We cut our losses on two of our more disappointing share tips last week when social homes contractor Mears and speciality chemicals group Croda triggered sell signals under our stop loss system.

They had looked vulnerable for some time but the exit signs finally flashed last week when the prices of both companies slipped back to just 90 per cent of previous peaks.

We make it a rule to eject any share which falls to this target figure to limit further short term losses although investors with longer time frames may prefer to hold on for a recovery.

Croda, for example, has been hit by concerns over prospects for the chemicals sector in a global economics slowdown although no fewer than six stockbroking firms now think the worries have been overdone and have brought out buy notes on the shares.

Similarly, Mears still has its fans after suffering a sharp markdown on government moves to hike wages for low-paid workers and analysts at Liberum Capital believe the share price could be rebound more than 30 per cent over the next year or so.

Last week's notional share sales were particularly disappointing as the majority of our recommendations held up reasonably well in the turbulent stock market conditions which followed the American decision to keep interest rates at an unchanged level.

True, there were a few fallers with safety equipment group Halma undergoing another of its periodic bouts of profit taking, Kingfisher continuing to slide following news of lack-lustre trading and wall-coverings group Walker Grenbank running into nervous selling ahead of results later this month.

But they were largely balanced by good gains in the likes of National Grid, Restaurant Group, Dairy Crest and Hill & Smith.

As a result, the total value of our four portfolios recorded an overall slippage of only around 0.2 per cent with the 2015 and 20143 selections showing fractional falls, the 2014 list edging higher and the 2012 portfolio virtually unchanged.