December 2024 - Portfolio Letter
Stock portfolio and performance of December 2024
Dear reader,
Welcome to the December 2024 Portfolio Letter.
First of all, Happy New Year! I hope 2024 treated you well, both financially and personally. Here’s to hoping 2025 will be an even better year.
This will be the first full year of the newsletter. I started this page at the end of April last year, and I’m thrilled with the progress. As of this writing, the newsletter has grown to 703 subscribers.
But while metrics like subscribers and views can be enchanting, what I’m happiest with is how much I’ve learned since starting. Though far from where I want to be, my writing and my investing knowledge have both improved a ton.
Having said that, I’m also making a scheduling change starting next week: I’ll post twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday. This means you’ll see more of me in your inbox, but don’t worry—you’ll still get the same stock deep dives and other content you’ve come to expect.
Now, let’s move on to the portfolio. After a strong November, the portfolio again posted solid gains in December, in contrast to the S&P 500’s negative return for the month.
Top performers were LVMH (boosted by a €5.50 per share dividend paid in December), Amazon, and Salesforce, delivering returns of 8%, 7.8%, and 3.5%, respectively. The worst performer was Evolution with a return of -11%, while Airbnb, MSCI, and ASML returned -1.3%, 0.6% and 3.1%.
There was one trade this month: I added to my Evolution position at an average price of $81.60. The timing was unfortunate, as the stock dropped nearly 10% the following day. Either way, I made this decision after analyzing the company’s prospects in a recent post. While I don’t expect a sudden turnaround in share performance, there is no doubt Evolution is cheap. Sentiment may still be negative, but this can change in the blink of an eye. For now, Evolution represents 6.8% of the portfolio, still a relatively small stake.
The portfolio’s overall performance since inception in July is 13.8%, compared to the money-weighted return of the S&P 500 at 5.33%. This means that had I made the same deposits and transactions but invested entirely in the S&P 500, my return would’ve been a lot lower.
Exciting, right? Well, it’s a good start, but it’s just that—a start. Six months is still a short period, and I don’t expect to always outperform.
The portfolio saw minimal change apart from the increase in Evolution’s stake. MSCI has now become the smallest position. Cash grew slightly, as I deposited more than I allocated to Evolution. Other positions saw only minor percentage shifts.
I’ve been researching a new company for the past two weeks. It caught my attention as a high-quality compounder, though its stock performed poorly in 2024. I’ll share a deep dive soon and update you in the next Portfolio Letter about whether I decided to invest.
Looking ahead, the year may have changed, but my strategy remains the same. In my previous Portfolio Letter, I emphasized how the market has grown increasingly expensive. Finding high-quality companies at attractive prices is becoming more challenging, but not impossible. We just need to dig deeper.
In case you missed it:
Disclaimer: the information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as financial advice. I am not a financial advisor, and nothing on this platform should be construed as personalized financial advice. All investment decisions should be made based on your own research.
Congrats on your growth of subscribers thus far!