We are braced for a bumpy ride as we launch a new portfolio for 2012 in an attempt to beat the performance of the benchmark FTSE 100 share index for the 10th successive year.

Prospects for the next six months look particularly tricky amid fears that the UK will officially slide into the dreaded double-dip recession and important European customers will cut back as their governments move to prop up the euro with budgetary constraints.

But we have seen tough times in the past since launching our first portfolio in 2003 and are convinced that we have found six shares that are well placed to cope with anything thrown at them.

We are investing a notional £1000 in each of the shares and will monitor progress on a weekly basis until the portfolio is wound up at the end of 2015.

We are comforted from the fact that the value of our liquidated portfolios has at least doubled on four occasions in the past six years..

A key factor is our stop/loss system , introduced after our 2007 experiences when our tips fell 50% in a matter of months, and we will sell any share which falls 10% from previous peaks.

The proceeds will be held in cash until we identify more promising opportunities for re-investment.

In common with other newspaper tipsters, we do not take into account the cost of buying and selling shares and published share prices are midway between those that dealers quote for buying (higher) and selling (lower).

Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy experienced an awful 2011 with its shares down nearly 40% from their peak following a succession of drilling disappointments in Greenland.

But it now has solid underpinning as chief executive Sir Bill Gammell prepares to hand back at least 140p a share to investors following the sale of the bulk of its Indian assets and we make it our nap selection.

Apart from the cash windfall, shareholders should benefit as directors decide how to spend another £1 billion or so which should be available after the group completes its drilling programme in Greenland.

Followers believe the shares will race ahead if Cairn buys into an established production company in a "safe" area to add to its minority stake in the highly-profitable Indian business.

Glasgow's Smart Metering Systems has made an impressive start as a quoted company with its shares up more than 50% since its Aim float last July and should continue to sparkle in the run-up to 2019 when all existing gas and electric meters are due to be exchanged for newer models.

Its appliances are already in some 245,000 domestic homes and it dominates the industrial gas market through its contacts with the main suppliers, which should give it a head start on competitors in the race for the new business.

Brokers at Cenkos believe directors will sanction its first dividend later this year.

Fellow Glasgow-based technology company Iomart has also enjoyed its time on Aim – although the junior market lost 25% overall last year – and seems set to continue its recent good run as hard-pressed businesses look to save money by linking into its comprehensive "cloud computing" package and brokers are already forecasting a sharp profits improvement this year.

Plant-hire group Ashtead is another company gaining from economic woes as customers protect cash flow by delaying purchases of their own equipment. Directors have forecast a substantial recovery for this year with particularly strong business in the US.

Health-and-safety specialist Halma has a 30-year track record in paying increased dividends and directors have prepared for 2012 with increased spending on research and development. It is difficult to argue with their optimism and the shares look set to out-perform as investors look for reliability in troubled times.

Credit-checking agency Experian, which saw its own debt rating upgraded by Standard & Poor's a few weeks ago, stands to gain from any pick-up in the US economy in the run-up to the presidential elections but is already set to benefit from a renewed emphasis on cash flow and profit margins.