SIF folio half-year review: gradually deploying cash

After an uncertain start to the year, I’m happy to report that my rules-based SIF folio has managed to move ahead of the wider market in recent weeks. As a quick reminder, I recently published a more in-depth explainer of this strategy here.
At the end of the first half of the year, SIF was up by 3.8%, compared to a gain of just 0.5% for its FTSE All-Share index benchmark:

As I commented at the end of the first quarter, the portfolio’s heavy cash weighting has smoothed out the volatility we’ve seen so far this year. This is a feature of the way the portfolio works, not a deliberate strategy on my part. My stock purchases depend on a feed of new ideas from my SIF buying screen, and from time to time this dries up.
However, I’ve grown to appreciate the benefits of holding cash – even though it does sometimes lead to periods of severe FOMO when markets are rising.
Portfolio review
After a long dry spell, I’ve been able to add some interesting new shares to SIF (and my own holdings) during the second quarter. I’ll...