How have events in 2013 influenced your portfolio?

INVESTMENT TRUSTS

Alan Porter, manager, Securities Trust of Scotland, explains how 2013's mixed fortunes have influenced his portfolio.

The number 13 has long had a special significance for superstitious types. So it was unsurprising as 2012 came to an end, a rash of articles emerged trying to divine whether 2013 would be an unlucky year for investors. Of course, such attempts at market prognostication appear every year – the fact this one ends in 13 merely provided writers with an added paranormal slant. In my view, the supernatural imagery was entirely apt. The year began with the US nearly falling over its ‘fiscal cliff’. Then we had the fiasco of the Italian election. In the spring, the Cypriot government sparked ...