Our choices ranged from the smallest end of the market cap scale with AIM-listed Monitise and ASOS, to giant FTSE 100 leaders such as Lloyds and Rolls Royce.
Six months on, the performance has been varied but all of the stocks have managed to stay afloat in spite of the recent sell-off.
Here we look at how our picks have fared so far this year.
ASOS
Keeping company with the likes of FE Alpha Manager Harry Nimmo (pictured), editor Joshua Ausden tipped online fashion retailer ASOS to deliver some of the highest returns in 2013.
The AIM-listed company, while volatile, has proved surprisingly resilient in the recent downturn and is up an impressive 61.84 per cent this year. The FTSE AIM index is down 0.53 per cent. The standout growth is part of a long upward trend for the internet fashion retailer. Over the last decade, it has picked up more than 99,000 per cent – meaning if an investor had put just £100 in the stock 10 years ago, they would have £99,542.52 in their pocket today.
Performance of stock over 10yrs
Source: FE Analytics
Ausden says the stock has gone up by so much that he does not want to put any more into it. However, since its launch in the US has not yet had the desired effect on the firm’s share price, he will continue to hold it for the long-term.
Lloyds
Even though Lloyds was the best-performing FTSE 100 stock last year, production editor Anthony Luzio thought there was more to come from the bank and tipped it to deliver strong returns in 2013.
While it has not surged ahead in the way ASOS has, the bank has picked up 37.44 per cent over the past six months, compared with just 12.14 and 11.21 per cent from the FTSE All Share and FTSE 100 respectively.
Luzio expects Lloyds to keep climbing throughout the year, but does not plan to add to his position at the moment.
Instead he is looking to more out-of-favour areas of the market to diversify over the long-term.
Rolls Royce
Reflecting her cautious outlook for markets at the start of the year, features editor Jenna Voigt picked up FTSE 100 stalwart Rolls Royce, preferring its steady, income-paying characteristics to the more volatile small caps that surged ahead in the latter part of 2012.
Since the start of 2013, the iconic aerospace and automotive company has gained 36.35 per cent. It is yielding 1.9 per cent.
The company has seen fairly steady long-term growth, 2008 aside, gaining 1,083.12 per cent over the last decade.
However, negative press hit the company this week as it was accused in a US lawsuit of hiding engine defects, which could have a negative impact on the share price.
Voigt thinks the company is still a good long-term holding and that it should continue to perform steadily throughout the year. However, given the recent uplift in markets, she says it is too expensive to add to her position at the moment.
Paddy Power
Senior reporter Thomas McMahon was backing bookmaker Paddy Power from the start of the year.
Since then, the stock has picked up 10.67 per cent, lagging the FTSE All Share by nearly 2 percentage points.
The stock has also been volatile this year, taking a nose-dive in the early part of April before the rest of the market corrected, although it has been moving in a generally positive direction since mid-May.
Paddy Power is currently yielding 2.1 per cent.
McMahon says the stock was a reasonably defensive choice, but that the economic environment has changed a lot since the start of the year and he wants to diversify his holdings.
He is holding onto his position but thinks it is too expensive to add to, and says more cyclical areas would be better in current market conditions.
Monitise
Reporter Alex Paget elected to play the small cap rally through AIM-listed Monitise.
While the technology and services company has outperformed the FTSE AIM index so far this year, gaining 6.62 per cent, it has lagged the FTSE All Share and was hit hard in the downturn in May.
However, Paget thinks the stock can recover and expects it to rebound now that the market has corrected. He is using the downturn as an opportunity to add to his position to take advantage of equity gains in the second half of the year.
What stock are you tipping to shoot the lights out for the remainder of the year? Leave a comment below, or email us at editorial@financialexpress.net
