May 2024 Report

I’m finally in the black, which can primarily be attributed to the gain in Apple. With a ~ 40% holding in Apple, a ~ 12% gain will definitely have an impact on the portfolio. On the other extreme, I have a 0.10% position in Ginkgo Bioworks, which declined ~ 40% in May. The decline in Ginkgo Bioworks had almost a negligible impact. Ginkgo Bioworks is a one of those moon-shot positions and I’ll continue to hang on. The recent layoff announcement at Ginkgo Bioworks is worrisome, but I still like their vision. The lesson is to never average down on a stock that is not making you any money.

Still no merger arb plays as it’s too difficult in this environment. I usually take a stab at some of the rumor plays from the more reputable sources like Bloomberg and WSJ, but these days it seems like so many stories are planted and the deals don’t materialize. I’ve pretty much transitioned from merger arb plays to selling puts to generate additional income.

I still have a ~9% cash holding. I’ll take a safe 5% return any day and if you go with short term T-Bills, you’ll get a bit more than that. Cash is definitely not trash in this environment.  
 

2024 Performance = + 2.62% with the running monthly returns as follows:

January + 0.02%
February +0.99%
March – 0.33%
April - 3.07%
May + 5.16%