Unlucky 13 for Monkeys, lucky for Sensex, brokers

Clearly, 13 is not a lucky number for the Monkeys because at the end of week 13, both Monkey portfolios 1 and 2 were beaten soundly by the benchmark indices as well as the brokers’ picks.

The Sensex and Nifty ended the period since August 19 - the date when all the portfolios were created - with a 1.2-1.4 percent gain, while Monkey portfolio 1 - a collection of 10 randomly-picked stocks from the BSE 100 - slipped by 2.8 percent ( View table ).

The biggest losers in the portfolio were Adani Enterprises, which tumbled by a massive 37 percent, and Siemens, which dropped by 15 percent. Six stocks ended positive at the end of the 13-week period, but the losses in these two stocks more than negated those gains.

Meanwhile, Monkey portfolio 2 - a portfolio of 10 randomly-selected stocks from the BSE 500 - shed 4.5 percent. Letting the portfolio down were KSK Ventures, which surrendered a whopping 41 percent, and VIP Industries, which plunged 20 percent. Five stocks ended in the red over the entire period ( View table ).

The brokers’ portfolio, consisting of 10 stocks from 10 brokerages , did better than the Monkeys, posting a lower 1.4 percent loss ( View table ). The biggest loser in this portfolio was Coal India, down 24 percent. Six stocks ended in negative territory, but the losses were not as steep as those in the Monkey portfolios.

Even for the week ending 18 November, the benchmark indices retained their lead as they limited their losses to 4.8-5.1 percent. They were followed by the experts’ portfolio, which declined 6.6 percent. Both Monkey portfolios lost nearly 7 percent at the end of the week.

However, neither Monkey is too ruffled by the market losses. In fact, we hear that they’re going about their business as usual.

In the case of Monkey 1, word is he has left for Haridwar to hang upside down from a tree and practice some relaxation principles he learnt at a recently-attended “Eat, Love and Pray” session. Looks like he’s not going to be making any frantic 2 am calls to his broker to rejig his portfolio any time soon.

Monkey 2 also, we heard, is not sitting around scratching his head trying to figure out what went wrong. In fact, the last we heard is that he’s more preoccupied with the soaring prices of vegetables and fruits (how on earth is he going to make those all-natural smoothies that he loves?). Oh, and his foot is healing nicely, we were also told (he slipped on a banana peel some time ago).

It will be interesting to watch how long the Monkeys remain unaffected by their stock market losses. Of course, it would be pertinent to point out here that while the Monkeys have lost ground for two weeks in a row, across the 13-week period, they’ve been ahead of their rivals - the indices and brokers - for more than 60 percent of the time.

Come back next week to see if the brokers and Sensex continue to thrash the Monkeys, the former kings of the stock market, or if the Monkeys hit back (metaphorically, we mean – they’re actually very peace-loving creatures).

Come on Monkeys, get back in the game! We’re rooting for you!