As I move the site towards investing content, I want to publish a list of companies I’m researching at the moment. Some of these may be on the list for a long time without me making an investment. In some cases, they’re firms I used to hold and wish I still did – there are a number of reasons for this such as taking profits early, finding ‘better’ opportunities, or moving to reduce risk by selling out of companies that have had a big run up in valuation.

I’ll try and update this list twice a year and might publish some more in-depth research on some of the companies. In this case, please do your own research, and remind yourselves of the disclaimer all over this site;

I AM NOT A QUALIFIED FINANCIAL MANAGER. FOLLOW MY TRADES AT YOUR OWN RISK.

H1 2021 Watchlist – Published January 2021

1. Anglo Pacific Finance – Could be an excellent dividend payer and great exposure to the mining sector.
2. Barclays – a quality international bank; could be one to add to the portfolio oneday.
3. Deepmatter – currently losing money hand over fist but operates in an interesting sector.
4. Gresham House Energy Storage Fund – another interesting company that deals with renewal energy storage (allowing us to use the power generated from solar energy when it’s dark!). Big potential but a pricey premium to NAV.
5. Henderson Far East Income Trust – Original purchase price of 382p in March 2018 and have since averaged down to 371p. No new trades and continue to watch.
6. Hikma Pharmaceuticals – I want more exposure to pharmaceuticals and this company is a high-quality pick with a growing ROE (last year was over 27%) and growing EPS. Seems too pricey at the moment.
7. HSBC – Don’t hold but still looking.
8. Legal and General – Don’t hold but still looking. A tasty yield of 6/7% but declining ROE. Not sure depressed bond yields are a great thing for them.
9. Lloyds – A current holding with eye wateringly poor performance. I don’t fear the company collapsing but with an average buy price of 58p (averaged down from 68p in 2017) and a dividend forcibly cancelled due to COVID, this is a holding I’m losing patience with. I suspect it might be 2-3 years before I can exit profitably and am hoping the dividend will be reinstated to make that wait a bit more bearable.
10. Somero – a quality manufacturer of laser-guided construction equipment for the construction industry with a juicy yield and strong performance.
11. Octagonal – a microcap financial services company providing corporate broking and advisory services to professional, retail, corporate and eligible counterparty clients.
12. SDLC Energy Efficiency Trust – provides investment solutions for energy sectors for the betterment of environment and infrastructure. Much like Gresham House, I like the sector.
13. Qinetiq – Operates in the defence, security and aerospace sectors and was creeping towards my target price but seems very expensive for a company with erratic EPS and a flat dividend.
14. Unilever – Continue to watch; missed the crash in March/April and regret not buying at sub-£4 per share which was a two year low. Company is a strong operator but looking pricey at a PE of over 20 and significant debt of over €20m.
15. Xpediator – provides freight management services; could be a god buy with the bedlam of Brexit about to strike!
16. Wynnstay Property – a microcap REIT with a humble approach to marketing. Their website (http://www.wynnstayproperties.co.uk/) screams authenticity and the company has been a strong performer over decades with a stable board. A lot to like.

H1 2020 Watchlist – Published March 2020

1. Anglo Pacific Finance – Don’t hold buy still looking.
2. Barclays – Don’t hold but still looking.
3. Bellway Homes – Don’t hold and removed due to concerns over house prices and defaults.
4. BHP – Removed; elephants don’t gallop. Seems fairly priced most of the time and better opportunities elsewhere. Debt also ticking back up.
5. Disney – Removed – not happy holding foreign equities directly at the moment; unsure about costs and currency movement impact.
6. GlaxoSmithKline – Purchased at 1601p in July 2020.
7. GlobalTrans Investment – Removed – still like but can’t buy through broker for some reason.
8. Henderson Far East Income Trust – Original purchase price of 382p in March 2018 and have since averaged down to 371p. No new trades and continue to watch.
9. Hikma Pharmaceuticals – I want more exposure to pharmaceuticals and this company is a high-quality pick with a growing ROE (last year was over 27%) and growing EPS. Seems too pricey at the moment.
10. Inchcape – Removed from watchlist; generally a seller of cheap tat. Very good at it but not to my tastes.
11. INTU (more out of a sense of morbid curiosity) – company collapsed into administration in June 2020. Removed from watchlist.
12. HSBC – Don’t hold but still looking.
13. Legal and General – Don’t hold but still looking. A tasty yield of 6/7% but declining ROE. Not sure depressed bond yields are a great thing for them.
14. Lloyds – A current holding with eye wateringly poor performance. I don’t fear the company collapsing but with an average buy price of 58p (averaged down from 68p in 2017) and a dividend forcibly cancelled due to COVID, this is a holding I’m losing patience with. I suspect it might be 2-3 years before I can exit profitably and am hoping the dividend will be reinstated to make that wait a bit more bearable.
15. Mondi – Removed. A good operator but the share price has been moribund – £17 down from a five year peak of £22 in 2018.
16. M Winkworth – Purchased at 141p in October 2020
17. Paypoint – Removed from watchlist; could be a good trade at the right price but dividend cover is thin, EPS erratic and revenues almost entirely flat for the last five years. Where will the growth come from?
18. Record – Pulled the trigger a trifle early at 43p in October and bought a second tranche at 37.25p in November. Pleased to have the company rejoin the portfolio after selling in December 2019 for a 25% profit.
19. Schroders – Purchased C Class Shares in April at £20 a share.
20. SDLC Energy Efficiency Trust – provides investment solutions for energy sectors for the betterment of environment and infrastructure. Much like Gresham House, I like the sector.
21. Standard Chartered – Removed from watchlist. Too many financials already, don’t need more!
22. Qinetiq – Operates in the defence, security and aerospace sectors and was creeping towards my target price but seems very expensive for a company with erratic EPS and a flat dividend.
23. Unilever – Continue to watch; missed the crash in March/April and regret not buying at sub-£4 per share which was a two year low. Company is a strong operator but looking pricey at a PE of over 20 and significant debt of over €20m.
24. Warpaint London – Removed from watchlist, company seems to be declining from 2018 peak with revenues and profits down, dramatically reduced growth in EPS and a declining dividend. Not much to like in hindsight.
25. WH Smith – Removed from watch list. Company has suffered hugely thanks to COVID with travel greatly reduced and intermittent retail shutdowns around the world. Was a great operator but until things restabilise, not one to add to the list.