Most of our share tips managed to keep on an even keel in last week's choppy stock markets with the overall value of our four portfolios showing a small gain at our review on Wednesday morning.

There were some disappointments along the way and we sold our notional holding in F&C Asset Management when its share price tumbled to its published stop/loss level following the recent resignation of chairman Edward Bramson.

It was our third disposal in the past fortnight after the evictions of Scottish firms Aberdeen Asset Management and John Wood Group, which had also triggered sell signals under the stop/loss system.

We could be forced to sell more in coming weeks with property group Grainger and Legal & General showing signs of coming off the boil, and Barclays and Greggs still trading below our purchase prices.

As things stand, we already hold more than £19,000 in cash - roughly half the valuation of the four portfolios - which is available for reinvestment when share prices show signs of stabilising.

This could be particularly useful if the Government presses ahead with the planned flotation of the Post Office on generous terms or the public is tapped for cash to buy shares in Lloyds Banking. We are already due to pay out a modest £150 to take up new shares in Barclays' big fundraising issue - provided the current price does not fall to our stop/loss figure first.

The F&C performance last week saw the 2013 portfolio slip to a loss of just more than 1% but that was balanced by a 1.6% gain for the 2012 list where all four remaining constituents managed small rises.

The 2010 and 2011 selections both ended with their overall values virtually unchanged.