A Systematic Approach to Stock Selection in 2026 with Stockopedia

The UK Investor Magazine was delighted to welcome Ed Croft, CEO of Stockopedia, back to the podcast to explore the key drivers of returns in 2025 and look forward to 2026.

Register here to learn how to identify stocks with a higher probability of market outperformance

The podcast explores Stockopedia’s NAPS (No-Admin Portfolio System) portfolio, which has achieved remarkable returns of 345% since inception, approximately 15% annualised, over 11 years.

The 2025 portfolio generated a 32% return with a 75% hit rate (15 winners out of 20 positions), outperforming 208 out of 209 fund managers in the IA UK All Companies sector, according to Stockopedia data.

This success was achieved with just one hour of work per year, focusing on unloved UK value stocks rather than chasing popular US tech stocks.

The discussion centred on moving investors from being “gamblers” chasing story stocks to becoming “craftsmen” following systematic, rules-based approaches. The NAPS strategy uses Stockopedia’s StockRanks system, which evaluates stocks from 0-100 based on three factors: Quality (profitability), Value (cheapness), and Momentum (price strength).

The portfolio employs a “3D Process” – Drivers (high-ranking stocks), Diversity (20 stocks across 10 sectors using a “Noah’s Ark” approach), and Discipline (annual rebalancing).

The 2025 portfolio’s success stories included gold stocks Serabi Gold and Metals Exploration (both up over 160%), and several takeover targets like Alliance Pharma (+41%). The podcast emphasised that good, cheap stocks attract buyers, particularly in the unloved UK market where low valuations create abundant takeover activity. Even the portfolio’s worst performer, Hikma Pharmaceuticals (-25%), didn’t sink overall returns due to proper diversification.

Register here to learn how to identify stocks with a higher probability of market outperformance

The podcast concluded by teasing the 2026 NAPS portfolio, due for publication on January 1st, which features takeover-candidate recovery stocks with an average 3.7% yield, including household names like Vodafone and GSK alongside small-cap turnarounds. A webinar was announced for January to teach the 3D process in detail, reinforcing the message that systematic, evidence-based investing should be “fun, profitable, and less emotional.”

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