Share prices are all shown in pence. A website link for each company is given below. This is primarily a reference thread for myself. Discussion of an individual stock should ideally take place on its own existing discussion thread please, where its followers can readily find it.

The stocks displayed here are not recommendations - merely ones that I have chosen to run with. Most have already risen precariously, and some may collapse.

This is an aggressive portfolio being constructed between 10 July and 30 July 2017. On 10 July it comprised small stakes in four stocks I already owned (SOM,RST,TPF,ANII) representing in total 8.6%, and 91.4% cash. Stakes in those four were increased and a dozen other stocks bought. By 24 July, 65% stocks, 35% cash. Mostly held within a stockdealing ISA. The cash element is not earning interest; it will at times be used to temporarily boost stakes in one or other of the stocks or to buy another. I pay an ISA fee of £5 per quarter in total, and a brokerage fee of £9.90 per trade..

Initially I aim to run it for 5 months till 31 Dec 2017, by when I am hoping to be up 15%. This portfolio was funded by proceeds from the sale of a flat, the rent from which was generating 7%pa. The aim is to convincingly better that return. At 31 December I shall consider withdrawing a sum equivalent to what would have been 5 months rent, and to possibly do the same each six months thereafter (though I shall reassess that plan at Dec 31). Stocks that fail to maintain good performance will be reduced or ditched along the way (can't afford passengers) a few others might be bought. Fast ones that get too big might be topsliced to keep the portfolio in balance. I expect the initial setting up costs (brokerage fees on 16 stocks, and buy/sell price spreads of up to 4%) to be a drag on overall valuation in the opening weeks.



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PORTFOLIO 69 ENDS AT POST 191, DETAILING A GAIN OF 79.64% BETWEEN
JULY AND END-OF-2017. PART OF THE TOTAL HAS BEEN CASHED IN AND
WITHDRAWN. THE START OF PORTFOLIO 70, RUNNING 3 MONTHS FROM
START OF 2018, IS DETAILED IN POST 192
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WEEKLY UPDATE - PORTFOLIO 70

Time will tell if I did right to ignore this week's turmoil. By hanging on in there my percentage gain this year is way down at 15.85% at present (!)

Much depends on VRS delivering some decent news this month or next..

I don't have net access this Friday for usual update.

Another backward week - PORTFOLIO 70
is now only 11.5% above where it began 7 weeks ago.

Only. :-)) Still very good.

PORTFOLIO 70 end of week update Friday 2 March 2018:

Currently 23.3% up since beginning of January.
A nice improvement on last week.

I sold my remaining stakes in XLM and KWS and bought more VRS to capture the recovery from its recent dip. There's no guarantee that it won't drift down again, but it is now my only holding, so I'm kinda hoping it can clock up some serious gains in the next few weeks and months.

that's brave to very rash .... imo VRS is a long term hold, and all this silly little stories that come out don't add to a bag of beans

In post 192, launching 'Portfolio 70' as a 3-month exercise, I set a target of 12.5%. Instead I've made 10.03% in the 3 months. Could have cashed in sooner (was up more than 60% in first 4 weeks!). Total has been fairly static for 3 weeks. I am 97.66% up on where i started last July (on the fund element that carried through from then after my Jan 2nd part-withdrawal).

I'm not cashing in. I decided a month ago that if it felt right to do so I would continue holding for the full year (as hinted in post 191) and will continue posting updates.

Not been posting updates; not because anything went wrong, but because having switched all my eggs into one basket (Versarien, VRS) the VRS chart alone is fairly indicative of my whole portfolio, so not much point duplicating it. The portfolio I've held since the start of April is thus up just over 70% in that time.
(There have been days where I cashed in a few at high points to buy back a few pence lower, increasing the number I hold without additional funding).

Overall - going back to the start of this thread nearly a year ago, after adjusting for withdrawals, my total investment is up 158.7%. (Rejigging slightly at start of 2018 and at end of March means that isn't a precise figure - but it is roughly right.)

I currently hold a mix of VRS and cash and no other stocks.