Blog

Livewire Live portfolio – December 2016 update

by Doug Morris, CEO, Sharesight | Jan 9th 2017

In June of 2016 we attended Livewire Live, where some of Australia’s top fund managers gave their stock picks for the coming year. We built a backdated portfolio of those picks and we also added the picks from the previous year. We invested $10,000 in each company.

Six months have elapsed since we started tracking the 2016 expert picks, and 18 months have elapsed since the 2015 selections. So, are we up or down?

Through 7 January 2017...the fund managers are up slightly, but failed to beat the benchmark. The combined portfolio of the picks from 2015 and 2016 is up only 2.9%, which in dollar terms equals a gain of $2,704.74.

Our benchmark STW, the ETF that tracks the ASX200, has returned 5% since the first trade was made on 1 June 2015 (annualised).

Livewire Live Portfolio Update - 2016-12 Table - Livewire Live Stock Picks 2015-2016

The overall return betrays the fact that the 2015 and 2016 picks have performed very differently. Keep in mind that the picks from 2015 are annualised, whereas we can only use a total return for the 2016 picks since a year has not yet elapsed.

The 2015 picks have as a group, returned 28.24%, generating a capital return of over $11,500 and dividend income over $2,400.

The 2016 picks, however, are down 18.13%, posting a capital loss of about $12,500 and dividend income of about $1,300.

The top performer from the class of 2015 remains Ben Griffith's pick of Auckland International Airport (AIA), up over 22%.

The best performing stock of the 2016 class has been Crispin Murray's Qantas (QAN) returning 7.29%.

The worst performer has been Ben Clark’s iCar Asia, down over 70%.

Screenshot - Livewire Live Portfolio 2016-12

We know these fund managers would preach long-term investing and patience so we’ll keep updating you on their performance throughout 2017.

A glance at the short term (3 months) returns doesn’t do the portfolio any favours... down over 11%...

Portfolio note: in 2016 APN News & Media issued bonus shares of Nzme Ltd on a 1:1 basis. Nzme has been added to our portfolio appropriately via our bonus shares corporate action functionality.

Track the Livewire Live portfolio

We’ve made it easy to track the fund managers’ picks within your Sharesight account. Simply go to our community forum and request to have the portfolio shared with you. New clients, get started by signing-up for a FREE account!

Portfolio updates

FURTHER READING

Crypto tax

Crypto tax: What Australian investors need to know

by Stephanie Stefanovic | Aug 26th 2025

In this article, we discuss how crypto is taxed in Australia, methods to calculate CGT, reporting requirements and more.

Precious metals

Track gold, silver, platinum and palladium in Sharesight

by Prashant Mohan | Aug 22nd 2025

With Sharesight, you can track the price and performance of precious metals such as gold, silver, platinum and palladium.

Future income report

See upcoming dividends and future income estimates with Sharesight

by Stephanie Stefanovic | Aug 18th 2025

This article will discuss why it’s important to track your dividend income, and how you can do that with Sharesight’s future income report.