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Week 13 Summary

2 June 2026. The account moved back above starting value, a Microsoft trade was closed profitably, and the focus remained on cash discipline, Google re-entry, and not getting carried away by AI enthusiasm.

This website is a personal investment research and portfolio journal. It is not investment advice. I am not FCA-authorised, I do not manage money for other people, and nothing on this site should be treated as a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any investment. All trades, holdings, research notes, and opinions shown here relate to my own personal portfolio and my own decision-making process. Do not copy my trades. Always do your own research and seek professional advice where appropriate.

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2 June 2026 / Weekly Reviews

Week 13 Summary

The account moved back above starting value, a Microsoft trade was closed profitably, and the focus remained on cash discipline, Google re-entry, and not getting carried away by AI enthusiasm.

1. Snapshot
Item
Figure / comment
Current account value
£2,007
Week 12 account value
£1,983.39
Move since Week 12
+£23.61
Starting cost basis
£1,999
Position versus starting value
About +£8
Cash balance
£261.19
Main trade
Bought Microsoft with around £140 and sold for roughly 10% profit
Google position
Still closed; waiting for a better re-entry
Week 13 has been positive for the portfolio. Once again, the account is back above where we started. Last week the account was sitting at £1,983.39, and this week it is at around £2,007. That means the account is now slightly above the original starting point again.
The main positive for the week is that the account is above the starting value, which gives us a bit of breathing room. It is not a huge gain, but it is important because it shows that the portfolio has recovered from the weaker period and is now slightly back in profit.
I am still waiting to re-enter the Google trade. I will only start to consider deploying cash into Google if it moves closer to $365. Even then, I would not deploy all the cash at once. I would only start adding if Google continued to fall, which I hope it does, because that would give us a better entry point.

2. Microsoft trade
I made a trade last week that I did not tell you about at the time, which I am sorry about. It will not happen again.
I bought Microsoft because it is one of the only mega-cap technology stocks that has been down over the past year, so I felt it was a fairly safe investment compared with some of the other large technology names. I put around £140 into Microsoft and sold the full position for roughly a 10% profit. That is why our cash position increased by about £14 since last week.
The trade worked, but the important lesson is that I should still communicate trades properly before or when they happen. The account is meant to be run with discipline, written reasoning and proper review, so I need to make sure I stick to that process.

3. What happened in the market
The market has been very strong recently, and for the most part, our trades have played out well. The reason it does not look stronger in the portfolio is because our gold position is still down around 11.5%, with a cash value loss of about £40.
I am starting to feel more cautious about the portfolio, which is why I am not worried about the gold position. U.S. markets have been trading around record highs, mainly because of enthusiasm around AI and technology.
This matters for my portfolio because a lot of my strongest positions are linked to that same theme. ASML, QQQA, VUAG, Meta and the Microsoft trade all benefit when investors are positive about AI, semiconductors and large technology companies.
At the same time, I am starting to think more carefully about whether markets as a whole could begin to drop. I have been reading The Intelligent Investor, and one of the ideas that stood out to me is that bull markets become dangerous when people start believing prices can keep rising forever.
I realised that I had started to feel a bit like that myself with AI. Part of me was beginning to think that because of AI and everything happening in the world, markets could keep rallying for a long time. That is probably the exact moment when I need to become more disciplined, not more aggressive.

4. What helped the portfolio
The main support in the portfolio is still coming from the growth and technology side.
Our QQQ investment, where I took some profits two weeks ago, has continued to rally and is now up around 24%. I am not bothered that I took some profit, because the trade was still profitable and it helped protect capital. However, it does show that I need to keep learning how to handle winners properly.
VUAG is also up around 12%. This is good because Vanguard S&P 500 is a core long-term holding and gives us exposure to the top 500 U.S. companies. It is not meant to be an exciting short-term trade, but it is doing its job by giving the account broad market exposure.
ASML has also been one of the strongest positions. It is up around 25% in the portfolio, which shows that the AI infrastructure side of the portfolio is still working well.

5. What hurt the portfolio
The biggest drag is still our gold investment. SGLN is down around 11.5%, with a cash loss of about £40. I am not worried about this because gold is meant to act as a hedge in the portfolio. If markets were to suddenly drop, I would expect gold to hopefully rise or at least help reduce the impact of losses elsewhere.
Rheinmetall is our biggest percentage decrease. It is currently down around 25%, or about £30. This is becoming a position where I need to start reassessing my original thesis. Long term, it may still make sense, but I do not want to let one position continue to drag the entire portfolio.
Realty Income and NextEra are also still weak. Realty Income is down around 10.29%, and NextEra is down around 7.22%. These are both rate-sensitive holdings, so they are affected by interest rates, bond yields and investor appetite for defensive income-style stocks.
Meta is slightly down, around 4%, but I am not worried about it as a business. My three most-used apps are all owned by Meta, so I still understand the strength of the company from a personal point of view.
Symbotic is down around 6%, but I am also not too worried about that because it fluctuates often. I still believe heavily in its long-term vision as a business.

6. Google plan
Google is still not back in the portfolio. The current price is around $375, so I am still waiting before reinvesting. I still like Google as a long-term company, but I do not want to buy it just because I feel like I am missing out.
Berkshire Hathaway recently increased its exposure to Alphabet, which gives confidence that the company is still attractive to serious long-term investors. However, Berkshire is in a completely different position from me. They have a huge cash balance and can keep buying if the stock falls further. I cannot copy that approach exactly because I do not have the same amount of cash or flexibility.
That is why the Google plan still needs discipline. If Google comes closer to $365, I can consider using part of the cash. If it does not, I do not need to force the trade.

7. Gold plan
I am considering adding more to gold, but it is still only an idea for now.
The reason would be twofold. First, buying more SGLN would bring down my average cost. Second, it would increase the hedge in the portfolio at a time when I am starting to feel more cautious about the wider market.
However, I need to be careful with this. I do not want to sell my winners too aggressively just to average down into a weaker position. If I trim some of the strong holdings, it needs to be because I am deliberately raising cash and improving the balance of the portfolio, not because I am reacting emotionally to gold being down.
For now, I will watch what happens through the rest of the week before making a decision.

8. Rheinmetall plan
Rheinmetall is now close to a level where I need to reassess it properly. It is currently down around 25% in the account, and I am thinking about selling 50% of the position if it reaches around a 30% loss.
This would not be panic selling. It would be risk management. The original agreement says the aim is to protect capital, avoid impulsive trades, and have written reasoning behind trades.
If Rheinmetall continues weakening, I need to decide whether the long-term defence thesis is still strong enough to justify holding the full position, or whether it makes more sense to reduce exposure and protect the account.

9. Main lessons from the week
The biggest lesson this week is patience with cash.
The account is now back above the starting value, but that does not mean I should become careless. If anything, it makes me want to be more disciplined because I do not want to give back the recovery. I have worked to get the account back above breakeven, so capital security matters more than chasing every rally.
The second lesson is that I need to get better at handling winners. The Microsoft trade worked, and I am happy that I protected the gain, but I also need to learn when a winner should be allowed more room. There is a difference between protecting capital and cutting every good trade too quickly.
The third lesson is that I need to question my own optimism. If I start believing AI can make markets rise forever, that is probably a warning sign. I still believe in the long-term AI theme, but I do not want to confuse a strong long-term theme with a market that has no downside risk.

10. What I want to watch into the end of the week
Whether the account can stay above the £1,999 starting cost basis.
Whether Google pulls back closer to the $365 level.
Whether ASML and QQQA keep leading the portfolio or start to cool off.
Whether gold stabilises and becomes a better hedge.
Whether Rheinmetall reaches the -30% level where I may cut half the position.
Whether the wider market starts to weaken after trading near highs.
Whether I should raise more cash by trimming winners, or simply hold the current cash balance.
Whether my caution is based on sensible risk management or just fear after reading about market cycles.

11. Overall conclusion
Overall, Week 13 has been positive for the portfolio. The account is now around £2,007, which puts it slightly above the original starting point again. That gives us some breathing room, but it does not mean I should become more aggressive.
The strongest parts of the portfolio are still ASML, QQQA and VUAG. The Microsoft trade also helped because it created a realised gain and increased cash. The weakest areas are still gold, Rheinmetall, Realty Income and NextEra.
My main view is that the portfolio is in a better position than it was last week, but the market itself feels more stretched. AI and technology have helped us, but I do not want to assume that prices can keep rising forever. The right approach now is to stay patient, protect capital, hold cash, wait for better entry points, and avoid forcing trades just because the market has been strong.