I don't look at, or contribute to, HYP practical as much as I might.
For me, the problem I feel is a lack of sincerity about the board. Sorry.
Allow me to explain myself.
I don't buy into the idea of people having different portfolios. A portfolio is a collection. So for example, if I hold utilities, miners, and banks, I certainly don't perceive that I'm running a bank shares portfolio, a miners portfolio and a utility shares portfolio. As far as I'd be concerned that would be one portfolio that had utilities, miners and banks in it.
And when it comes to HYP practical, I just don't feel that any of the posters are genuinely pure, solely HYP investors. And iirc, I think polls have previously backed this up to quite a large extent, though I'm no longer that bothered enough to go and dig them out to confirm, I'm just going to go off memory.
I had a 'recent' encounter on the HYP where I responded to someone claiming they were struggling what to decide to buy due to the pandemic and they didn't feel comfortable buying just at that time, and I responded by pointing out the FTSE was on a historic yield of 6% and at a level it was previously at 2yrs before the dotcom boom, and that I'd therefore just bought that via an iShares FTSE tracker, after all why take the individual share risk when it really did feel Russian roulette, when the whole market now has such a high yield that it's in the danger zone, and you can buy it with a simple low cost tracker ETF!....
I know, I know, that isn't strictly HYP either, but I do feel that for myself, although I'm not strictly rigid HYP Practical, my *whole* portfolio (except my pension, which isn't a SIPP, and is managed by a pension fund so I don't have a huge amount of control of it) is based on high yield principles. I don't even own a house. But I am aware my overall 'portfolio' isn't strictly HYP practical to the letter of the practical board.
But at the same time - as an overall portfolio - I actually feel that I'm probably closer to a genuine HYP than most of the posters on HYP. And I feel there's a little dishonesty in that, that doesn't really sit all that comfortably. I feel that I probably have more of my overall wealth at stake in high yield shares than probably most who post on the practical board. Most seem to have other pension income already guaranteed via an annuity + state pension + own house, etc, in addition to their HYP. And many seem to run other share portfolios as well, and/or hold investment trusts as well.
That poster I mention that I responded to above, subsequently posted on HYP *Strategies* quite a disparaging post really playing up the negatives of HYP investing during the coronavirus pandemic. Really seeming to want to emphasize how much the shares have fallen. Really making the whole subject of the post and thread about just how stonkingly far HYP shares had fallen in the pandemic compared to cash and prefs.
It felt like another person trying to have a dig at the HYP strategy (granted it was on the strategies board this time, not practical), but I pointed out to the poster that perhaps they had had the courage to buy while it was low, that perhaps they wouldn't have seen such falls, and I pointed out to them my purchase of the FTSE 100 at historic yield of 6%, which I mentioned to them at the time on HYP Practical, and which by this time had now already gone up 8%.
The response... oh, but they did buy lots of other things. They just weren't HYP so they didn't mention them.
I just feel that is completely dishonest. I thought I was genuinely replying to someone who sincerely was investing in an HYP and was looking for encouragement to buy. They spoke of how they didn't feel confident to buy at that point because the future felt so uncertain, etc.
I was completely unaware I was talking to a fictitious persona that someone was just presenting while they were on the HYP board.
I'm not going to name the poster, because I don't think, in my view, due to the strict rules of the board, that anyone is being completely honest on it. I think to some extent, most of the posters are probably in a similar boat.
I think all the posters to some degree or other - even just by adhering to the rules and culture while they are on the board - are similarly dishonest.
It gives the impression to someone coming to the HYP practical board, that here we have a group of people all bought into the HYP principle, and all happy to make this their investment approach. The HYP which was originally presented in the TMF days was portrayed as an alternative to an annuity, for someone to derive an income for their retirement without having to pay fund managers, or whatever. It wasn't presented as being a small part of a wider retirement investment plan - it was presented as being the only one you need.
The reality on HYP practical, however, I believe is that most have other significant non-HYP investments as well.
Like I say, I'm not 'pure' HYP in the HYP practial sense either. That's why I have a strange relation with the board - the news is useful (though it bugs me the times when the news is just a link to the news on another board with no summary and I have to then click through to get the story - I might as well just follow the other board!). But I do shy away from the discussions about what to buy and portion of portfolios, etc, because I know my portfolio isn't pure HYP, so I don't feel it would be appropriate to add my advice.
What I might do with a broader portfolio, I might not feel so comfortable doing if I was strictly limiting my investments to HYP practical. So I don't feel it appropriate to contribute to the what should be the next top ups threads and similar.
There's certainly a huge overlap between my portfolio and HYP. The vast majority of my portfolio is the same companies that crop up on HYP practical, and that's probably while I still do loiter around it.
It just wouldn't feel right to me, to mentally segregate those shares that I hold that would come under HYP, and then pretend that hey, I do hold a pure HYP, so hey I can properly join in the discussion as an HYPer... and then not mention that I also hold other non-UK ETFS (still bought for higher yield though), and FTSE 100 bought for yield, and IUKD.
I don't even hold any ITs, so there isn't any management behind my 'fund' holdings. I just use them as a cheap means of buying high yield shares outside of the UK for additional diversification because I really do have a substantial part of my wealth in high yield equities. But even that - buying outside the UK - seems to be frowned upon as not being in the HYP practical rules (though I note there seems to now be some contention on that).
Anyway, I've probably rambled on long enough to give the picture.
I hope no-one takes offence; it's not intended to cause offence.
Just my view though.
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