This is the first time I’m sharing my results after following this board since last fall. Thank you, Saul, for creating this board and for your encouraging words when the pandemic began and the market dropped. This board became a lifeline of sanity, clarity and logical thinking as the world went (and continues to go) haywire. Thank you, admins, for patiently repeating and enforcing the rules! I didn’t initially understand the emphasis on rules. Now I get it. I am grateful to everyone who takes the time to share their results. Kudos to CMFMonkey for adding so many tasty bananas to the mix, to BroadwayDan for his love of story and to StockNovice for clear explanations!
Some background: I joined MF in 2016 and began choosing my own investments from Rule Breakers and Stock Advisor, plus following the general advice to “buy what you know”. In August 2019 I bought a more expensive Motley Fool portfolio service to focus on a higher returns. In researching some of those stocks, I wandered into the wonderland of this board. The approach espoused here, plus the quality of analysis and rigorous and respectful discussion, spoke to me. I began to pivot and to learn about what I didn’t yet know! I am integrating and implementing the wisdom found here. Throughout January, I owned between 35-40 stocks. I now have 16. Twelve is my next goal.
Here are my results since January 1, 2020. The funds I invest in growth stocks are in two retirement accounts, approx. 80% of my liquid assets.
% change month % change YTD
Jan 7.47% 7.47%
Feb -0.25% 7.20%
Mar -10.33% -3.87%
Apr 19.90% 15.26%
May 23.80% 42.70%
Jun 19.12% 69.99%
Jul 12.53% 91.29%
Hard to believe I am up 91% YTD, especially as my portfolio is not so heavily concentrated (see below), and I have not been at this very long. During May and June, especially, I kept rubbing my eyes in disbelief as my portfolio kept hitting new highs. The gains both soothe the pain of a challenging year and expand my options for the future.
For the benefit of newcomers, who might be familiar with a buy and hold approach (rather than a “buy and buy again…and again and again!” mindset), I am presenting my allocations a bit differently. All buys were made via proceeds from stocks I trimmed or exited. There was no new money coming in. Occasionally negligible amounts sit in cash for brief periods.
Allocations (% of total)
30 June 31 July First Buy # buys
SHOP 12.1% 11.6% 2016 1
ZM 12.0% 11.5% Jan-20 10
DDOG 8.3% 9.3% Jan-20 15
FSLY 8.1% 8.2% Sep-19 7
LVGO 6.4% 8.1% May-20 6
CRWD 5.1% 7.2% Oct-19 8
TDOC 4.4% 6.7% Aug-19 2
DOCU 4.4% 6.1% Jun-20 4
COUP 4.1% 4.3% Jan-20 5
OKTA 3.9% 4.4% Aug-19 6
MELI 3.6% 4.8% 2017 2
WIX 3.5% 5.3% 2018 2
NFLX 3.4% 3.4% Nov-19 3
FIVN 3.4% exited 2018 1
TTD 3.2% 3.2% Aug-19 3
AYX 2.9% 3.2% Aug-19 4
MTCH 2.3% 2.9% 2016 1
PYPL 2.2% exited 2016 1
WCLD 1.9% exited
I don’t have much to add to the already excellent commentary on most of these stocks. This “ice breaker” post and thinking about why I own what I do has given me more clarity around how I wish to consolidate further. I appreciate the chance to share and I hope this post encourages others to try out Saul’s approach and see for themselves.
Thanks again to all!
PA67