How my tips have fared

Despite the recent market turbulence, my long tips haven’t done as badly as you might expect, with three rising and three falling. US homebuilder DR Horton fell below the stop-loss level of $88 (which means you would have automatically closed the position). Construction firm Morgan Sindall fell from 2,362p to 2,150p, while wealth manager Rathbone Group dropped from 2,060p to 1,866p. However, supermarket

J Sainsbury went up from 279p to 285p, mobile phone group Airtel Africa rose from 135p to 149p, and bus company National Express rose from 255p to 264p. Counting DR Horton, my long tips are making a profit of £3,210, down from £3,823.

The overall performance of my long tips may have been disappointing, but the silver lining to the market turmoil is that my short tips moved in my favour, especially as technology and so-called meme stocks, have done particularly badly over the past fortnight. Online marketing group HubSpot fell from $530 to $455, US cinema chain AMC slid from $22.78 to $16.64, while remote medicine firm Teladoc went down from $79.80 to $73.18. Overall, my shorts are making a profit of £2,597.

Looking over the portfolio, I have five long tips (Morgan Sindall, Rathbone Group, J Sainsbury, Airtel Africa and National Express), plus four short tips (KE Holdings, HubSpot,

AMC and Teladoc). While I wouldn’t suggest you close any of the current long positions, I’d raise the stop loss on Morgan Sindall to 1,875p (from 1,850p); on J Sainsbury to 1,550p (from 1,500p); on Airtel Africa to 105p (from 95p); and on National Express to 130p (from 123p). I’d also cut the price at which you cover your AMC short to $40 (from $45), and cover Teladoc at $150 (from $210).