We are now moving towards the end of the year and a quieter fortnight in the markets; it provides us with an opportunity to update subscribers on our November stock tips, the performance of the tips list and also a chance to look back on some of our top bets in 2025.
We have been leaning heavily into precious metals in 2025, partly through a physical gold position, and partly through our exposure to gold miners. We have had some great results from our gold mining bets. We tipped Andean Precious Metals [TSX:APM] in June because it fit neatly into our ideal model for a diversified gold mining play. We bought in at CAD 2.67, and the shares are trading at CAD 10.15 at time of writing.
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Other good bets which have reinforced this theme include Serabi Gold [LON:SRB], which we tipped at 174p, now trading (again at time of writing) at 284.50. We got into Thor Explorations [LON:THX] this year at 49.69p, and the stock opened in London on Monday at 72.74p. These shares are being driven by increased demand for gold, higher gold prices overall, and a lack of new gold mining projects coming online, but they are also already profitable producers.
A quick look outside the mining sector also saw some great results. The defence theme has played well for us, with our Babcock [LON:BAB] position now up 289% since we first tipped the company. Implenia [SWX:IMPN] remains a star for us as well, the Swiss-listed construction firm is now up more than 150% since we tipped it. These are great results from large cap stocks over a relatively short time frame.
Japan Post Insurance [TYO:7181]
The first of two tips in November, Japan Post offers life insurance services in Japan as well as agency services for other insurance companies, both foreign and Japanese. Like many other Japanese companies, it has a side hustle, in this case real estate, securities and investment management, which bring in substantial profits.
Japan Post looks like it can be a direct beneficiary of a more favourable investment environment in Japan under new PM Sanae Takaichi. We also expect further government reforms of the bigger, post-linked financial entities in Japan, which could unlock further upside benefits for shareholders under this government.
National Energy Services Reunited [NasdaqCM:NESR]
This US stock is an energy services company with a strong bias towards the Middle East and North Africa regions. It is a dominant player in oilfield services and employs over 6,000 people. It works with oil companies, among them state-owned operations, providing them with a range of services, including hydraulic fracturing, rig services, filtration and drilling fluids, basically the nuts and bolts of on-site crude oil production. Looking specifically at the oil services sector in the Middle East region, analysts like BlueWeave Consulting see a CAGR of at least 7% in this space, if not more.
Removed from coverage in November: Adyen, Bitcoin, CDW, Disney, Nordnet, Prosus, Yellow Cake
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