MoneyWeek's shares editor explains how his trading tips fared in 2024

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This was a good year for markets, with the FTSE and S&P 500 rising by 10% and 30% respectively. Similarly, while I suffered some reversals this year, it was generally a profitable 2024.

Tips carried forward

Construction firm Mitie was the first to be closed, at a profit of £40. Watches of Switzerland was then stopped out, resulting in a loss of £468. My short of trading platform was Robinhood, losing £723, while my short of car retailer Carvana left me £950 in the red. I decided to take profits of £666 on IT firm Computacenter.

MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

I took losses of £200 on card company Moonpig and profits of £515 on payroll software firm Paycom. Kitchen firm Howden Joinery was closed in issue 1206, taking profits of £510.

My short of video games seller GameStop made at a profit of £462, recruiter SThree was closed with a profit of £234, and solar energy firm Sunrun at a profit of £300. Budget airline easyJet was closed in issue 1214 at a profit of £235. My short of air-taxi firm Joby Aviation was at a loss of £375.

Overall, eight of the tips that I began the year with ended up in the black, and five in the red. While the profits outweighed the losses at £246, this was down from the £2,128 they were making at the start of the year.

Tips made and closed this year

I made 21 tips in 2024, with 13 of them closed during the year. Travel concession operator SSP was closed at a loss of £648. I had better luck with spread betting firm IG Group, with profits of £604, and car company GM Motors, with £452 in the black.

While building materials-supplier Builders FirstSource was closed at a loss of £150, I did far better tipping Rolls-Royce Holdings, which was eventually cashed out at a profit of £1,253.

I turned my attention to leisure company Hollywood Bowl, which was closed at a loss of £203. I tipped retailer Next, which was closed out at a profit of £205.

I tipped Royal Caribbean Cruises. This proved to be by far the most successful, since it made £2,940 by the time it was closed. Payments firm Paypal also made a profit of £800 when it was closed.

My suggestion that you should short bank Axos Financial ended with a loss of £850. Builder Vistry and foreign-exchange specialist Alpha Group also lost £518 and £510 respectively when they were closed out.

My worst tip was bitcoin miner Riot Platforms which was closed at a loss of £960.

Overall, the big size of the wins meant that I emerged £2,415 ahead.

Ongoing tips

As the same time, my ongoing tips are also doing well. Out of the six ongoing long tips (Marks & Spencer, Harworth, United Airlines, Hilton Food Group, Trainline and Domino’s), four are flourishing.

M&S is at 389p, making a profit of £700. United Airlines has reached $97, making profits of £1,584. Trainline is at 421p, making £102, while Domino’s is at 340p, producing a profit of £6.

The only two exceptions are developer Harworth, which is at 112p, losing £252, and Hilton Food Group at 901p, losing £51. My two shorts, Trump Media and Technology Group and Ocado, are at $35.77 and 319p respectively, making profits of £569 and £6. Overall, my open tips are making a net total of £2,664.

This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.