August 2023 Performance
August was a mixed bag with the market taking a small dip. The
performance of my 3 largest holdings were as follows: Apple -4.27%, Visa +3.60%
and Constellation Brands -4.29%. This contributed to an overall decline of
-2.10% for August. It is really hard to have the conviction to initiate new
positions in this market environment. I would like to see some high-quality
IPOs come to market, but I do not see that happening right now. It is also hard
to beat T bills with a ~ 5%+ risk free return.
In terms of special situations, I did play Activision and exited the position for a small gain after the dividend payout. I
continued to play the short put game to make some pocket change. Also
participated in the J&J tender offer (odd lot) for Kenvue and currently holding onto
the position. I usually flip these spin offs, but Kenvue has an attractive
valuation and a nice dividend payout. Who knows, maybe I will start to build on
this position. Spin offs historically have outperformed the market.
Kind of disappointed with Fidelity with their recent online
platform issues. Their recent performance has gone way down with the site being
slow and system going down near the close of trading. I was with TD Ameritrade,
and they also had their issues. Who else is left to try? Thinking of
Interactive Brokers.
2023 Performance = +27.20% with the running monthly returns as follows:
January
+8.04%
February -1.60%
March +6.31%
April +2.39%
May +1.02%
June +7.00%
July +3.85%
August -2.10%
February -1.60%
March +6.31%
April +2.39%
May +1.02%
June +7.00%
July +3.85%
August -2.10%