Portfolio Update 1/31/20
It’s been a month since I posted my December portfolio update found here; https://discussion.fool.com/2019-portfolio-review-34378560.aspx
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 influenced my investing style.
Current Portfolio as of 1/31/20.
Change since 1/1/20 +20.7%.
2020 YTD +20.7%. S&P 500 -0.16% Nasdaq +1.99% Dow -0.99%
Stock Current % of Port % Change Market
% of Port on 12/31 in port since 1/31 Cap
AYX 31.2 27.0 +4.2 8.9B
CRWD 21.7 16.4 +5.3 12.2B
ZM 14.5 15.6 -1.1 21.3B
ESTC 13.6 16.2 -2.6 5.2B
MDB 10.3 14.8 -4.5 9.3B
ZS 8.7 8.7 0 6.9B
CASH 0 1.3
New positions since last portfolio update: SMAR, ENPH
Exited positions since last update: SMAR, ENPH
Trades between 1/1-1/31
Bought SMAR 1/9 $45.38
ENPH 1/7 $29.89
CRWD 1/23 $60.87, 60.85
CRWD 1/24 $58.61
Sold SMAR 1/30 $48.51
ENPH 1/24 $32.59
MDB 1/23 $148.02
Thoughts on trades and companies for the month.
Still number one AYX 31.2%. What’s to say, everyone on the board believes it a great company with great numbers. Appreciated greatly this month and carried my portfolio with it.
Number two holding CRWD 21.7%. I mentioned on my last portfolio review, this company was my number one idea for 2020. I ate some of my own cooking and bought some more to increase my holdings. Sold some of my MDB to buy CRWD.
Number three holding ZM 14.5%. Was my number four holding last month but due to ESTC having a worse month it moved up even though percentage of portfolio it is lower this month. Higher valuation makes me a little uncomfortable. However the growth rate is so high, plus combined with profitability. Recent discussion on the board has me contemplating adding to my position.
Number four holding ESTC 13.6%. This stocks performance has not been good, but I believe the companies performance is strong. Even though I do not entirely understand the technology, I do feel like they have something special. They are growing quickly still. I really look at this is a boom or bust stock for 2020. It may hold back my portfolio or it may lead it to outpace the market this year. Heavily discussed on the board of late. Number of customers is increasing and the company is hiring a lot of people around the globe. I think the company is hard to understand for everyone including Wall Street. Usually misunderstanding is were the opportunities lie or the landmines. Time will tell.
Number five holding MDB 10.3%. I mentioned that I probably would reduce my position in my last month update and I did. Sold some of my position, may possibly sell some more.
Number six holding ZS 8.7%. believe the company will bounce back, just not sure of the time frame. The board has influenced me back down on ZS, if the product cannot sell itself, then is it really special? Kinda why I think ZM and CRWD are special. I do think long term ZS is going to be wildly successful. I plan on holding my position.
Had a little bit of cash that I moved to Roth IRA’s at beginning of year,positions I used this money to start positions in SMAR and ENPH. However I sold them both for slight gain in less than month holding period. I often establish small positions as try outs, but I see better prospects in AYX, CRWD and ZM. I obviously am comfortable holding a highly concentrated portfolio than most people.
I plan on holding ESTC, MDB and ZS but have no plans to add to any of those positions. If I identified a better opportunity I could sell some of those positions to establish a new position in that opportunity. I like Datadog’s numbers, it is an interesting company and one that I am considering establishing a position in future.
Last month’s review was the annual 2019 review. I had underperformed the Nasdaq by -17.7%. I was unconcerned and expressed that in my thoughts. There was some feedback about the possibility that excessive trading had effected my performance. However I knew that some purchases which were made July thru October had underperformed and felt confident that my companies would come back strong.
Here we are one month later and if I were to compare 13 month average with Nasdaq, my portfolio is ahead. If I compared from Dec. 2018 to now I would be thumping the Nasdaq. One thing I have learned with investing is if you are confident in your decisions which are made with sound research and logic more often than not, you will come out on top. It may take some time to outperform the market and patience is required. I think my portfolio is in position to continue to outperform for 2020, time will tell.
In order to benchmark you have to use points in time such as annual returns, but only thru the lens of longer time periods can you really see how investment styles perform. Just look at Saul’s four year average, it’s amazing! Some lurkers will come to this board during underperforming times to throw hand grenades on many who contribute here.
If your new investor how do you know who to trust when it comes to investment advice? The guys who are transparent are the ones who post their portfolio performance. The critics tend never to share their portfolio results. I am not talk about constructive criticism that is a benefit to everyone. I am talking about those that never contribute and only show up during downturns and express negativity toward those that freely share their talents with the board.
However, If you’re a new investor, there is no greater resource than this board! I have read many investing books, participated in Motley Fool newsletters over the years and many message boards. In my opinion I have learned more from the individuals on this board than all the others combined. Keep reading, studying and learning from this group it will pay dividends.
Thanks to everyone on this board for helping me be a better investor!
As always any suggestions or questions feel free to email me.