Portfolio Review 2025 – Cliff Weight

Up 15.7%. 😊. I am happy with this.

Key points

• Portfolio up 15.7%.
• Benchmark performance: 13%, representing a 90% equities/10% bonds/cash allocation.
  • • The global equities benchmark rose 13.9% in sterling terms
    • MSCI USA rose 9.2% in sterling terms (17.9% in dollars, but I was unhedged)
    • UK FTSE 100 rose +25.8%.
• My outperformance of +2.7% reflects:
  • • • my FTSE 100 shares (impact on returns = +0.5%),
      • stock selection +6%,
      • my small AIM company bias (-1.5%)
      • and US underperformance in sterling terms (-2.5%).
• The effect of home bias was positive this year after causing years of underperformance.
  However, the strong FTSE100 performance was counterbalanced by the ongoing weakness of AIM.
• I chose not to allocate 20–30% of my portfolio to bonds/cash per my 2024 implementation plan.
  A learned friend and expert advised me that if my expenses were less than my investment dividend income,
  I should be 100% in equities. I settled for 90% equities and 10% cash/liquid bonds.
• We are exposed to currency risk if sterling increases versus dollar.
  90% of my expenses are in sterling, but we benefit if the dollar strengthens against the pound
  which I think it will (in a contest between Trump/Bessent economics and Starmer/Reeves economics,
  I continue to back the Trump team!). This plan did not work in 2025 and cost me 8% as the pound
  appreciated 8% against the dollar.
• Maximised ISA contributions of £20k each.

Reduction in Complexity

I have continued this as a long-term goal.

Benchmark Performance

Choice of benchmark is crucial. I explained this in my blog https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/investment-strategies/risk-returns-and-optimising-performance/

Below is the table of total returns (including reinvested dividends) for 2025.

2025 Total Returns (%)

Includes price growth + dividends.

2025 was a historic “rotation” year. While US technology remained strong in its own currency, the combination of a soaring British Pound and a massive rally in UK mining, defence and banking stocks made the FTSE 100 the world-leading performer for UK-based investors.

2025 Returns: Bonds and Cash (£)

Figures represent Total Returns (interest/coupons + price changes).

My 90/10 Portfolio Benchmark

I compare my performance against a Composite Benchmark, a weighted average of two indices:

• 90% Global Equities: FTSE Global All-Cap Index  or MSCI World Index (in GBP)
• 10% Global Bonds: Bloomberg Global Aggregate Bond Index (GBP Hedged)

Why Hedge? It is common to benchmark bonds against a “GBP Hedged” index because bonds are meant to be the safe portion of the portfolio. Hedging removes the currency volatility of the US Dollar or Euro, ensuring that element of the portfolio doesn’t swing wildly because of exchange rates.

Estimated 2025 Benchmark and Performance

Based on the 2025 data 90% Global Equity, 10% Bonds/Cash: Total Benchmark Return: ~13.0%. Hence my 15.7% achieved represents 2.7% outperformance.

My portfolio outperformance, of 2.7%, versus the risk adjusted benchmark was mainly due to my allocation, which underperformed my benchmark by 3%, with stock selection adding 6.6%.

• • Quoted Share selection: +6% outperformance (Burford, Impax, Phoenix Copper were my main losers, but AstraZeneca, SRT, CMCL, Aberdeen, Just Group, SigmaRoc, L&G, Glaxo and Anglo Asian Mining made significant positive contributions.)
  • My sole EIS investment, in Whizz Education, which is about to do a Crowdcube funding round, had a good year and has been revalued upwards again in its current funding round; and this added 1% to my overall return;
  • UK FTSE 100 bias: positive 1% (11.7% outperformance x my 6% weighting. This weighting understates the Weight weighting as my wife has higher FTSE 100 weighting and her portfolio did better in 2025 than mine);
  • Small AIM company bias: negative 1% (5.3% underperformance x 22% weighting);
  • US performance: negative 2% (the US underperformance versus my global benchmark of about minus 4.7% x my 46% US % weighting).
  • Fees of (active) funds: negative 0.1%

My currency loss on US trackers was 8%, which was unhedged, and so impacted my portfolio by about -3%. (at December 31, 2025 GBP/USD was $1.345 versus 1.264036 at December 31, 2024).

In 2025, both bonds and cash provided positive returns for UK investors, benefiting from the Bank of England’s transition to a rate-cutting cycle. While they did not match the stellar performance of the FTSE 100, they provided essential stability and “real” returns above inflation.

Real Returns vs. Inflation

In 2025, with UK inflation (CPI) ending the year at 3.2%, my defensive assets finally provided a “real” gain – meaning my money grew faster than the cost of living.

• • • Bonds (Real):  +1.8% (Purchasing power gain)
    • Cash (Real): +1.1% (Purchasing power gain)

TAX

We (my wife and I) both put the maximum £20k p.a. into our ISAs. We did not put extra money into our SIPPs, although we could have invested up to £60k each.

Most of our dividend income is from investments in our ISAs and SIPPS, so we do not pay income tax on these dividends. Nor do we pay Capital Gains Tax on these investments.

We receive useful tax-free dividends from my VCT investments mostly made 20 to 30 years ago.  VCTs make up 2% of our portfolio.

In our general trading accounts, we have large capital gains tax liabilities, mostly from investments made in the 1990s and early 2000s when we invested in funds, mostly overseas. This is a problem area, as the fees for some of these funds are quite high (1% is not untypical) and I would rather sell them and move the proceeds into global tracker funds with 0.1% fees. However, with 24% capital gains tax, this would be expensive. Neither selling nor retaining is attractive! I shall monitor these funds carefully and if any underperform, I will most likely sell and take the CGT hit. I have a large capital gains tax liability on my Ashtead shares, but do not intend to sell these at present.

We have always used our CGT tax exempt limit, which was £12,300 each, but reduced to £6,000 last year and £3,000 henceforth. I also have some losses (sadly), but I can offset these losses against gains.

Largest investments in our Portfolio -Top 12 by size of investment:

The return figure excludes dividends as interactive investor do not provide total return data for shares and funds in a format that is easy for me to analyse. I have written to interactive and they have told me they have a large number of improvements they are working on and will consider this.

Our largest investments are in funds/ETFs and investment trusts.

Our largest investments in shares are:

Portfolio commentary re 2025 and 2026 plans:

• • • HVPE is on a huge discount and remains a core investment as part of my asset allocation to access the private equity illiquidity premium.
    • AstraZeneca was great. 31% up due to new drugs and moving listing to the US which will mean all can invest with no stamp duty (i.e. via ADRs)!
    • Shell and BP had a solid year and remain key holdings. I am pleased that BP has changed strategy to focus on oil and gas which it is good at (if I want to buy wind, solar, etc I can allocate my capital better than BP!) I attended the BP shareholders’ meeting (for individual shareholders) and this helped me keep informed of progress. Over the long term Shell has outperformed BP. I support and am a member of FollowThis!, as environmental issues need transparent disclosures.
    • Tesco up 20%. A good year. A long-term hold. I attended the AGM a couple of years ago and got a good feel for the company. I asked a question about contingent liabilities in the notes to the accounts, which I thought were not sufficiently transparent about the risks and potential costs of the Equal Value claims.
    • Unilever has been a long-term investment and a very successful one. I fear that they produce too much food which is bad for people, e.g. highly processed food and food with too much sugar and salt (I own Microsalt via Tek Holdings). I fear for future lawsuits. So, I will sell down my holding in 2026. I have held these shares for 40 years. This is a key decision. BBC morning TV show on 5 Jan ran a story about the obesity epidemic in children and the advertising ban: both I believe are evidence of an inflection point.
    • In 2024, I sold two thirds of my 3i stake. This had been a terrific performer over 20/30 years. However, I felt I was too overweight, so I trimmed the stake. Much of 3i value is in one supermarket company, Action. I sold when I read the Shadowfall short report. See https://www.ft.com/content/968b427f-0b2d-4723-80d6-014b9796f8c0.  In 2025, the 3i share price increased to £44, before a sharp drop in November and 3i ended the year at £32.10, so I felt vindicated even if my timing was not perfect!
      The drop in 3i Group plc (III) shares during November 2025 – which saw the stock fall by approximately 26% to 28% over the month – was primarily triggered by a cautious half-year trading update released on 13 November 2025. The most significant factor was the outlook for Action, the Dutch discount retailer that makes up roughly 73% of 3i’s total portfolio value. 3i warned that softening consumer confidence and trading conditions in France – where Action generates about one-third of its sales – could cause the retailer to miss its annual like-for-like (LFL) sales growth guidance of 6.1%. Before the November update, 3i was trading at an exceptionally high premium to its Net Asset Value (NAV) – often as high as 48% to 50%. Most private equity firms trade at a discount  to their NAV. The negative news about Action acted as a catalyst for a “de-rating,” where investors decided the high premium was no longer justified. By the end of November, this premium had shrunk to around 20%, accounting for the bulk of the share price collapse.
    • SRT has been my star performer of my Fun portfolio of smaller shares.
    • CMCL has also done spectacularly, but I started with fewer than SRT.
    • My EIS investment in Whizz Education, that owns Maths Whizz, is making good progress and I shall invest further in the current fundraising round.
    • Burford was down 35%, a disaster for my overall returns. However, the long-term cashflows from its portfolio of investments look sound to me. The Petersen/Eton Park case trundles through the US courts, with the Argentine Government adopting delaying tactics. Bessent bailed out Argentina in H2 2025, but President Milei is an enigma. My logic is that Argentina will not be able to access the capital markets, until they honour their outstanding debts including those due to Burford. Burford can afford to wait and have the resources to pay for the huge legal costs that might arise. Most cases of this type are eventually settled. I watch this carefully and am a member of a select group of investors who share comments via a twitter group. The share price could easily double or treble.
    • I don’t buy companies that produce tobacco or guns – both kill people. Other than that, I am open to buy most things. My anti-tobacco/guns/defence stocks stance has meant I missed a number of profitable investments in 2025, but I am happy with my morals.

Key Portfolio changes in 2025

• • • I did not do much! I resisted the temptation to overtrade!
    • Invested in 2 Investment Trusts with big discounts to NAV, Oakley Capital and North American Smaller Companies.
    • Just Group: Invested more in July, which got taken over (220p bid, due to complete in H1 26) and was a 70% profit.
    • RTC: increased investment and joined with David Stredder and others to lobby and campaign for better governance at this company.
    • Bought more Phoenix Copper. So far, I have lost even more money on this, but I remain hopeful. Paul de Gruchy is an adviser to this company and I am a member of a shareholder representation group.
    • Tavistock: There are governance issues here, so I bought some shares to have some skin in the game.
    • Aberdeen: increased stake, experienced a significant recovery, with its share price increasing by approximately 45% over the course of the year. Plus dividends of c 8%. This performance marked a major turning point for the firm after several years of share price stagnation and declining assets under management.
    • Impax: a disaster for me, but I think it is oversold and has too much negative sentiment so I increased my stake which in total is much smaller than it was. I think the core business of Impax is still solid. I was not convinced that St James’s Place was a good long-term partner, because of their reputation, culture and high fees, so was less worried than some by this loss of business which was of low margin. Impax has largely managed to avoid the cataclysmic performance of the solar and wind industry and I think this positions the company well. Despite Trump’s plans for the USA, there are still a lot of people in the world wanting an ESG basis for investing. My investment in Impax has been a huge learning experience. I sold some of my stake when Impax hit £10 as part of a diversification strategy and the investment goal of take some of your profits. However, I subsequently invested more and have lost significant sums on those investments, including my top ups in 2024. I have also bought into Impax Environment Markets, which was at a 15% discount and seemed much too cheap.
    • NVIDIA: bought in April 2025 and sold in October for a 70% profit. This was a buy tip from Mary in our SIGnet group (Farnham), which more than paid for my time spent attending meetings.
    • I nearly bought Alphabet in the middle of the year (I think Waymo will make them loads of money), but I did not and wish I had!
    • I bought some BHP ADRs with some $ I had in my interactive investor account. This avoided the UK Stamp Duty on purchases of UK listed shares.
    • Adriatic Minerals and Aquis were taken over, providing nice profits on my small stakes.

Of the companies that I regard as high risk, I continue to have a large stake in Burford and SRT; a reasonably sized, but much smaller than it was, stake in Impax as it is 80- 90% off its peak; significant stakes in Caledonian Mining CMCL, Zephyr, Tek; modest stakes in Manolete, Phoenix Copper, Cora Gold and Rainbow Rare Earths. Cora Gold has also done well in 2025. Manolete is being taken private on the cheap, as were Anexo and Frenkel. This is a worrying trend that I have written about elsewhere.

Investment Style: I changed my style in 2023. I have moved to investing in solid companies – previously I was buying lots of AIM and small caps, including several mining and oil companies in my fun portfolio.

• • • Just Group, that I bought in 2023, was up 58% in 2024 and then got bid for.
    • SigmaRoc is a solid materials company, tipped to me by a fellow ShareSoc member when I attended an Investor Conference. I have been following them for 2 years and continue to increase my stake.
    • I have invested in SRT for 5+ years, since my nephew joined the Merchant Navy and explained to me how ships are tracked. SRT have a huge pipeline of work, it has grown and moved through the pipeline over the past several years and it is now converting into sales. Margins look good. The market has not discovered this company yet and the BB (Bulletin Boards) thankfully mostly ignore it. Covid delayed many Government sales. A smear on the CEO about alleged bribery in a third world country hit the share price temporarily, but now seems to have been put behind it. I have been adding to my stake considerably.
    • Aberdeen (formerly Abrdn) had a bad press and bad share price run. However, I spotted that a friend of mine owns 5.9%. I think Aberdeen’s stake in interactive investor is very valuable. So, I have been increasing my Aberdeen stake.
    • Paul de Gruchy (@DonaldPond6) alerted me to Chrysalis and Geiger, both are trusts that were trading at huge discounts. I am showing a nice profit on Chrysalis, but this could easily evaporate. High risk.

Fees  

I am very conscious of the fees that funds charge and have spent quite a bit of time trying to reduce these. My problem is that we have so many funds; so that we are probably closet indexers but paying active fees.

The link to my 2024 review is here.

I did not publish a review of my portfolio in 2023, but I did in 2022, the link is here.

I did not publish a review of my portfolio in 2021, but I did in 2020, the link is here.

Volatility

Since May 2025, I have monitored each day the movement in my portfolio and calculated the volatility. This is the standard deviation of daily share price movements but annualised by multiplying by the square root of 252.

My portfolio volatility measured from 23 May 25 to 31 Dec 2025 using daily data was 9%, similar to the FTSE100, which I also keep track of.

Using monthly data, which I have going back to June 2024 up to Dec 31 2025, my portfolio volatility was 12%, but it spiked up in April when Trump Tariffs spooked the markets.

For the non-statisticians, and those not familiar with the concept, my volatility of 12% means there is a 5% chance of my portfolio going up or down by 25% in a year (i.e. two standard deviations), i.e. I expect it to do so 1 year in 20.

Achieving alpha with low volatility is the holy grail.

Best practice.
I regard it as best practice for investors to review their performance. I strongly encourage all readers to do so. I learn a lot from the time spent on my annual review. I urge you to do so too.

Cliff Weight, member of ShareSoc and of ShareSoc’s Education and Policy Committees.

DISCLOSURE: Nothing in this article should be construed as financial advice. Financial advice requires a detailed knowledge of the individual’s particular circumstances and the payment of a fee. I own or have owned shares in the companies mentioned in this article. 

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc.