Portfolio Update 10/13/19 as of 6PM.
It’s been a month since I posted my September portfolio update found here; https://discussion.fool.com/september-portfolio-updatethoughts-o…
I have found doing these updates is helping me keep better records of my investing thought processes over time. Much like keeping a journal in life when you re-read in the future it helps you remember what your thoughts were at the time of writing. Hopefully others find this helpful as well.
My portfolio monies are NOT all in tax free accounts any longer. Thus I do have to worry about tax consequences of my trading actions for a percentage of my portfolio. So far this as not been an influence on my investing style.
Current Portfolio as of 10/13/19.
Change since 9/13/19 +1.1%. (Note since I started write up it is currently one week later 9/19; brutal week down -12.6% this week not reflected in this update will be reflected in next months).
2019 YTD +26.6%.
Stock Current % of Port % Change Market
% of Port on 9/15 in port since 9/15 Cap
AYX 27.6 27.5 +0.1
ZS 19.1 19.3 -0.2
MDB 13.9 12.6 +1.3
ESTC 13.5 15.0 -1.5
TWLO 12.6 12.0 -0.6
CASH 5.8 13.7 -7.9
CRWD 4.5 0 +4.5
ZM 2.9 0 +2.9
I did not include Market Cap as it is now a week later as I am finishing this up and it would be inaccurate.
New positions since last portfolio update: CRWD, ZM
Exited positions since last update: None
Trades between 9/13-10/13
Bought CRWD 9/30 53.46
ZM 10/7 76.01
Sold None
Thoughts on trades and companies for the month.
Well I have been relatively quiet this month. Not a lot of trading. I have started a position in two new companies.
AYX-Number 1 stock holding, this is the superstar of my portfolio, it makes money, has very little debt, is growing rapidly and has awesome margins. I obviously feel strongest about this stock. In my own business I see the need for more data analytics. I personally am speeding a ton of money on data management and analysis. It’s the future, the need is only going to grow.
ZS-Number 2 stock holding. I am not a techie, but reading these boards gives me a level above the average person. ZS seems to be transformative technology. I think they did something so unique and different, that their headstart will be so insurmountable for the competition. By the time the competition catches up, ZS with its talented employees will most likely have something all together new and better to offer up. This is not just a play on the numbers, which are good. This is a play on the talent of the organization. When I originally saw early on the video of Microsoft management evangelizing ZS and their product, I knew they were legit.
MDB-Number 3 stock holding. I have played this stock all wrong since I originally invested in it. Got out during the AWS threat, got in after the run up. I obviously think that the future is data. I think NonSQL is the immediate future however again not a technologist. Worry a little about open source and the ability to make money and the threat of others using the technology is some way to hurt future business. However the SAS business keeps growing. Funny thing is while writing this, not sure it deserves such a high place in my portfolio as it sits in third, probably does not match my conviction which is lower. This is why review once portfolio once in a while is a good practice.
ESTC-I have been a bit of a ESTC fan boy. There biggest problem is that they are not making money while growing their business. I personally think this next earnings call will lead to an increase in the price of the stock as revenue growth should accelerate. If revenue growth does not accelerate, I would probably give it one more earnings call (after this next one) before making a decision on what I would do with stock.
TWLO-kind of has become a stalwart in the portfolio, not that exciting, just solid. I think they may have some yoy comparison headaches coming up. Although a lot of people are classifying it has a value growth stock currently.
Good ol’ CASH. Never leaves you in a panic. All one has to do is look at how I have been putting it back into investment the last two month. On 8/15 it was 20.4% of my portfolio, now it sits at 5.8% and I currently have some GTC orders to allocate most of the rest of it. If you are a new investor reading these boards, you cannot find better advice on stock investment than the folks here. Do not be panicked by this stock downturn, sometime in the future (I predicted sooner than later) this will have looked like a buying opportunity.
Is the economy struggling? Not in my neck of the woods. Neighbors house are selling fairly quickly. Other neighbors are working on their houses; roofs are being replaced, pavers are being put in, yards are being redone. Try getting some trades people to give you a quote on work right now….Good luck. Hiring in the workforce? Good luck on that as well. I do not know what will happen with the economy in six months, but right now it is humming along.
ZM-Cannot remember a company getting so much user evangelism since early days of Netflix (which I invested heavily in at the time). Seems that ZM has the potential to take over the video conversations of the future. I think the time is coming were video chat takes over the phone conversation. I already see it happening with my two teenagers. I think the valuation is a bit high but with recent pull back I thought the time was right to start a position.
CRWD-I really do not understand the company. I am following the boards lead on this one. Not my strongest of convictions, but it sounds to me like it is special. The numbers sure seem to be strong. I wanted a little diversification and I felt like it was the best candidate currently to add to my portfolio.
As always any suggestions or questions feel free to email me.