2025 was a decent year for my Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). For the year, my investment return was over 20%. Here, I’ll reveal how I generated that return. I’ll also discuss my strategy for 2026.
Within my SIPP, I own a mix of passive index trackers, actively-managed funds, thematic exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and individual stocks. My mind is predominantly on growth-focused investments as I have plenty of time until retirement (I’m still in my mid-40s).
This diversified growth focus paid off in 2025. In terms of individual stocks, the star of the show was Google owner Alphabet. This was a large holding in my SIPP at the start of the year and over its course, it rose around 60% – significantly boosting my overall balance.
Another substantial holding in my portfolio that did well was Nvidia. It jumped about 40%. Zooming in on actively-managed funds, Blue Whale Growth was another standout performer. It returned more than 25% for the year, thanks to its focus on the artificial intelligence (AI) buildout.
As for ETFs, the star here was defence- and cybersecurity-focused HANetf Future of Defence UCITS ETF. This returned about 40% as the defence theme came into sharper focus.
I’ll point out that when stocks pulled back in April, I aggressively invested in a lot of these assets (and others). This really helped my performance. When stocks rebounded in Q2 and Q3, the value of my portfolio surged.
I was able to do this as I always keep a bit of cash on the sidelines in preparation for a market pullback. That way, if attractive opportunities arise, I’m ready to capitalise.
As for my strategy for 2026, I’ll still be focusing on long-term growth. I’m still bullish on themes like technology and AI so I’ll continue to hold onto names like Alphabet and Nvidia.
However lately, I’ve been diversifying my portfolio a little more so it’s a little less tech heavy. For example, I’ve been adding to funds that focus on European and healthcare stocks.
Given the recent strong performance of the market, I’ve also been banking some profits to build up my cash pile. This cash is sitting in a short-term money market fund (earning around 4%), ready to deploy if the market pulls back and better buying opportunities arise.
In terms of stocks I’d like to buy for my SIPP, one name I’ve got my eye on is BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT), an American company that specialises in nuclear power components.
Across the world today, both governments and companies are embracing nuclear power. And this stock looks like the ideal way to play the theme, in my view.