My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, BRKB, LMCA, DISCK, GDWN.L, MKL, AAPL
In:
Out:
Fixed income: 1%
Cash: 18%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 28%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil: 8%, Tech: 3%, Agri: 0%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 14%
New positions: MCESF, X bond, CMSCA
Positions increased: BRKB, CFX, LVNTA, DISCK, CHK bond, LILA, LBTYK, GENGF
Positions reduced:
Positions eliminated: MBNC, AGCO, APA
Flip-flop: VRX
Tough month for oil & gas investors. I am close to throwing in the towel (which might mean that we are at the bottom). Some of the pain was crappy stock and bond selection within the oil&gas universe (BNKJF, SFY bonds, CHK bonds perhaps, possibly GENGF). Bought initial position in MCESF. Added a bit of CHK bond, GENGF. Sold my APA position.
Bought a bit of X bond.
Added to my Malone basket: LVNTA, DISCK, LILA, LBTYK. Swapped DISCA to DISCK at 5% discount.
Added more BRK.
Added a bit of CFX. However upon further review, I think I will sell CFX position.
Flip flopped a bit of VRX for a gain. Not enough to matter in overall results.
Bought tracking position in CMSCA.
Sold remaining MBNC and AGCO.
Going to do some soul searching that may affect the portfolio and plans for next year. So pretty much any comments above may be obsolete next week.
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Tuesday, November 3, 2015
Portfolio overview - October 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, BRKB, LMCA, DISCA, GDWN.L, MKL, AAPL
In: DISCA - price went up
Out:
Fixed income: 2%
Cash: 19%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 26%, Malone/media: 11%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 10%, Tech: 3%, Agri: 1%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 14%
New positions: EFFN.SE, CXRX, VRX
Positions increased: BRKB, CHK bond
Positions reduced: KRSL
Positions eliminated: AXP, MON, SFTBY
Flip-flop: ROIQW
This month would have been pretty uneventful except for ROIQW saga - that ended in a loss - so it wasn't very interesting ultimately.
Another ongoing popcorn drama is VRX - where I purchased a ticket and an extra helping of CXRX. VRX ticket is really tiny, so it's not an endorsement of stock at this price. CXRX might be more attractive if one looks for levered pharma rollup ticket at cheap'ish price.
I bought small position in EFFN.SE. Added to BRKB and CHK bond.
Sold a bit of KRSL. The stock is still cheap. I can't say I handle microcaps well.
Sold AXP (still have it via BRKB proxy). AXP might be attractive here after Costco business loss bump, but I was just simplifying the portfolio.
Sold MON. It is not clear how cheap it is all things considered.
Sold SFTBY. After thinking about it, I decided that I don't particularly like the Sprint and Alibaba positions by proxy. I might monitor this and reenter if I understand why I am wrong and Masa-san is right.
In: DISCA - price went up
Out:
Fixed income: 2%
Cash: 19%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 26%, Malone/media: 11%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 10%, Tech: 3%, Agri: 1%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 14%
New positions: EFFN.SE, CXRX, VRX
Positions increased: BRKB, CHK bond
Positions reduced: KRSL
Positions eliminated: AXP, MON, SFTBY
Flip-flop: ROIQW
This month would have been pretty uneventful except for ROIQW saga - that ended in a loss - so it wasn't very interesting ultimately.
Another ongoing popcorn drama is VRX - where I purchased a ticket and an extra helping of CXRX. VRX ticket is really tiny, so it's not an endorsement of stock at this price. CXRX might be more attractive if one looks for levered pharma rollup ticket at cheap'ish price.
I bought small position in EFFN.SE. Added to BRKB and CHK bond.
Sold a bit of KRSL. The stock is still cheap. I can't say I handle microcaps well.
Sold AXP (still have it via BRKB proxy). AXP might be attractive here after Costco business loss bump, but I was just simplifying the portfolio.
Sold MON. It is not clear how cheap it is all things considered.
Sold SFTBY. After thinking about it, I decided that I don't particularly like the Sprint and Alibaba positions by proxy. I might monitor this and reenter if I understand why I am wrong and Masa-san is right.
Sunday, October 4, 2015
Portfolio overview - September 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, BRKB, LMCA, GDWN.L, MKL, AAPL
In:
Out: TESB.BE - price drop
Fixed income: 2%
Cash: 22%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 24%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 8%, Tech: 3%, Agri: 1%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 15%
New positions: DNR bond, Nanocap C, ROIQW
Positions increased: PRDGF, DNR, FRFHF, NOV, BRKB, GENGF, LVNTA
Positions reduced: Nanocap A
Positions eliminated:
Flip-flop:
Not much exciting this month.
Fixed income: Bought a small position in DNR bond.
Oil & gas: Added more DNR, NOV, GENGF. At this point I think that DNR bond is more attractive than common.
Adding good businesses at good prices: FRFHF and BRKB
Added a bit of LVNTA to Malone basket.
Adding lottery tickets: PRDGF, ROIQW
In:
Out: TESB.BE - price drop
Fixed income: 2%
Cash: 22%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 24%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 8%, Tech: 3%, Agri: 1%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 15%
New positions: DNR bond, Nanocap C, ROIQW
Positions increased: PRDGF, DNR, FRFHF, NOV, BRKB, GENGF, LVNTA
Positions reduced: Nanocap A
Positions eliminated:
Flip-flop:
Not much exciting this month.
Fixed income: Bought a small position in DNR bond.
Oil & gas: Added more DNR, NOV, GENGF. At this point I think that DNR bond is more attractive than common.
Adding good businesses at good prices: FRFHF and BRKB
Added a bit of LVNTA to Malone basket.
Adding lottery tickets: PRDGF, ROIQW
Monday, September 7, 2015
Portfolio overview - August 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, BRKB, LMCA, TESB.BE, GDWN.L, MKL, AAPL
In: AAPL - bought more
Out: STRZA - switched to DISCA
Fixed income: 1%
Cash: 26%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 23%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 8%, Tech: 2%, Agri: 1%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 16%
New positions: MON, CHK bond, ZPTAF, GENGF, Nanocap B
Positions increased: BRKB, AAPL, DNR, FRFHF, NOV, PRDGF, FMCKP, FNMAG, PWE, GDWN.L, BNKJF, JPM, PSHZF, LMCA, DISCA
Positions reduced: GTE, STRZA, MBNC
Positions eliminated: CHK, BFCF, FOXA
Flip-flop:
With market drop this month came some attractive prices to deploy the capital.
The market is still not cheap overall, but there are pockets of stocks at OK prices.
And then there are oil and gas E&Ps. ;)
Fixed income: Bought a small position in CHK bond. I was planning to buy more if it dropped in price, but it ran up, so I'm not buying more right now.
Oil & gas:
Sold CHK.
Reduced GTE. It still may offer an attractive return if the plans of new CEO go well (haha), but it is now spending much more cash pile, so it is more risky.
Bought some NOV, DNR, PWE, BNKJF.
Established new positions in ZPTAF and GENGF.
I'll group GDWN.L here too even though it's not completely O&G company.
Adding good businesses at good prices: AAPL, JPM, BRKB, FRFHF, PSHZF, initial position in MON.
Swap: sold FOXA and STRZA, bought LMCA and DISCA.
Adding lottery tickets: PRDGF, FMCKP, FNMAG
Sold some MBNC (limit order hit), BFCF (possibly still attractive, but not for me at this time).
In: AAPL - bought more
Out: STRZA - switched to DISCA
Fixed income: 1%
Cash: 26%
Sectors (kinda): Insurance(FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 23%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 8%, Tech: 2%, Agri: 1%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 16%
New positions: MON, CHK bond, ZPTAF, GENGF, Nanocap B
Positions increased: BRKB, AAPL, DNR, FRFHF, NOV, PRDGF, FMCKP, FNMAG, PWE, GDWN.L, BNKJF, JPM, PSHZF, LMCA, DISCA
Positions reduced: GTE, STRZA, MBNC
Positions eliminated: CHK, BFCF, FOXA
Flip-flop:
With market drop this month came some attractive prices to deploy the capital.
The market is still not cheap overall, but there are pockets of stocks at OK prices.
And then there are oil and gas E&Ps. ;)
Fixed income: Bought a small position in CHK bond. I was planning to buy more if it dropped in price, but it ran up, so I'm not buying more right now.
Oil & gas:
Sold CHK.
Reduced GTE. It still may offer an attractive return if the plans of new CEO go well (haha), but it is now spending much more cash pile, so it is more risky.
Bought some NOV, DNR, PWE, BNKJF.
Established new positions in ZPTAF and GENGF.
I'll group GDWN.L here too even though it's not completely O&G company.
Adding good businesses at good prices: AAPL, JPM, BRKB, FRFHF, PSHZF, initial position in MON.
Swap: sold FOXA and STRZA, bought LMCA and DISCA.
Adding lottery tickets: PRDGF, FMCKP, FNMAG
Sold some MBNC (limit order hit), BFCF (possibly still attractive, but not for me at this time).
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Portfolio overview - July 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, BRKB, LMCA, TESB.BE, STRZA, GDWN.L, MKL,
In:
Out: SFY bonds, SFTBY, FRMO, LBTYA/K - price drops
Fixed income: 1%
Cash: 28%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 21%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 7%, Tech: 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 16%
New positions: NVAFF
Positions increased: BRKB, Nanocap A, BNKJF, NOV, PWE, DNR, CHK, LILA, CLKFF, AAPL
Positions reduced:
Positions eliminated: DRAGF
Flip-flop:
Most of the activity this month was buying oil cos as both oil and prices dropped: BNKJF, NOV, PWE, DNR, CHK
Sold DRAGF based on parent's tender offer.
Added some CLKFF
Added a bit of AAPL
Opened exploratory position in NVAFF.
Added more BRKB.
Added a tiny bit of LILA while converting LILAK to LILA.
In:
Out: SFY bonds, SFTBY, FRMO, LBTYA/K - price drops
Fixed income: 1%
Cash: 28%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (FRFHF, BRK, MKL): 21%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Oil: 7%, Tech: 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories): 16%
New positions: NVAFF
Positions increased: BRKB, Nanocap A, BNKJF, NOV, PWE, DNR, CHK, LILA, CLKFF, AAPL
Positions reduced:
Positions eliminated: DRAGF
Flip-flop:
Most of the activity this month was buying oil cos as both oil and prices dropped: BNKJF, NOV, PWE, DNR, CHK
Sold DRAGF based on parent's tender offer.
Added some CLKFF
Added a bit of AAPL
Opened exploratory position in NVAFF.
Added more BRKB.
Added a tiny bit of LILA while converting LILAK to LILA.
Saturday, July 4, 2015
Portfolio overview - June 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular
order: FRFHF, JPM, BRKB, LMCA, STRZA, TESB.BE, SFY bonds, SFTBY,
FRMO, MKL, LBTYA/K, GDWN.L
In:
Out:
Fixed income: ~10%
Cash: ~18%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 23%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil 9%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 16%
New positions: CNSWF, Nanocap A, MU, BNKJF
Positions increased: BRKB
Positions reduced: DRAGF, BAC
Positions eliminated:
Flip-flop:
Happy Independence Day!
Not much happened this month.
I sold most DRAGF after it accepted buyout offer from parent company. Sold some BAC on price rise and not high conviction in their business performance.
Opened exploratory positions in CNSWF - great management, but expensive; BNKJF - replacing DRAGF in my oil basket; MU - large price drop while I believe that its business will work fine longer term;
Added a bit of BRKB - the price seems attractive.
In:
Out:
Fixed income: ~10%
Cash: ~18%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 23%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil 9%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 16%
New positions: CNSWF, Nanocap A, MU, BNKJF
Positions increased: BRKB
Positions reduced: DRAGF, BAC
Positions eliminated:
Flip-flop:
Happy Independence Day!
Not much happened this month.
I sold most DRAGF after it accepted buyout offer from parent company. Sold some BAC on price rise and not high conviction in their business performance.
Opened exploratory positions in CNSWF - great management, but expensive; BNKJF - replacing DRAGF in my oil basket; MU - large price drop while I believe that its business will work fine longer term;
Added a bit of BRKB - the price seems attractive.
Monday, June 8, 2015
Portfolio overview - May 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular
order: FRFHF, JPM, LMCA, STRZA, SFY bonds, BRKB, SFTBY, TESB.BE, FRMO,
MKL, LBTYA/K, GDWN.L
In:
Out:
Fixed income: ~10%
Cash: ~18%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 23%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil 11%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 16%
New positions: CHK, AXP, KHTRF
Positions increased: PRDGF, FMCKP, DNR, FRFHF, SFTBY
Positions reduced: DRAGF
Positions eliminated: TPRE, AGIIL, MHNC, SRLN
Flip-flop:
I have eliminated most of my fixed income positions (AGIIL, MHNC, SRLN) not counting SFY bonds. I think that holding cash might be preferable here compared to holding various bond, bank loan, pref positions.
I sold TPRE after deciding that their (re)insurance results and 2/20% cost headwind are too adverse for holding this position.
I sold some more DRAGF after they announced the official bid for the company and the stock ran up. I am still holding some.
Put some of DRAGF money into my oil basket with CHK, DNR purchases. After reviewing my oil positions, I don't think they are very attractive, so I might not buy more at current prices. In particular, I don't think that CHK, DNR are the best places to put future money. :)
Increased positions in PRDGF, FMCKP, FRFHF, SFTBY at flat to lower prices.
Bought exploratory position in AXP. I don't think the price is very attractive yet, but the company still has a good franchise and brand, so I'd like to have my toes in waiting for possibly better prices.
Bought a small position in KHTRF - Canadian biotech/pharma holding company at a price close to cash assets with shareholder oriented management.
In:
Out:
Fixed income: ~10%
Cash: ~18%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 23%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil 11%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 16%
New positions: CHK, AXP, KHTRF
Positions increased: PRDGF, FMCKP, DNR, FRFHF, SFTBY
Positions reduced: DRAGF
Positions eliminated: TPRE, AGIIL, MHNC, SRLN
Flip-flop:
I have eliminated most of my fixed income positions (AGIIL, MHNC, SRLN) not counting SFY bonds. I think that holding cash might be preferable here compared to holding various bond, bank loan, pref positions.
I sold TPRE after deciding that their (re)insurance results and 2/20% cost headwind are too adverse for holding this position.
I sold some more DRAGF after they announced the official bid for the company and the stock ran up. I am still holding some.
Put some of DRAGF money into my oil basket with CHK, DNR purchases. After reviewing my oil positions, I don't think they are very attractive, so I might not buy more at current prices. In particular, I don't think that CHK, DNR are the best places to put future money. :)
Increased positions in PRDGF, FMCKP, FRFHF, SFTBY at flat to lower prices.
Bought exploratory position in AXP. I don't think the price is very attractive yet, but the company still has a good franchise and brand, so I'd like to have my toes in waiting for possibly better prices.
Bought a small position in KHTRF - Canadian biotech/pharma holding company at a price close to cash assets with shareholder oriented management.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Portfolio overview - April 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular
order: FRFHF, JPM, LMCA, STRZA, SFY bonds, BRKB, SFTBY, TESB.BE, FRMO,
MKL, LBTYA/K, GDWN.L
In: SFTBY - bought more
Out: BAC - sold some
Fixed income: ~12%
Cash: ~16%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 24%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 5%, Oil 11%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 13%
New positions: CLKFF, WOPEY, PSHZF
Positions increased: SFTBY, PRDGF, AAPL, BRK, FMCKP
Positions reduced: BAC
Positions eliminated: IBM, GLRE, ISIG
Flip-flop:
A rather quiet month for shuffling the portfolio.
I sold IBM after Q1 results. I did not think they were good and I don't have conviction to hold the shares. This might work fine for Buffett and me through BRK/FRFHF, but I won't hold shares directly.
Sold GLRE - I don't like GLRE, TPRE (re)insurance results. I think they are weak (re)insurance companies and recently Einhorn/Loeb investment results are not great either. IMHO, it will be tough for them to outperform with hedge fund fee headwind.
Sold ISIG - results not attractive to me.
Sold a bit of BAC - I think BAC is not bad investment, so this is just portfolio adjustment move.
Bought more SFTBY, PRDGF, AAPL, BRK, FMCKP. Not great prices, but possibly good enough for adding.
Bought Canadian value investment company CLKFF shares for long term holding.
Bought WOPEY to add to my oil portfolio.
Bought PSHZF - although I am concerned about PSHZF hedge fund fees, I think that PSHZF might do better than GLRE/TPRE.
In: SFTBY - bought more
Out: BAC - sold some
Fixed income: ~12%
Cash: ~16%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 24%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 5%, Oil 11%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 13%
New positions: CLKFF, WOPEY, PSHZF
Positions increased: SFTBY, PRDGF, AAPL, BRK, FMCKP
Positions reduced: BAC
Positions eliminated: IBM, GLRE, ISIG
Flip-flop:
A rather quiet month for shuffling the portfolio.
I sold IBM after Q1 results. I did not think they were good and I don't have conviction to hold the shares. This might work fine for Buffett and me through BRK/FRFHF, but I won't hold shares directly.
Sold GLRE - I don't like GLRE, TPRE (re)insurance results. I think they are weak (re)insurance companies and recently Einhorn/Loeb investment results are not great either. IMHO, it will be tough for them to outperform with hedge fund fee headwind.
Sold ISIG - results not attractive to me.
Sold a bit of BAC - I think BAC is not bad investment, so this is just portfolio adjustment move.
Bought more SFTBY, PRDGF, AAPL, BRK, FMCKP. Not great prices, but possibly good enough for adding.
Bought Canadian value investment company CLKFF shares for long term holding.
Bought WOPEY to add to my oil portfolio.
Bought PSHZF - although I am concerned about PSHZF hedge fund fees, I think that PSHZF might do better than GLRE/TPRE.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Portfolio overview - March 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular
order: FRFHF, JPM, LMCA, BRKB, BAC, STRZA, SFY bonds, TESB.BE, FRMO,
MKL, LBTYA/K
In: None
Out: DRAGF - sold
Fixed income: ~12%
Cash: ~19%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 26%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil 10%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 12%
New positions: SFTBY
Positions increased: NOV, IBM, GDWN.L, DNR, PRDGF
Positions reduced: AGIIL, DRAGF, MBNC
Positions eliminated: BBX, BAMXY, PFHO
Flip-flop:
No exciting stock related news this month. All quiet before the storm?
I went to DJCO annual meeting to see Charlie Munger talk. It was somewhat interesting. He is very sharp for 91 year old.
Sold some AGIIL. Bonds and prefs - not counting oil-related ones - are expensive. Very few worthwhile holds.
In stocks I sold:
BBX - tender offer for some shares at $20. I think the stock is possibly still undervalued, but I am not very confident in the management. I kept some BFCF.
BAMXY - CEO change. It looks like competitive wars are going to heat up, I am not sure even BAMXY is safe. I'll watch from sidelines for now.
PFHO - Reported upcoming losses of big customers. Stock dropped, but it's not clear that it is discounting all the bad news. Sold my remaining stub.
MBNC - Sold some on pop to $1.15.
DRAGF - parent company offered to buy DRAGF. Sold some on the news pop. There are other oil companies that might be more attractive. I still hold some.
Bought more NOV, DNR in oil area. Added some GDWN.L, which continues to drop due to oil/energy investment reduction in UK. Added some IBM and PRDGF.
Established new position in SFTBY. Softbank is well regarded company currently trading pretty cheaply. BABA stock price has dropped and S stock is not doing well either. Both of these weigh on SFTBY. I decided that SFTBY might be a good long term investment, so I bought some.
In: None
Out: DRAGF - sold
Fixed income: ~12%
Cash: ~19%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 26%, Malone/media: 12%, Banks: 6%, Oil 10%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 12%
New positions: SFTBY
Positions increased: NOV, IBM, GDWN.L, DNR, PRDGF
Positions reduced: AGIIL, DRAGF, MBNC
Positions eliminated: BBX, BAMXY, PFHO
Flip-flop:
No exciting stock related news this month. All quiet before the storm?
I went to DJCO annual meeting to see Charlie Munger talk. It was somewhat interesting. He is very sharp for 91 year old.
Sold some AGIIL. Bonds and prefs - not counting oil-related ones - are expensive. Very few worthwhile holds.
In stocks I sold:
BBX - tender offer for some shares at $20. I think the stock is possibly still undervalued, but I am not very confident in the management. I kept some BFCF.
BAMXY - CEO change. It looks like competitive wars are going to heat up, I am not sure even BAMXY is safe. I'll watch from sidelines for now.
PFHO - Reported upcoming losses of big customers. Stock dropped, but it's not clear that it is discounting all the bad news. Sold my remaining stub.
MBNC - Sold some on pop to $1.15.
DRAGF - parent company offered to buy DRAGF. Sold some on the news pop. There are other oil companies that might be more attractive. I still hold some.
Bought more NOV, DNR in oil area. Added some GDWN.L, which continues to drop due to oil/energy investment reduction in UK. Added some IBM and PRDGF.
Established new position in SFTBY. Softbank is well regarded company currently trading pretty cheaply. BABA stock price has dropped and S stock is not doing well either. Both of these weigh on SFTBY. I decided that SFTBY might be a good long term investment, so I bought some.
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Portfolio overview - February 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular
order: FRFHF, JPM, LMCA, BRKB, BAC, STRZA, SFY bonds, TESB.BE, DRAGF,
FRMO, MKL, LBTYA/K
In: BAC - bought more, STRZA - price increase, SFY bonds - price increase, TESB.BE - price increase, LBTYA/K - bought more
Out: BKLN - sold, MHNC - sold
Fixed income: ~13%
Cash: ~17%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 25%, Malone/media: 11%, Banks: 6%, Cars and parts: 1%, Oil 11%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 10%
New positions: FMCKP, FNMAG, PRDGF, HAL, IBM
Positions increased: GDWN.L, AGIIL, FRFHF, LBTYA, LBRDA, BAC, FRMO
Positions reduced: MHNC
Positions eliminated: BKLN, VRSN
Flip-flop:
This month there was a lot of change in my top positions partially through price changes, partially through purchases. There were also a lot of changes in fixed income part of portfolio.
Fixed income: sold BKLN, sold MHNC - overpriced based on yield-to-possible-call. Bought more AGIIL - one of the few remaining somewhat attractive prefs.
I sold VRSN position - not cheap enough to hold.
On the buy side, I bought some lottery tickets:
FMCKP, FNMAG - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prefs that might be worth zero if status quo continues. I do not count these as fixed income.
PRDGF - startup investment vehicle of CoBF founder, currently losing money and overpriced based on assets.
I decided to buy some IBM after continuing Buffett support and reviewing their 2014 10K.
I bought some HAL, which seems to be reasonably attractive and quality company.
I added GDWN.L, FRFHF, LBTYA, LBRDA, BAC, FRMO at rather mediocre prices. It's possible that I should have waited instead.
In: BAC - bought more, STRZA - price increase, SFY bonds - price increase, TESB.BE - price increase, LBTYA/K - bought more
Out: BKLN - sold, MHNC - sold
Fixed income: ~13%
Cash: ~17%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 25%, Malone/media: 11%, Banks: 6%, Cars and parts: 1%, Oil 11%, Tech 2%, Various owner-operators (not included in other categories) 10%
New positions: FMCKP, FNMAG, PRDGF, HAL, IBM
Positions increased: GDWN.L, AGIIL, FRFHF, LBTYA, LBRDA, BAC, FRMO
Positions reduced: MHNC
Positions eliminated: BKLN, VRSN
Flip-flop:
This month there was a lot of change in my top positions partially through price changes, partially through purchases. There were also a lot of changes in fixed income part of portfolio.
Fixed income: sold BKLN, sold MHNC - overpriced based on yield-to-possible-call. Bought more AGIIL - one of the few remaining somewhat attractive prefs.
I sold VRSN position - not cheap enough to hold.
On the buy side, I bought some lottery tickets:
FMCKP, FNMAG - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac prefs that might be worth zero if status quo continues. I do not count these as fixed income.
PRDGF - startup investment vehicle of CoBF founder, currently losing money and overpriced based on assets.
I decided to buy some IBM after continuing Buffett support and reviewing their 2014 10K.
I bought some HAL, which seems to be reasonably attractive and quality company.
I added GDWN.L, FRFHF, LBTYA, LBRDA, BAC, FRMO at rather mediocre prices. It's possible that I should have waited instead.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Portfolio overview - January 2015
My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, LMCA, MHNC, BRKB, BKLN, DRAGF, FRMO, MKL.
In: FRMO
Out: SPND - price drop
Fixed income: ~16%
Cash: ~20%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 23%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Cars and parts: 1%, Oil 10%, Tech 3%, Various owner-operators 8%
New positions: FOXA
Positions increased: FRFHF, FRMO, PWE, GTE, SFY bonds, DNR, PCP, DISH, DISCA, BAC
Positions reduced: AGCO
Positions eliminated: CVX, MSFT
Flip-flop:
I have added to FRFHF and FRMO positions.
Bought more oil investments PWE, GTE, SFY bonds, DNR
Added a bit to PCP on the day of big drop
Added a bit to BAC as it hit 15.X range.
Added a bit more DISH, DISCA and bought a small position in FOXA.
Sold CVX and MSFT. Sold some AGCO.
In: FRMO
Out: SPND - price drop
Fixed income: ~16%
Cash: ~20%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 23%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 5%, Cars and parts: 1%, Oil 10%, Tech 3%, Various owner-operators 8%
New positions: FOXA
Positions increased: FRFHF, FRMO, PWE, GTE, SFY bonds, DNR, PCP, DISH, DISCA, BAC
Positions reduced: AGCO
Positions eliminated: CVX, MSFT
Flip-flop:
I have added to FRFHF and FRMO positions.
Bought more oil investments PWE, GTE, SFY bonds, DNR
Added a bit to PCP on the day of big drop
Added a bit to BAC as it hit 15.X range.
Added a bit more DISH, DISCA and bought a small position in FOXA.
Sold CVX and MSFT. Sold some AGCO.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Portfolio overview - December 2014
My top (>2%) positions in no particular order: FRFHF, JPM, LMCA, MHNC, SPND, BKLN, MKL, DRAGF, BRKB.
In:
Out: MGDDY, WDC, CF, GLW, AXS, RE - sold
Fixed income: ~16%
Cash: ~28%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 20%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 6%, Cars and parts: 1%, Oil 9%, Agri 1%, Tech 3%
New positions: GDWN.L, KRSL, SFY bonds, BFCF, BBX, ISIG, DNR, PWE
Positions increased: GTE, TESB.BE, BRKB, FRFHF
Positions reduced: PGN, BKLN, MSFT
Positions eliminated: STX, MDT, DVDCY, HYH, ANTM, CF, DNB, DE, AXS, EBAY, GLW, MGDDY, RGA, SMTUF, WDC, WU, TPCA, RGA, OVLY, GS, FMBL, 7399:JP, RE, BBBY
Flip-flop: TLM
Note that some trades were made before my decision to cut active investing.
My current plan is to put most of the money into FRFHF. Since I can't stand concentrated portfolio, there will be "forever" positions in some other stocks, probably BRKB, perhaps some Malone stocks. This is work in progress.
I will keep oil stock positions and may even buy more if oil continues to drop. I believe that some of these positions may double or more in the future. Some may go to zero though.
Going to my buys/sells:
Oil: sold some PGN since it may face default and bankruptcy. Bought GTE, PWE, DNR stocks and SFY bonds. Flip flopped TLM for one day gain.
Sold - pretty much everything in "positions eliminated" category is somewhat attractive, feel free to consider them as long ideas. :) MSFT leftover is in taxable account and is waiting until it hits long-term taxable point.
Bought:
GDWN.L - family operated UK firm with good earnings history. Somewhat cheap, but energy industry exposed.
KRSL - activist investor and unhappy director. Company tried to pay off with $3 divvie. The story might not be finished, but less attractive here.
BFCF/BBX - sum-of-parts investment presented on SI and other places couple times.
ISIG - Mr. Big from BH retaliated against activist investors trying to proxy fight BH by buying positions in companies where these investors held substantial positions. So now ISIG has two activist investors in it - bring the popcorn!
In:
Out: MGDDY, WDC, CF, GLW, AXS, RE - sold
Fixed income: ~16%
Cash: ~28%
Sectors (kinda):
Insurance (including BRKB and FRFHF): 20%, Malone/media: 10%, Banks: 6%, Cars and parts: 1%, Oil 9%, Agri 1%, Tech 3%
New positions: GDWN.L, KRSL, SFY bonds, BFCF, BBX, ISIG, DNR, PWE
Positions increased: GTE, TESB.BE, BRKB, FRFHF
Positions reduced: PGN, BKLN, MSFT
Positions eliminated: STX, MDT, DVDCY, HYH, ANTM, CF, DNB, DE, AXS, EBAY, GLW, MGDDY, RGA, SMTUF, WDC, WU, TPCA, RGA, OVLY, GS, FMBL, 7399:JP, RE, BBBY
Flip-flop: TLM
Note that some trades were made before my decision to cut active investing.
My current plan is to put most of the money into FRFHF. Since I can't stand concentrated portfolio, there will be "forever" positions in some other stocks, probably BRKB, perhaps some Malone stocks. This is work in progress.
I will keep oil stock positions and may even buy more if oil continues to drop. I believe that some of these positions may double or more in the future. Some may go to zero though.
Going to my buys/sells:
Oil: sold some PGN since it may face default and bankruptcy. Bought GTE, PWE, DNR stocks and SFY bonds. Flip flopped TLM for one day gain.
Sold - pretty much everything in "positions eliminated" category is somewhat attractive, feel free to consider them as long ideas. :) MSFT leftover is in taxable account and is waiting until it hits long-term taxable point.
Bought:
GDWN.L - family operated UK firm with good earnings history. Somewhat cheap, but energy industry exposed.
KRSL - activist investor and unhappy director. Company tried to pay off with $3 divvie. The story might not be finished, but less attractive here.
BFCF/BBX - sum-of-parts investment presented on SI and other places couple times.
ISIG - Mr. Big from BH retaliated against activist investors trying to proxy fight BH by buying positions in companies where these investors held substantial positions. So now ISIG has two activist investors in it - bring the popcorn!
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Preliminary 2014 Investment Results
Results are
preliminary, since Quicken has not updated some of the 12/31 trades and
distributions. These should not be large enough to affect much. Also
Fidelity does not have their calculation of yearly results yet and won't
have them for couple weeks at least.
Other caveats: rates are from Quicken/IRR which I still believe is buggy/not reliable. Couple positions are wide spread micro caps that trade on appointment, so their prices are sometimes misprinted and therefore misaccounted. Couple positions are foreign stocks that may have incorrect final prices. Some results include 401(k) accounts where I cannot invest into my selection of stocks and ESPP accounts where return accounting by Quicken is suspect. So reader beware.
Executive summary: 8.7% return which underperformed market. I am selling my investment portfolios and winding down active investing.
Longer version: Total IRR across all accounts is 8.05%. After removing ESPP and 401(k) accounts, the return is 8.7%. Both of these undeperformed market a lot (benchmarking against SP500 13.7% return). These returns are even worse considering that BRK stock return was 28% and Fairfax return was 31%. Both of these were positions in my portfolios.
Even considering ~16% cash position and ~16% fixed income position, the results are bad. The fact that other active managers did not do well this year is of little solace.
As an aside 401(k) portfolios underperformed SP500 because of: 30%+ bond fund allocation, 30%+ international allocation (VTIAX and FDIKX are both negative for year) and some small cap allocation.
So my plan is to liquidate my investing portfolios in orderly fashion and convert to mostly passive investing. I have some concern that funds that I passively allocated performed worse than my active investments last year. However, there are two solutions to this: 1. Passively invest in BRK/FRFHF/etc. mix. 2. Longer term the non-ideal allocation might even out.
Other caveats: rates are from Quicken/IRR which I still believe is buggy/not reliable. Couple positions are wide spread micro caps that trade on appointment, so their prices are sometimes misprinted and therefore misaccounted. Couple positions are foreign stocks that may have incorrect final prices. Some results include 401(k) accounts where I cannot invest into my selection of stocks and ESPP accounts where return accounting by Quicken is suspect. So reader beware.
Executive summary: 8.7% return which underperformed market. I am selling my investment portfolios and winding down active investing.
Longer version: Total IRR across all accounts is 8.05%. After removing ESPP and 401(k) accounts, the return is 8.7%. Both of these undeperformed market a lot (benchmarking against SP500 13.7% return). These returns are even worse considering that BRK stock return was 28% and Fairfax return was 31%. Both of these were positions in my portfolios.
Even considering ~16% cash position and ~16% fixed income position, the results are bad. The fact that other active managers did not do well this year is of little solace.
As an aside 401(k) portfolios underperformed SP500 because of: 30%+ bond fund allocation, 30%+ international allocation (VTIAX and FDIKX are both negative for year) and some small cap allocation.
So my plan is to liquidate my investing portfolios in orderly fashion and convert to mostly passive investing. I have some concern that funds that I passively allocated performed worse than my active investments last year. However, there are two solutions to this: 1. Passively invest in BRK/FRFHF/etc. mix. 2. Longer term the non-ideal allocation might even out.
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