Hello All-
This is my first portfolio update and only the second time I’ve contributed to this board. I have read everything on here for the last couple of months and frankly have felt like I could not really contribute much to the discussions with my investing experience. I hope its ok that I contribute a portfolio update because I am just thoroughly excited about the future of my investing. For any new board members (or board lurkers like me) wondering if they should take a leap into Saul’s world, I can say it has certainly changed my investing path for the better.
I have spent 16 years of working life investing exclusively in mutual funds and ETFs. For the most part I tried to diversify by selecting various vanguard index funds. Thanks to a very good employer 2 for 1 match on contributions, I was pleased with the results so long as there was a profession to keep my attention (I’m a government attorney).
I’m one of the people that started paying closer attention to the retirement account while working from home during idle hours. I sold nothing. I took the ride all the way down to the bottom in February/ March. I talked myself several times out of exiting the market. I lurked around these boards and finally restarted my paid TMF subscription mid-June. I spent about three weeks tinkering with the account based on TMF recommendations and what I learned here from Saul and all the others who so meaningfully contribute to this board. Thankfully all my tinkering was in a 401(a). I would say I sputtered around a lot in June trying to find the right portfolio for me. It would be embarrassing to tell you the number of transactions I had in that account in June.
Anyway, July was different. About 85% of my portfolio was unchanged from the beginning of the month. In the end I’ve settled on what I think are some great companies going forward. I would be lying if I said my analysis alone has given me this confidence. A lot of my confidence rests on the shoulders of people around here and your experienced and thoughtful posts. I am daily trying to understand what this board teaches but sometimes feel like a kid in college trying to audit a class in chemical engineering. I’m feeling better every day about things though.
Here are my results YTD (hopefully it will prove to be a tale of to halves):
Jan 0.35%
Feb -6.69%
Mar -19.26%
Apr -9.49%
May -4.71%
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June 2.37%
**July 18.51%**
July 2020 is the best month I’ve had in 16 years of investing. I cannot say how thankful I am for the knowledge I’ve gained from this board. I am confident in the long term future of this account for me and my family. I just regret I didn’t get bored and start trying to figure all this out a month or two earlier!
Portfolio composition at this point:
ZM 11.0%
CRWD 10.7%
DDOG 10.5%
LVGO 9.4%
FSLY 9.1%
NVDA 8.9%
SHOP 8.8%
AYX 8.3%
OKTA 8.2%
SQ 7.7%
MELI 3.3% (opened position in last 2 weeks)
ADBE 2.3%
AMZN 1.7% (opened position in last 2 weeks)
I don’t have any insights that haven’t been covered by other contributors. I don’t intend to post monthly updates until I have more to say. Mostly right not I just want to yell from the rooftop how excited I am about the future. Thank you again to everyone who makes this such a valuable learning source. I look forward to contributing more substantively to this board in the future.
-R