Note 1: I am an amateur investor who uses a college basketball template to craft what I hope is a successful investing portfolio. So far - so good. I try to maintain 70% (give or take) in what I call STARTERS, 20% or so in Bench players, and 10% in Scout Team companies. Since I also try to maintain 10-15% in cash the roster percentages noted above are more a guideline than a rule. Additionally, I try to take advantage of what the market is offering me by purchasing; and relatively quickly selling - Trading Blocks almost exclusively from among the portfolio roster. This in 5-10% chunks.
For Trading Blocks I use the old Mark Twain advice of, “Don’t buy them if they don’t go up” - which; is the only time I sell TBs. Seems to work on a very high percentage basis as the market serpentines is way lower and then higher. For the record - I didn’t invent this strategy - if you can call it that, investors… even the ones who don’t realize it, often use some form of Trading Blocks.
The down side to using TBs to add points to the bottom line is that to manage it effectively, in my most humble opinion, you have to closely follow your targets - (Sort of an Eyes to the front - Mark your targets when they come mindset with a reasonable awareness of the price action quirks of your particular companies. AND - be patent enough to simply wait long enough for the TB to turn profitable. Which is why - if you were to edge into this idea on a regular basis, it might be best to add TBs to only your highest conviction companies where an additional 5-or- 10% is simply not that much more of a risk. See how this works?
Anyway - March.
…
During the last week or so of March I unloaded a full boatload of TBs which created another sort of problem in that now my cash position is fully restored, the portfolio allocations are skewed, and I have to attend to that problem with an April Starting Gate beginning next week. It’s always something! Now that the first Quarter of the 2023 Trading Season is receding in the rear view mirror here is where the portfolio stands YTD:
- The Results
January… +10.4%
February…-0.6
March…+3.8%
…YTD +13.6%
- The Roster
STARTERS
NET… 11.8%
MNDY 11.7
SNOW 11.2
ENPH. 10
DDOG. 9.0
The Bench
ZS… 8.1%
TMDX. 7.7
CRWD. 7.0
The Scout Team
GLBE +5%
S…+5
…
I anticipate some changes to the portfolio and will attempt to address them in April Starting Gate.
All the Best,