23 June 2026 / Weekly Reviews
Week 16 - A pullback and the Pershing Square buy
Week 16 did not feel especially good, but it also did not feel terrible. It felt more like a normal pullback after a very strong Week 15.
Snapshot
Current account value
Around £1,981
Week 15 account value
£2,055.86
Weekly move
About -£74.86
Starting capital
£1,999
Position versus starting value
About -£18
Investments
Around £1,940.90
Cash balance
£40.07
Current cost basis
£2,039.64
Unrealised result
-£98.74 / -4.84%
Main new trade
Bought 2 shares of Pershing Square Holdings
Main weekly drag
SpaceX pulling back from last week’s strong gain
Main lesson
Rebuild cash slowly and keep protecting capital first
How the week felt
Week 16 did not feel especially good, but it also did not feel terrible. It felt more like a normal pullback after a very strong Week 15. Last week the account looked much stronger because SpaceX was up around 30% and the account was sitting at £2,055.86. This week it was back around £1,981, which is frustrating because it puts the portfolio slightly below the original starting capital again.
The main reason the week felt worse on paper was SpaceX. Last week it was the biggest winner in the portfolio. This week it pulled back and was slightly down. That is a big swing in a short period of time, but I do not feel emotional about it. It would have been nice to take some profit when it was up strongly, but I bought SpaceX as a long-term holding, not just as a quick trade.
Pershing Square Holdings
The main new trade was buying 2 shares of Pershing Square Holdings at 3,922p per share, for a total cost of £78.44. I bought it mainly because of the discount to NAV. The way I see it, I am getting exposure to the companies Pershing owns at a cheaper price than if I bought the underlying companies directly.
I also like Bill Ackman as an investor. I have looked up to him for years and I think he has made some of the greatest trades on Wall Street. I see Pershing Square as the type of holding that could compound at around 10% to 15% per year over the next 10 to 20 years if the strategy continues to work.
This was not meant to be a quick trade. It was more about adding another high-quality, investor-led holding to the account and giving the portfolio exposure to a different style of investing.
Current holdings
Holding | Ticker | Value | Weight | Result
iShares Physical Gold | SGLN | £350.71 | 18.07% | -£57.99 / -14.19%
Vanguard S&P 500 (Acc) | VUAG | £221.75 | 11.43% | +£23.75 / +11.99%
Meta Platforms | META | £220.14 | 11.34% | -£25.76 / -10.48%
Realty Income | O | £150.14 | 7.74% | -£11.51 / -7.12%
UBS Nasdaq-100 (Acc) | QQQA | £148.01 | 7.63% | +£29.45 / +24.84%
Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | £143.09 | 7.37% | +£3.42 / +2.45%
NextEra Energy | NEE | £132.28 | 6.82% | -£7.27 / -5.21%
Airbnb | ABNB | £129.16 | 6.66% | +£9.60 / +8.03%
SpaceX | SPCX | £111.62 | 5.74% | -£7.32 / -6.15%
Symbotic | SYM | £96.52 | 4.97% | -£19.92 / -17.11%
Rheinmetall | RHM | £89.10 | 4.59% | -£30.22 / -25.33%
Pershing Square Holdings | PSH | £76.20 | 3.93% | -£2.24 / -2.86%
Alphabet Class A | GOOGL | £72.30 | 3.73% | -£2.62 / -3.50%
SpaceX and gold
The SpaceX pullback was the biggest change. I still believe in the company long term, and I may look to buy more in the future if I have cash and the price gives me a good opportunity. For now, I am happy holding it and not reacting emotionally to the first proper pullback.
Gold is still the largest position and the biggest cash loss. It is frustrating because it has not performed how I would have liked, but I still see it as a hedge. I have been watching and reading more about how governments and central banks think about gold, and that has made me more comfortable with the long-term reason for holding it.
The lesson this week
The biggest lesson is cash. After buying Pershing Square, the cash balance is only around £40.07. I like the buy, but it means I have used most of my flexibility. Going forward, I need to rebuild cash slowly and keep protecting capital first.
I still believe in the positions I own, but Week 16 was a reminder that the portfolio can move quickly in both directions. I do not want to sell good holdings just because of one weak week, but I also do not want to become careless with cash.