Eight new shares have been added to Money Observer's hypothetical portfolio the Nifty Thrifty, meaning the portfolio now has its full complement of 30 shares.

AstraZeneca, BAE Systems, Centrica, Dragon Oil, Drax, Logica, Rio Tinto and Unilever have all been added.

So far, the existing 22 shares have been a mixed bag: there have been strong performances from the likes of AMEC and Spirent, but these stars have been eclipsed by Yell, which has has been a shocker.

However, our Nifty Thrifty portfolio is built using sound investment principles.

Starting on 1 June 2010 we have been building up a portfolio of 30 UK-listed companies (with a market value of more than £500 million), using an algorithm that assesses three key criteria: value, as measured by the earnings yield; profitability, measured by return on capital; and financial strength, measured by Piotroski’s F_Score.

The first 14 shares in the portfolio were detailed in the July 2010 edition of Money Observer and four more shares were added on 1 September. Imperial Tobacco, WH Smith, Debenhams and Compass were added on 1 December. 

These are still early days for the Nifty Thrifty. The objective is to beat a FTSE All-Share exchange traded fund handsomely over any five-year period, so there is still some way to go before we can measure the Nifty Thrifty’s success. 

The new additions and the prices paid on 2 March are listed below. The new additions are now also included in the Nifty Thrifty online portfolio, which can be viewed here: http://www.moneyobserver.com/portfolio/nifty-thrifty-portfolio

The full update will be available in the April issue of Money Observer, out in shops on 24 March.