The more emails I get about bitcoin and the like the more bearish I would get! As the years go on, whenever certain things crop up on emails it usually points to a bubble.
The question you need to ask yourself before buying anything is: "Could anything happen for me to lose 40% plus of my investment just like that?"
Rather than "How many millions will I make from the brilliant idea?"
With cryptocurrencies anything could happen. A country could just decide to ban them overnight.
Or a bitcoin gets hacked causing a major scare. There are many scenarios you could make for them to screw up.
OK if you are playing for fun money, not money you need to live off.
I'm starting to get those spam emails "Make £13,000 a week from cryptocurrency trading". When those start coming in, you can guess what is likely to happen next.
The more people you see ploughing into these things on twitter the more afraid you should be. Indeed one good idea would be to short anything anyone on twitter tells you to buy.
Through that strategy millions could indeed be made. I'll be interested in bitcoin when I can buy a marks and sparks cake with one. Thinking about setting up my own.
How's about BurnsCoin? You send me £1,000 and I'll send you three BurnsCoins. Sound good? Hell, I'll even do free delivery.
Hmmm, November. It isn't usually a great time to buy, for some reason markets are often a bit rubbish.
Often a better time to buy is early December, before what is usually a good end of year. So I would say if you do buy anything now make sure it is something you are very keen on.
Perhaps if you believe in conspiracy theories November can be duff because then it sets us all up for the Xmas rally.
After all if shares went up too much this month we might not have one.
Anyhow as you may have noticed the last month I've been taking profits rather than buying and continue to be a cautious buyer right now I also wouldn't let anything run into much of a loss. if you buy now and it starts to tank, get out till December.
So though I have a shortlist of new shares I am interested in buying I'm going to wait with the view I might be able to buy them more cheaply in December - we'll cover them at the December seminars.
So I have sold a lot more and now sitting on a cash pile of more than £250,000. I'm kind of interested in topping up on decent shares on a bad day though.
I did manage to get a ftse short on in the 7500 area but only a smallish one, bad luck. But would expect to come out of that anyway in December.
I suspect I will disappoint you by saying I've not bought anything much!
This is where unlike a tipster, a mag writer or the like I don't have to "come up with stuff".
They have to fill space or else they get fired or don't get paid! I don't have to make things up - take me or leave me, see if I care!
However I bought some more Avon Rubber (LON:AVON) after excellent results.
Managed to get some at the sell price using direct market access (more on this at the seminar if you are coming).
I also banked some before results, more below. Kind of wish I hadn't.
Avon looks a class act - a brilliant balance sheet and great businesses and it's just been selected as a contractor for the US defence department.
You would have thought the shares would trade on a higher rating but the market seems to ignore them But I am hopeful of a re-rating at some stage to push them through highs and up another couple of hundred pee.
So not being a buyer at the mo not much else to say but to make up for it a bit I will reveal a high risk one I bought which those of you who get my higher risk sipp trades will already know about but bought some for the isa as well.
That's Ab Dynamics. (LON:ABDP). It doesn't come within my usual parameters and it is highly rated. But looking forward I feel it is worth the risk.
It designs and makes advanced testing systems for the automotive industry.
But what makes it more interesting than your average share is bits I found on its website including "driving robots" and "Driverless cars".
Although I hate the idea of both they are coming, and soon and guess which company is going to get a whole lot of work?
That's why it is already highly rated but perhaps it could end up being even more highly rated as the years go on. It does have net cash too and I think it will take time and patience. But a reminder it IS high risk as it has a high rating!
Right yet more profit taking and this time a lot to add to the lot I already bagged recently. I think this is them all but I'm writing this at the last minute so it might not be.
Some are total sells, and some topslices and part profits. People seem to think you should always just sell all of something. You can always just sell some if unsure.
The highlight profit take is Yu Group (LON:YU) which has been a tremendous trade.
I bought at under 200p about a year and a half ago - at over 800p profit really just had to be snapped up! So I did, banking a marvellous £15,068. Now why the hell didn't I buy more!
Second highlight was Supergroup (LON:SGP) spreadbet. My thanks to Fiona for bringing this one up at the seminar!
It hit 2000p today and I just couldn't resist banking the profit which is £8,430 in double quick time! It may go higher but nearly 300 points so fast is enough for me for the mo.
As mentioned earlier the Avon topslice I wish I hadn't done yielded a profit of £797. I banked some IG but also kept some so closed one of the website positions for a profit of £1,598. Keeping the spreadbet which is showing a bigger profit than that at the mo. (In real life the positions were way bigger.)
So those the highlights, for smaller beer, mainly small topslices.... part Zyt (LON:ZYT) profit £467, Eto LON:ETO (£573) Num (LON:NUM) £174 Flow,£1,207 xsg (LON:XSG) £2,293 and Jar (LON:JAR) £860. Som started falling so "got out quick" for a loss of £88. But looking for re-entry point any mo as coming down to a nice buy price.
Profits banked for the site then are £30,633.
Elsewhere Volex (LON:VLX) came up with a very convincing statement, nice profit there now but could be more to come.
The plan now?
Keep powder dry and lots of cash on the site and await December when I shall be probably going in large as they used to say many years ago in Ibiza. There are already quite a few shares starting to look value so it won't be long before I will be getting some substantial buying boots on.