc. Why is this?

I take the point of view that an annual report is like a school report for the parents viewing but written by the pupil. Unlike a school report the annual report and accounts have been audited, but still have to be read between the lines to get at the real truth. On that basis I believe statistics based on earnings per share figures taken from annual reports are nice to know but not what investment decisions should be based around. There are only 4 statistics that really interest me, they are return on capital employed, the cash flow statement, the shareholder funds and total debts (both long and short term).  

How do you structure your research?

I do follow a type of pattern when researching but rather than go through it here I have added it to the Method page.