Wexboy Portfolio Prospects – Part II

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Alphabet, Applegreen, bubble thesis, Donegal Investment Group, GARP investing, Google, growth investing, KR1 plc, Kryptonite 1, portfolio allocation, portfolio performance, QEInfinity, Record plc, stock picks, stock tips, value investing

Ugh, collywobbles!

Sure, we can all breathe easier now, but still feels a little bumpy out there, eh? Though maybe you should ignore the incipient nausea…just relax & embrace the ride! ‘Cos I’m perversely encouraged by these fresh mini-bouts of panic we’ve been seeing this year. They’re a useful reminder investors still have a real wall of worry to climb here. Which is probably the most important & necessary pre-condition underwriting the durability of today’s bull market. [And yes, it’s only a bull market…when investors (esp. the man in the street) go from hoping they’ll make money, to knowing they’ll make money, that’s when we enter bubble territory]. However, we still need to see whether my macro investment thesis eventually plays out here – a thesis I express via a question:

Globally, we’re still conducting a truly unprecedented monetary (& fiscal) experiment…could we end up ultimately inflating the most incredible bubble ever?

If you think that’s ridiculous, we really don’t need to debate it here. Or rehash a complete litany of facts & figures which prove history must repeat itself – the ever-flattening US yield curve being the latest bogeyman. But I have to ask, what’s so bloody alarming about entirely average market P/E ratios…when interest rates are still anything but average?! And despite their trajectory, we’ll obviously continue to enjoy ultra-low long & short-term rates in absolute terms, while central banks (in aggregate) also continue to print money:

Yep, there’s the real boiler-room of this market – in every sense of the word – as this chart nicely demonstrates:

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Wexboy Portfolio Prospects – Part I

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growth investing, portfolio allocation, portfolio performance, Rasmala, Saga Furs, stock picks, stock tips, Tetragon Financial Group, value investing, VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund, Zamano

With the dust hopefully having settled here, it finally seemed like the right time to give this post one last polish & get it out! Maybe now, readers are  in the mood again to actually contemplate a potential new buy or two? As for me, almost inevitably, my top holdings tend to be my favourite buys…

Okay, maybe that’s not strictly true – each & every day, I’m still distracted by siren stocks I pine to own! But buying a new stock is equally about selling an existing holding*, one you (should) already know far more intimately. [*Unless you’re hoarding piles of cash…which would be pretty silly, right?!] And that’s an important & valuable hurdle for any investor. Because anything that might help reduce portfolio turnover is invariably a good thing! Which is no damn excuse for hanging on to losers…but it is a compelling incentive for really understanding the stocks/businesses you currently own. In particular, because learning how not to sell potential multi-bagger growth stocks is ultimately the biggest challenge most (experienced) investors will have to face, as I lamented in my last post.

So let’s crack on: For each of my disclosed holdings, I’ll comment briefly on its 2017 performance, then focus on its current prospects & valuation. NB: All share prices & market caps are cob Feb-27th, but individual stock allocations are listed as of year-end 2017 (essential to my 2018 portfolio performance tracking). Of course, any questions/comments you may have about these holdings are always welcome here (& by email):

i) Zamano (ZMNO:ID) (or ZMNO:LN) (1.8% of year-end portfolio):

Share Price:   EUR 0.04

Market Cap:   EUR 4.0 Million

2017 Portfolio Gain:   (25)%

Yeah, unfortunately they can’t all be potential multi-bagger growth stocks…

Top Trumps For 2017…

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Donegal Investment Group, favourite stock, Fortress Investment Group, Newmark Security, portfolio allocation, Rasmala, Saga Furs, stock picks, stock tips, Tetragon Financial Group, Trump, VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund, Zamano

So, bet you thought this was about Trump…and/or his Inauguration?

Nope, sorry…just my little bit of fake news! I meant something much better – who remembers this childhood classic: Top Trumps! To know the game is to love it…though if you don’t, it probably seems impossibly quaint in today’s digital world. I still remember the De Tomasa Pantera was the best card by far in my Supercars deck – what are the chances you’ll remember a detail like that about your latest app in the years/decades ahead?! Anyway, it’s still that time of year…and yeah, I’ve cheated a little. Pretty much everybody’s finished with their Top Tips & Picks for the New Year, so now I’ll swoop in & hog your undivided attention! Well, at least ’til your next tweet…

Regular readers will know what to expect from my Top Trumps for 2017 – yep, I’m sticking with my disclosed holdings. I mean, what could be better?! [Well, except some undisclosed holdings..?! No more teasing, I swear: I’m just about finished with the (very) slow accumulation of positions in half a dozen new stocks, soon I’ll line ’em up & start work on some proper investment write-ups]. Though I should remind you, in my last post I deliberately focused on the negative aspects of my 2016 Losers…hopefully, I offer a more balanced perspective here. Or at the v least, highlight how ridiculously cheap some of these stocks have gotten!? So, let’s crack on:

[NB: i) With the near-liquidation of Alternative Asset Opportunities (TLI:LN) this month, it’s no longer a disclosed holding, ii) I highlight my current portfolio allocation (as of CoB Jan-26th) for each holding, but will use my year-end allocations (which are similar) for 2017 performance reporting purposes, and iii) I include relevant corporate/IR websites & Bloomberg tickers, but avoid posting previous write-ups, in an effort to present each holding afresh – but feel free to reference last year’s portfolio commentaries (here & here), plus it’s easy to search/find original investment write-up(s) on the blog also.]

i) Newmark Security (NWT:LN) (2.4% of current portfolio):

Share Price:   GBP 1.45p

Market Cap:   GBP 6.8 Million

A special situation…which actually obscures an underlying growth story. While these trading updates (here & here) have crucified the share price, Newmark’s electronic division still looks like the real problem here. For almost a decade now, revenue’s unchanged, while divisional margins declined relentlessly – from 20-23%, to a £(0.5) million loss today. Poor return on capital was bad enough, but losses kill any argument for keeping the division. And after 4 years as CEO, shareholders presumably have little confidence Marie-Claire Dwek can still deliver a turnaround – and her hands are now full dealing with the larger asset protection division. Noting Chairman Maurice Dwek always ran a tight ship here, the situation appears untenable – something’s gotta give…

Wexboy – Top 14 Tips for 2016!

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Alternative Asset Opportunities, Argo Group, Donegal Investment Group, favourite stock, Fortress Investment Group, KWG Kommunale Wohnen, luxury goods, Newmark Security, portfolio allocation, Saga Furs, smartphone revolution, stock tips, Tetragon Financial Group, VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund, Zamano

This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco, this ain’t no fooling around…

Yeah, it’s January, the most miserable time of the year. And already half of us regret we made no New Year’s resolutions…while the other half regrets they did. The market’s no help either, with many investors ending a frustrating 2015 in the red, and greeted in 2016 by another global dump. [Let’s discard the odd notion the Chinese market’s global impact is simply due to its hyper-volatility. It’s not…the market’s only the tip of the spear for the entire Chinese economy, which has obviously evolved into the key marginal driver now of the global economy. So for 2016, a great resolution is to pay far less attention to the US & far more attention to China!]. But still, there’s a whole bunch of new tips out there to inspire us… 🙂

Trouble is, I don’t necessarily have much faith in them, ‘less I know the tipster’s got his money where his mouth is. Which offers no guarantees, but it means I’ll tackle the 2016 tips season just like I did last year – inevitably, my top holdings are also my top tips! [And judging by my traffic, people definitely want tips first & performance later…so I bow to the vox populi, my FY-2015 performance post will have to wait a little longer!] And so, without further ado, here’s my Top Holdings as of Year-End 2015:

Hang on a minute, isn’t this s’posed to be a Top 14 Tips? You’re bloody well short-changing us here, mate!? Well, sort of, I’ll explain later… 😉 Now, let’s start pulling together a few different elements here… First, you might want to check out this July post, which includes my last (brief) updates on most of these stocks (& hopefully offers a taste of my upcoming performance post!):

‘Smokin’ the S&P…H1-2015 Wexboy Portfolio Performance!’

The Obligatory Top Tips For 2015!

Tags

Alternative Asset Opportunities, Argo Group, Donegal Investment Group, European Islamic Investment Bank, favourite stock, Fortress Investment Group, KWG Kommunale Wohnen, NTR plc, portfolio allocation, stock tips, Universe Group, value investing, VinaCapital Vietnam Opportunity Fund, Zamano

I get asked for stock tips…a lot! So much so, occasionally I’ll pinch myself & check I’m (also) the author of an investment blog – one with dozens of investment write-ups & hundreds of posts at this point, all lovingly hand-typed & all for free. You really have to smile & wonder if they’ve ever actually read an entire post?!

But this is human nature, people always want that little something special, that easy shortcut: Go on, just this once, just for me… I mean, why wade through dozens of posts & tens of thousands of words, when all they crave is a single sure-fire winner of a stock! [Yeah, don’t we all, mate… 😦 ] It’s like ringing an online dating firm’s customer service, to politely explain you don’t want to swipe left or right, let alone trawl through hundreds of profiles – ‘cos all you really want is your soul-mate, just the one, preferably right now & for free. C’mon, surely that’s not so much to ask?!

Unfortunately, there’s pretty much zero upside to doling out tips here & there. If you’re the ‘designated’ stock picker in your family, on your street, in your office, you know exactly what I mean… Your winning tips are quickly & seamlessly appropriated as worthy examples of the tippee’s own natural genius – whereas losers rebound & somehow become your personal responsibility, of which you will be bitterly reminded for months & even years to come. And the only thing worse than this burden of blame is the sometimes inevitable bout of self-flagellation over your appalling dereliction of duty! But rest assured, you’re not at fault – those occasional feelings of guilt simply mean you’re too good for this world… 😉

However, there’s plenty of hacks out there who can’t even spell ‘guilty conscience’, let alone experience such a thing! And this time of year the financial media loves to wheel out its prognosticators & talking heads to opine on the macros, the markets & the best stocks for the coming year. I could describe it as an exercise in arrogance, but just as often it’s a shameless pandering to the cupidity & gullibility of a great many investors.

German Residential Property (Part I)

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commercial property, developed markets, Europe, Eurozone, German bunds, German property, home ownership, Margin of Safety, real estate agents, residential property, safe-havens, stock tips

German residential property’s been described (particularly recently) as:

‘Perhaps one of the safest & most attractive asset classes in Europe, or even the world‘.

OK, seems like typical talking-head hyperbole! But in this instance, I’d really have to agree… In fact, I’ve agreed with that thesis for the last couple of years now, and v profitably too! Whenever somebody I meet tugs my sleeve for an investment tip, that’s exactly what I offer up (in all good conscience): German residential property is a safe & compelling long term investment. Hmm…it’s amusing, and extraordinary, how rapidly most people lose interest in such a dull recommendation! Which just goes to show:

i) I guess most people are truly just looking for a tip…in the v worst sense of the word. Perplexing..!? Do they have some bizarre faith I can conjure up, at will, a stock that’s sure to double for them within a week!? Is this really how some people think investing works? In the end, it illustrates how few people walk the talk – they just don’t apply themselves & follow through consistently with their investing. Often, when they actually decide to invest, it seems like their decision may just boil down to the persuasiveness of the ‘tipper’, rather than the merits of the actual stock thesis!