I’ve made a great start to investing. Can it last?’

h m t e ” when others are greedy and be greedy only when others are fearful.” He has been rewarded by starting his investing journey at the beginning of the pandemic and I like the fact that he has been prepared to take profits.

It is always a balancing act between “running your winners” and not being too greedy and his profit taking on 3D Systems, a volatile stock, seems to have been a wise move as the shares are some 45pc off their 2020 peak.

His portfolio is a nice mix of more “blue chip” investments, such as pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline and National Grid, combined with more high- growth, and undoubtedly more speculative, investments.

In the latter camp I would include the hydrogen fuel cell companies in his portfolio. These are very popular with DIY investors but are certainly not for widows and orphans. Mr Rizziello seems to have a skew to certain sectors such as banks and technology developers, too.

His main investment is silver bullion and he has made a good profit from this as sentiment has improved towards the metal. His suggestion that silver will be a winner from modern technology is sound but commodity prices are volatile and this represents a sizeable part of his savings. Perhaps he should take some profits.

My biggest concern is that his Isa comprises more mor than 40 investments and some are valued v at as little as £7. Does he really have the time to monitor them all? The Th amounts invested are generally small sm and the portfolio is unwieldy. unwield Depending Depe on his goals and strategy strate I suggest he consolidates idat his investments into a af few good- quality funds and an maybe reserves a small s amount for his 10 1 “best idea” stocks to learn the ropes of investing.

This may not be as much m fun but it will make m the portfolio easier to manage. m

Lena Patel

Chartered Charte financial planner at ISJ Independent Financial Planning Plann As M Mr Rizziello continues down the path of DIY investing, he needs to have a clear strategy around why he is investing, how long he will be investing for and his capacity for loss: how much he could permanently lose without drastically changing his plans.

Investing via Isas is good for access to his savings instantly, should he need it, but returns on stocks can be volatile.

With just £ 1,500 in cash savings, I would recommend Mr Rizziello builds up a reserve of six months’ worth of net income. This can be held in current accounts or lower- risk investments such as Premium Bonds. His holding in silver is for the future but will be difficult to sell at short notice, so does not make for a suitable safety net.

Once he has built up his savings he could look to invest spare income via his Isa in around 18 months’ time.

He should continue to add to his pension as well as his Isa. I would recommend putting 25pc of his monthly savings in the pension, which will benefit from tax relief, and 25pc into his Isa, with the remainder being put towards his cash savings.

In terms of his investments, Mr Rizziello should first choose a strategy he wants to invest with, such as “value”, buying cheap stocks in the hope they can rebound, or “momentum”, buying rapidly rising stocks and selling before the shares turn.

This will focus his approach and help him to find the most suitable stocks to invest in.

It is also important not to overdiversify. The portfolio currently has 44 holdings but, for example, he holds a number of companies within the same sector such as the banks Standard Chartered, HSBC and Lloyds. Does he need all three?

Investing at the beginning of the pandemic is likely to have lured Mr Rizziello into a false sense of security but as the adage goes, it is time in the market that is important and not timing the market.

I would suggest that he reduces the number of stocks he holds, puts his finances into three brackets – short term, medium term and longer term – and creates a financial savings plan.

If you’d like to be considered, please email money@telegraph.co.uk with the subject line “Give me a Money Makeover” and provide the following information:

Your name, age and telephone number (we will not share this with anyone)

Your main financial goals (in as much detail as possible please), details of any debts (including mortgages) and how you would describe your attitude to investment risk

Current investments, including cash, property and pensions

You must be willing to be photographed for the article