Portfolio Eight updated April 2022

Portfolio 8 is 6 1/2 years old. The beneficiary contributed $3500 and the trustee $7000 for a total of $10,500. The current value is $15,449 for a gain of $4949 or 47% which is 9.7% / year. See details here or in the link on the right.

Like the market as a whole our stocks have gone down recently.  Some items under review:

• New purchases Block (SQ) and Nike (NKE) have gone down since we purchased them
• OKTA (OKTA) had been a great performing stock but they went down with the high growth software stocks as well as an acquisition the market did not agree with and a recent hack
• Paypal (PYPL) was another well performing stock that fell significantly when they had an earnings call and offered cautions on future growth

Portfolio Eight Updated January 2022

Portfolio eight is 6 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $3500 and the trustee $7000 for a total of $10,500.  The current value is $18,548 for a gain of $8,048 or 76%, which is 14% / year adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  Go here for a summary or to the link.

This year we sold Baozun and Sumo Logic and bought Nike, Square / Block and Tesla.  Nvidia also split shares.

The portfolio is doing well.  There are gains in Nvidia, Mastercard and Paypal (even though Paypal is down recently with hits to the software companies and payment processors).

Remaining Stock Selections

We have some outstanding investments to consider for 2021.

Portfolio Five

There are stocks in this portfolio to strongly consider selling.

• SUMO – while the SAAS / analytics sector has seen strong performance, SUMO has performed poorly.  This is a stock to strongly consider selling
• Baozun (BZUN) – Baozun is a Chinese e-commerce enablement company.  Whether due to China market / regulatory challenges or company growth, it is time to sell this stock
• Alibaba (BABA) – Alibaba has gone down significantly.  Unlike the other stocks on this sell list, I think Alibaba has a very large and important business for the long term, as a leading cloud platform / e-commerce platform.  They also own a valuable financial business.  Can keep or sell

There will be up to $10k – $11k to invest depending on the sales up above (there was $9k in the cash account due to our selling of Appian (APPN) earlier this year when it hit a brief peak).  This could be 5 or 6 stocks depending on the size, or a stock with a double purchase.

• Tesla (TSLA) and / or Toyota (TM) – the best run / most profitable companies in the space are Tesla on the electric car space and Toyota on the gas / electric combination play.  While almost all other car makers in the world are betting almost solely on electric cars with the next generation moves, Toyota continues to believe in a future for gas powered vehicles which makes sense because it will be decades or longer before a reliable electric infrastructure girds the globe (think Africa / Asia, for instance)
• Pinduoduo (PDD) – the Chinese stock market has been pummeled with regulatory changes and cold-war rhetoric.  This may also be an opportunity to buy a valuable and innovative e-commerce company at a discount
• Rocket Mortgage (RKT) – Rocket was briefly a target of a meme-stock rally and then fell but this obscures that this is a “real” company with a 7% dividend and a solid position in the US mortgage market.  This may be a long term stock to buy at a decent down price
• Kraft-Heinz (KHC) – Kraft-Heinz fell and had a significant write off.  The company is well run and has a new plan and solid dividend.  They provide essential food staples around the world
• Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) – this stock is an essential company in the middle of a global chip shortage but also tied to bellicose behavior from China.  May be an opportunity to purchase it at a discount
• Nike (NKE) – the global footwear leader just released earnings and said that the global supply chain difficulties would hit revenues temporarily.  Seems like an opportunity to buy a solid company at a discount
• Uber (UBER) – the ride sharing company had missteps in the past but has changed management and is well positioned to go on a big run of earnings as the economy opens up
• Square (SQ) – a well run and very interesting company in the financial space that is also moving into deferred payments (essentially loans) and bitcoin

Portfolio Seven:

There are stocks in this portfolio to strongly consider selling.

• SUMO – while the SAAS / analytics sector has seen strong performance, SUMO has performed poorly.  This is a stock to strongly consider selling
• Baozun (BZUN) – Baozun is a Chinese e-commerce enablement company.  Whether due to China market / regulatory challenges or company growth, it is time to sell this stock
• Alibaba (BABA) – Alibaba has gone down significantly.  Unlike the other stocks on this sell list, I think Alibaba has a very large and important business for the long term, as a leading cloud platform / e-commerce platform.  They also own a valuable financial business.  Can keep or sell

If these stocks were sold there would be funds available for 3 purchases.  Here are some ideas:

• Nike (NKE) – the global footwear leader just released earnings and said that the global supply chain difficulties would hit revenues temporarily.  Seems like an opportunity to buy a solid company at a discount
• Tesla (TSLA) and / or Toyota (TM) – the best run / most profitable companies in the space are Tesla on the electric car space and Toyota on the gas / electric combination play.  While almost all other car makers in the world are betting almost solely on electric cars with the next generation moves, Toyota continues to believe in a future for gas powered vehicles which makes sense because it will be decades or longer before a reliable electric infrastructure girds the globe (think Africa / Asia, for instance)
• Uber (UBER) – the ride sharing company had missteps in the past but has changed management and is well positioned to go on a big run of earnings as the economy opens up
• Square (SQ) – a well run and very interesting company in the financial space that is also moving into deferred payments (essentially loans) and bitcoin
• Chevron (CX) – a fuels company that is well run and has taken over the lead company in this space from Exxon Mobil (XOM)
• L’Oreal (LRLCY) – the French cosmetics firm has a global footprint and has really embraced digital and modern methods during the pandemic

Portfolio Eight:

There are stocks in this portfolio to strongly consider selling.

• SUMO – while the SAAS / analytics sector has seen strong performance, SUMO has performed poorly.  This is a stock to strongly consider selling
• Baozun (BZUN) – Baozun is a Chinese e-commerce enablement company.  Whether due to China market / regulatory challenges or company growth, it is time to sell this stock

If these stocks were sold there would be funds available for 2 purchases.  Here are some ideas:

• Nike (NKE) – the global footwear leader just released earnings and said that the global supply chain difficulties would hit revenues temporarily.  Seems like an opportunity to buy a solid company at a discount
• Square (SQ) – a well run and very interesting company in the financial space that is also moving into deferred payments (essentially loans) and bitcoin
• Chevron (CX) – a fuels company that is well run and has taken over the lead company in this space from Exxon Mobil (XOM)
• Pinduoduo (PDD) – the Chinese stock market has been pummeled with regulatory changes and cold-war rhetoric.  This may also be an opportunity to buy a valuable and innovative e-commerce company at a discount
• L’Oreal (LRLCY) – the French cosmetics firm has a global footprint and has really embraced digital and modern methods during the pandemic
• Uber (UBER) – the ride sharing company had missteps in the past but has changed management and is well positioned to go on a big run of earnings as the economy opens up

Portfolio Eight Updated July 2021

Portfolio eight is almost six years old.  The beneficiary contributed $3000 and the trustee $6000 for a total of $9000.   The current value is $17,408 for a gain of $8,408 or 93% which is 19% / year adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  Go here for details or to the link on the right.

We are watching Baozun may sell due to China headwinds even though they seem to be a good company.

Portfolio Eight Updated March, 2021

Portfolio eight is 5 1/2 years old. The beneficiary contributed $3000 and the trustee $6000 for a total of $9000. The current value is $16,423 for a gain of $7,423 or 83%, which is 17.5% / year adjusted for the timing of cash flows. Go here for details or to the link on the right.

During 2020 there was $97 in dividends and a long-term loss of $510 tied to the sale of GM. The portfolio is doing well overall.

Portfolio Eight Updated November 2020

Portfolio Eight is 5 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $3000 and the trustee $6000 for a total of $9000.  The current value is $14,361 for a gain of $5,361 or 60%, which is 13.5% / year when adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  Go here or the link on the right to see details.

Performance has been driven by gains in Mastercard (MA), Nvidia (NVDA), Paypal (PYPL) and OKTA (OKTA).  There are a total of 10 stocks in the portfolio.  Generally the other stocks are performing adequately or it is too early to tell.

Portfolio Eight Updated August 2020

Portfolio Eight is five years old. The beneficiary contributed $2500 and the trustee $5000 for a total of $7500. The current value is $12,184 for a gain of $4684 or 62%, which is 16.7% / year adjusted for the timing of cash flows. See details here or at the link.

The portfolio has 8 stocks. They are 74% invested in the Information Technology sector, which has been doing well recently, but that is very concentrated.

Portfolio Eight Updated June 2020

Portfolio Eight is 4 1/2 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $2500 and the trustee $5000 for a total of $7500.  The current balance is $10,402 for a gain of $2902 or 38%, which is 11% / year adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  Go here for a summary or use the link.

We recently sold GM and are holding the cash to reinvest as part of our fall 2020 reinvestment.

Portfolio Eight Updated February 2020

Portfolio Eight is 4 1/2 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $2500 and the trustee $5000 for a total of $7500.  The current value is $10,347 for a gain of $2906 which is 38%, or 11.1% / year when adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  See the detail here or at the link on the page.

In 2019 there were no sales for tax purposes and we had $91 in dividends.

Right now the portfolio is doing well.  There are 2 stocks to keep an eye on:

• Baozun (BZUN) – Chinese e-commerce company seems well run but has been hit by Chinese events
• General Motors (GM) – world wide iconic car maker has a good dividend but has been hit by recent events in China.  They have also been making pre-emptive efforts to cut costs

 

Portfolio Eight Updated December 2019

Portfolio 8 is a bit over 4 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $2500 and the trustee $5000 for a total of $7500.  The current value is $9,557 for a gain of $2,057 or 27%, or 8.2% / year when adjusted or the timing of cash flows.  You can see the summary here or at the link on the right.

The portfolio holds 9 stocks.  The biggest winner is Mastercard (MA) and the others have been doing OK.  General Motors (GM) and Baozun (BZUN) are down a bit overall.

Portfolio Eight Updated July 2019

Portfolio Eight is almost 4 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $2000 and the trustee $4000 for a total of $6000.  Current value is $7278 for a gain of $1278 or 21%, which is about 7.8% / year across the life of the fund.  See here for details or go to the link on the right.  We will look into selling General Motors (GM), Baozun (BZUN) and Nvidia (NVDA) this summer before buying additional stocks.

Portfolio Eight Updated December 2018

Portfolio Eight is three years old.  The beneficiary contributed $2000 and the trustee $4000 for a total of $6000.  Current value is $6359 for a gain of $359 or 6%, which is about 2.3% / year across the life of the fund.  See here for details or go to the link on the right.

Some stocks are on watch:

• Baozun (BZUN) – a Chinese e-commerce enablement fun has gone down recently tied to a slow down in growth for China overall.   On watch
• General Motors (GM) – has fallen about 20% recently and taken hard steps including layoffs to get ahead of slowing car demand
• Nvidia (NVDA) – another former high flyer, this chip maker was buoyed by crypto mining and is down about 50% off its 52 week high, although it still has strong cash flow.  Will watch, may sell

Portfolio Eight Updated August 2018

Portfolio eight is three years old.  The beneficiary contributed $1500 and the trustee $3000 for a total of $4500.  The current value of the portfolio is $6291 for a gain of $1791 or 40%, which is about 18% / year when adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  You can see the detail here or on the link to the right.

 

There are a couple of stocks on watch right now:

• General Motors (GM) – All the car makers were hit pretty hard recently and it is down about 20% off its peak.
• Baozun (BZUN)- the Chinese ecommerce company is down with the overall Chinese market, about 20% off its high.  Has still done well this year overall

Portfolio Eight Updated Feb 2018, and It’s Tax Time

Portfolio 8 is 3 1/2 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $1500 and the trustee $3000 for a total of $4500.  The current value of the portfolio is $5409 for a gain of $909 or 20%, which is 9.5% / year over the life of the portfolio adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  Go here for portfolio detail or use the link on the right.

We had 2 sales this year, Tata Motors (TTM) and Gilead (GILD).  Total long term gains from sales were $55 and dividends were $50.  The portfolio has done OK recently and bounced back from February market activity.

Portfolio Eight Updated August 2017

Portfolio Eight is 2 years old.  The trustee contributed $2000 and the beneficiary $1000 for a total of $3000.  The current value is $3411 for a gain of $411 or 13%, which is 8% / year.  See the details here or use the link on the right.

Tata Motors (TTM), the Indian truck maker who also owns Jaguar / Land Rover, is on watch.  We are considering selling this stock which has fallen over the last year.