Why Copper Belongs on Your Christmas List: How to Position Your Portfolio for a Santa Rally

🏆 WE ARE NOW AN AWARD-WINNING PODCAST
Huge thank you to everyone who voted! TAOI just won Best Financial Podcast, Best Financial Analysis, and Best Investing Education at the Good Money Guide Awards.
(Plus: unofficially…Best Haircut goes to Spice.)


This week, Rich McDonald, Chris Fellingham and Mark “Spice” Holden break down one of the most complex macro weeks of the year. From Japan’s shock rate-rise chatter to a crypto wipeout, a commodities surge, and the portfolio’s push toward being fully invested for the potential Santa Rally…yes, we’ve added more copper!

We also answer a few listener questions;
1. Should all investors be using a stop loss?
2. How to manage positions when taking profits and managing the downside risk?
3. Should we all have an annual target return for our ISAs and how to manage investments when you hit your target early?



This Week’s Highlights:
💥 Crypto Rollercoaster - Bitcoin dumps 10% right after last week’s episode… then rips back. China’s clampdown on illegal exchanges sparks volatility.
💵 Dollar Weakness = Commodity Strength - A 1.5% fall in the dollar boosts metals across the board. Silver hits a new all-time high, gold approaches one and copper posts a new post-crash high.
🇯🇵 Japan Shocks Markets - The Bank of Japan hints at a rate hike (from 0.5% to 0.75%), sending JGB yields to 1.9%, the highest in years.
🎅 Santa Rally… Incoming? - December is typically strong, but Japan’s sudden move could complicate things.
🇺🇸 US Markets Stay Resilient - The S&P 500 notches its 7th straight monthly gain.
📉 Oil Wobbles - Tensions with Venezuela move prices, but weak structural supply keeps oil struggling.

Special Macro Deep Dive: Japan, Yields & Why It Matters
The team translate Japan’s bond market (yes, really) into plain English:
What a “30-year vs 10-year implied 20-year rate” actually tells us
Why the market is already pricing Japanese rates rising to ~4% over time
How a rising yen hurts Nikkei earnings
Why Japan’s decades of deflation explain their ultra-cautious approach now
If you’ve ever wanted to understand JGBs without falling asleep, this is the episode.


Portfolio Snapshot:

Weekly Performance: +0.68%
Total Return Since Inception: +9.8%

Top Performers:
🥇 BlackRock World Mining Trust: +5.4%
🥈 WisdomTree Copper ETF: +3.34%
🥉 VanEck Crypto & Blockchain Innovators ETF: +2.55%

Underperformers:
🇮🇳 iShares MSCI India ETF: –2.94%
🌏 iShares Core MSCI EM IMI ETF: –0.93%
🇯🇵 iShares Nikkei 225 ETF: –0.64%


Actions Taken:
We are now fully invested heading into year-end.

This week:
• +2.5% WisdomTree Copper ETF (doubling our copper allocation)
• Cash now fully deployed, with Gilts acting as defensive ballast

What You’ll Learn
How Japan’s bond market can move global stocks
Why a weak dollar supercharges metals
Why India suddenly fell this week
How professionals think about risk once they’ve hit a return target
The psychology of selling winners and losers
Why copper may be the portfolio’s secret weapon for 2026


📈 Download the full Portfolio Performance Slides
View the portfolio breakdown: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ueh6...

📧 Get in touch: [email protected]
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Disclaimer:
This podcast is provided for educational and informational purposes only. The content presented is not intended as personal investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any particular securities or investments. All discussions regarding the model portfolio are illustrative and for educational purposes.


Your capital is at risk. The value of shares, ETFs and ETCs can fall as well as rise, which could mean getting back less than you originally put in.

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Offer valid until 31/12/2025 on ISA, GIA or SIPP accounts. T&Cs apply.
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