Wednesday, December 31, 2008

2008 Investing Highlights

This was me end of June, this is me today:

Kenya
Sold: In the money (NMG, TPS, ARM, NIC) & Out of the money (BBK, EA Cables)

Reduced: KCB

Switched to: Equity, Cash

Hold: Equity, AK, miniscule KCB (2,500 shares) & Safcom & Cash

TZ
Bought: Dar es salaam Community Bank

Zambia
Bought: Pamodzi Hotel

Theme has been to move from diversification of risk to concentration of gains. Has it worked? Yes and would have been even more fruitful if I had kept to one of my golden rules of never adding more shares unless the price of the said stock is lower than my average cost so far. I got punished for buying AK at Ksh33.50 thus driving my average for it to early 20s and Equity at Ksh301 and Ksh250 thus driving average to mid 120s.

Overall for the year: average i.e. below 30% gain. Had to rush out of BRIC nations just to stay in the money and NSE has been so-so but thankfully my offloads were all in July/Aug time.

Other investment decisions:
Good ones: Missed out on SIB’s private placement. Having opened a trading account and just about to send the funds to buy some shares at Ksh120, I once more request ed a copy of its accounts. Still not received even today. In the meantime, I now hear that the initial placement failed and subsequently the shares were retailing at ksh30!

Tough ones: After sweating to set up the investment club, I decided to move on because of strategic differences. So why I my still blogging as KCIG? Investment club changed its name.
Bad ones: Hesitated when was Equity was Ksh116…

Investing resource: Thanks Aly Khan for the live prices streaming. Some of my last minute price adjustments relied on the live feed.

Key learnings: Self-discipline, early bird mentality and thereafter liquidity and investors confidence are the key ingredients that turn good company/market fundamentals into investor bounty.

4 comments:

coldtusker said...

30%... you are doing well.

Pamodzi? Wow... those are hardly traded... great hotel properties and run by Taj...

DCB... smart move!

MainaT said...

CT-Pamodzi shares come in small and large batches and I've been accumulating slowly.
DCB-I want to get into TZ, but these are long-term bets.

As for 30%-I can actually got less than this this yr. If you take in to account fx movements and the fact that you can easily get 10% savings account or even t-bill rate, its not that much. Plus one spends a lot more time figuring out share trades.

bankelele said...

congratulations on what i'd say was a great performance in a very difficult year

- I woudl personaly like to go for more private placements, money markets, other african counters and of course real estate in 09

MainaT said...

Banks-my list is broadly similar.