Diary of an Investor

This is Diary of an Investor from a friend of mine,

I started investing about 20 years ago when the BT and British Gas flotations happened although I quickly sold the shares for the cash.

My first real investment was Blacks Leisure when they were down and almost out, I had spotted them at 3p but delayed buying until 11p.

I held them a few years watching them go up and then down again and finally up where I sold at a reasonable profit.

At this time my portfolio value was little more than a couple of thousand pounds. I had a success with ASDA which was eventually taken over by Wal-Mart for 100% profit and I put the money, on a recommendation from a colleague, into ARM Holdings at around £10.

I kept them for about 6 months and sold them for over £32, so now I was hooked.

I have invested fairly regularly since my success with ARM and had some successes and some disasters, fortunately the successes are winning.

I currently hold 7 stocks as I am trying to have fewer stocks to manage but with greater values. Over time I have held over 40 different stocks.

Stocks I hold are:

Caledon Resources : An ex gold mining company which has now bought the Cook Mine from Xstrata in Australia and is now a coal producer. AIM held for 3 ½ years

Kenmare Resources: Based in Mozambique, after many years is now a producer of ilmenite rutile and zircon. Held for 2 years

Petrel Resources: An oil play in Iraq and Jordan. AIM Held just under 2 years

Nighthawk Energy: Oil and Gas company in USA. AIM. Held 3 months

Deltex Medical: Producer of monitors and probes assisting in fluid levels during operations. AIM. Held 3 years

Lloyds Bank: FTSE100 bank. Held 2 years

Experian: Credit checking company FTSE100. Held 6 months

Currently all are in profit apart from Experian which has been hit by the sub-prime woes in America. For similar reasons Lloyds is well off its highs although it is also held for its dividend yield of over 6.5%.

Nighthawk is my newest stock having held for only 3 months and showing a 22% profit already, although it is quite volatile and news driven as are all the resource stocks.

I have held Caledon for the longest period and seen it change from a risky gold explorer in China to a much less risky coal producer in Australia

Deltex is probably a longer play as it battles to get the NHS to order their product. The potential though is very good.

Petrel is awaiting the passing of the Hydrocarbon (Oil) law in Iraq which should lead to the awarding of contracts.

Current price of my stocks against buying price

PORTFOLIO	Buying price (average)	02/11/2007	P/L
CALEDON	26.27	43.00	63.68%
DELTEX MEDICAL	21.39	22.50	5.19%
PETREL RESOURCES	61.14	138.00	125.71%
NIGHTHAWK ENERGY	43.52	53.00	21.78%
LLOYDS TSB	486.68	517.00	6.23%
EXPERIAN	567.13	483.75	-14.70%
KENMARE	39.05	59.25	51.7

None of the above is to be considered advice to buy any of these stocks and any comments made are my personal opinion unless referenced