August 2019 Performance

Yup, you guessed it, I didn’t do a thing in August. Surprisingly I was able to eke out a gain in the face of this volatility. This has been the most challenging market for me in terms of finding new ideas to put money in. It’s a bit frustrating, but just have to wait it out. I am starting to do some research on foreign stocks to try to find some good values.

Looking back… It’s interesting to see how my investing style has evolved. I started off as an aggressive growth investor and just went with high flying momentum stocks. From momentum investing, I transitioned to special situation plays. I really enjoy the special situation plays as there is usually an end game where you can make some nice $$$ if you’re right or it can just blow up in your face. Now, I am more focused on dividend paying stocks as I start to appreciate the compounding effect of dividend reinvestment. I’ve learned to be flexible with my investment style as market conditions change.

Ok, enough of my rambling…

2019 Performance = +28.56% with the running monthly returns as follows:

January +7.4%
February +3.7%
March +5.06%
April +7.15%
May -7.90%
June +8.2%
July +1.88%

August +1.00%

July 2019 Performance

Really didn’t do a thing in July as I saw no compelling opportunities. Just continued to ride my long positions and managed to squeak out a small gain. I continue to sit tight with some cash on the sidelines. In the past, I have been aggressive in the merger arb space, but I am treading more cautiously now. I’ve been in a risk off mode for a while. I know it’s boring not executing any trades. Just waiting for a good risk / reward opportunity to eventually show up.

Current portfolio weighting:

Apple 17.9%
Alibaba 4.4%
Mastercard 7.7%
Qiagen 4.9%
Sanofi 1.5%
Constellation Brands 22.6%
Visa 24.8%
Cash 16%

2019 Performance = +27.28% with the running monthly returns as follows:

January +7.4%
February +3.7%
March +5.06%
April +7.15%
May -7.90%
June +8.2%
July +1.88%