September portfolio update

For the three months to September 30, 2024, my taxable portfolio rose 7.14% and my SMSF rose 4.43%. My benchmark, the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt), rose 9.12% over the same period.

During the quarter, I built up a position in Mitachi Sangyo (3321.T), a Japanese trading company focusing on electrical components. I have written up Mitachi on my Substack. In short, Mitachi is a net-net trading at 7x PE with a positive earnings outlook over the coming years.

The major event during the quarter was the closing of the Task Group/PAR merger. This was a very attractive situation and I had a very large position. Thankfully, it closed without issue and with only minor delays. Otherwise, I ended up selling my position in G&M Holdings (6038.HK). While the company is still cheap, the order book is the lowest in years and the operating environment remains difficult. G&M announced a whopping dividend, so I took advantage of the extra liquidity to exit my position.

Heading into Q4, I have a significant cash position in my taxable account of around 19%. The SMSF also has a significant cash position but I have a substantial tax bill due in May. As a result of the purchase of Mitachi and adding to some other Japanese stocks during the recent market volatility, I have a very large exposure to Japan at the moment. My exposure is through three stocks, which are in different industries but all at attractive valuations. As my portfolio's returns are in AUD, I will have significant exposure to the yen. While I don't try to predict forex markets, it seems to me that the Japanese yen is more likely to be undervalued than overvalued.

I'm hoping I can find some interesting ideas heading into Q4, ideally not in Japan. I'm especially looking for ideas that offer attractive returns that aren't correlated to the broader stock market, like the TSK/PAR trade.

	August 3, 2017	September 30, 2024	Since July 1, 2024	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio	1.0000	3.739	7.14%	273.90%	20.21%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	129,593.72	9.12%	111.58%	11.03%

N.B. The returns for my SMSF are unaudited and are calculated net of all expenses and realised taxes (but not unrealised taxes). 

	August 4, 2021	June 30, 2024	Since July 1, 2024	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W SMSF	1.0000	1.8150	4.43%	81.50%	20.77%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	98,123.18	129,593.72	9.12%	32.07%	9.21%

June portfolio update

For the three months to June 30, 2024, my PA was up 5.02% while my SMSF was up 2.59%. Over the same period, the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) fell 1.05%. 

The biggest contributor was Arca Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABIO). Arca was another biopharma company that had wound down operations and was seeking strategic alternatives. The process took an extraordinarily long time to complete, but the end result was fantastic. I purchase my ABIO shares in January for $1.57 (after buying and selling shares in the company previously). There was a decent discount to cash, and indications that the process was winding up. ABIO announced a reverse merger with Oruka Therapeutics in April, which sent the stock soaring. I sold my position between $3.35 and $3.90 immediately after the announcement. I never expected this result, but it feels akin to winning the lottery. I was lucky rather than exhibiting any great skill, but I am happy to take the win and move on.

In April, I also received a $3.16 liquidation distribution from Cyteir Therapeutics. This was a decent result, but I was hoping for a little bit more. Luckily, I was able to buy more shares before the distribution at just over $3. Cyteir has indicated that there could be further liquidations distributions in future, which is good news, but I imagine they would be minimal (if we do see any at all).

Otherwise, I put some small amounts of money to work in some odd-lot tenders. One didn't work out (MNST, as I was overly optimistic and bought over the bottom of the limit) while one did (TLNE). I have a couple of other of these situations in the portfolio currently, but they are so small as to be almost irrelevant in terms of overall returns. I also did a little bit of selling of some of my HK stocks before the end of the financial year to generate some losses to offset my short-term gains. I'm hoping to buy these stocks back at some point, as they remain very cheap.

I added two new positions to the portfolio, Task Group (ASX:TSK) and MACOMPTA.FR (EPA:MLMCA). Task Group is being acquired by PAR Technologies, which is listed in the US, and there was a very attractive spread to the shares + cash consideration option. I bought a lot of TSK (it's now the largest position in my PA) and hedged the PAR that I will receive. As of today, it turns out I would have been better off without the hedge, but I wasn't prepared to take the risk of PAR stock falling. Overall, the situation has worked out very well. The deal has closed as expected and I will receive the takeover consideration shortly.

MACOMPTA is a tiny French software business. I bought it after reading a write-up by Tristan/@hurdle_rate on Twitter. Tristan's write up lays out the key information. In short, MACOMPTA is a business that earns very high returns on capital, is growing very fast (+30% CAGR over recent years) and is trading at a reasonable multiple. On top of that, there are some reasons to believe why the business should continue to grow quickly. The company is very illiquid though, so I have factored that into my position sizing.

Overall, I remain pessimistic about the portfolio. Many of the stocks I bought over the last two years seem to be close to fair value. Meanwhile, I'm finding it harder to find good new ideas for the portfolio. I continue to believe Japan remains an attractive place to find value, so I will be focusing my research there for the time being. I have found one company already that I have added to the portfolio since the end of June; it seems cheap, but I still have some outstanding questions. If the business performs well, I have the option to buy more over time, so I won't be writing it up anytime soon. As of June 12, my PA had 33.93% in cash (not including proceeds from the TSK takeover which I should receive in the next week or so); my SMSF had 14.02% in cash.

The benchmark I use for both portfolios is the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt). As mentioned in my previous update, I've started including my cash balance in my PA results starting January 1, 2024. Previously, I did not include any cash balances in my PA results, but I was always nearly fully invested.

	August 3, 2017	June 30, 2024	Since July 1, 2023	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio	1.0000	3.4898	55.83%	248.98%	19.82%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	118,759.03	13.87%	93.89%	10.05%

N.B. The returns for my SMSF are unaudited and are calculated net of all expenses and realised taxes (but not unrealised taxes). 

	August 4, 2021	June 30, 2024	Since July 1, 2023	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W SMSF	1.0000	1.7381	51.46%	73.81%	20.94%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	98,123.18	118,759.03	13.87%	21.03%	7.88%

March portfolio update

For the first three months of 2024, my PA gained 20.77% while my SMSF gained 18.95%. Over the same period, the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt), gained 5.33%. I again had some unusually good fortune, with most positions performing well and no significant losses. This trend is, of course, not sustainable, and I do not expect such results to continue.

My largest winner during the quarter was Atea Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:AVIR). At the end of 2023, Atea was trading at a deep discount to cash and was my largest position. Atea rose from $3.05 to $4.04 during the quarter. I sold about a third of my shares when it briefly traded up to $4.50. As of December 31, Atea had net cash less total liabilities of $538.33MM or $6.40 per share. In Q4, Atea had operating expenses of $46.57MM, which includes $12.16MM of stock-based compensation, most of which is well out of the money. If we ignore the stock-based compensation, and add back interest income, Atea burned about $26.66MM during the quarter, or roughly 32 cents per share. That would suggest that Atea would have cash less total liabilities of approximately $431.7MM at the end of 2024 (or $5.20 per share). Atea's primary focus is on developing an oral antiviral for COVID-19. Their candidate, bemnifosbuvir, is currently in a phase 3 trial with results expected in the second half of 2024. I suspect the market would react favourably to positive trial results. In the event that the trial fails, the company would likely face pressure to wind down its operations and return cash to shareholders. It seems to me that the risk-reward remains favourable, even though the margin of safety is considerably less than when I purchased my shares.

Other contributors during the month were InDex Pharmaceuticals, a Swedish biotechnology company currently evaluating strategic alternatives, CEL Corp and G & M Holdings. The portfolio received a small boost after receiving the liquidation dividend from Aptinyx, and I also made money from participating in the Cummins/Atmus Filtration odd-lot split off transaction. Finally, the portfolio received a boost from USD/AUD appreciation, as the portfolio contains significant USD exposure via US- and HK-listed stocks (as the HKD is pegged to the USD).

As I have a number of special situations that worked out or are due to work out soon, I have a significant amount of cash in the portfolio. At the end of March, my PA had roughly 40% of the portfolio in cash or in positions that will soon be cashed out. My SMSF is a little better, with about 26.9% in cash and cash-equivalent positions. 

I have been struggling to find exceptional ideas lately, but I've still been finding some things to do. I am in no rush to deploy the cash, and I have a significant tax bill due in about a year, so it is likely I will keep at least a portion of the portfolio in cash/special situations with a short time frame. Needless to say, if I don't find ideas to put the cash to work, it is likely that the portfolio will underperform should the market continue its upwards trajectory. Conversely, the cash position should help if the market moves down.

The benchmark I use for both portfolios is the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt). Due to the cash influx, I've started including my cash balance in my PA results starting January 1, 2024. (This coincides with the large liquidating distribution I received from Aptinyx.) Previously, I did not include any cash balances in my PA results, but I was always nearly fully invested.

	August 3, 2017	March 31, 2024	Since July 1, 2023	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio	1.0000	3.3231	48.39%	232.31%	19.75%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	120,022.53	15.08%	95.95%	10.62%

N.B. The returns for my SMSF are unaudited and are calculated net of all expenses and realised taxes (but not unrealised taxes). 

	August 4, 2021	March 31, 2024	Since July 1, 2023	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W SMSF	1.0000	1.7111	49.11%	71.11%	22.40%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	98,123.18	120,022.53	15.08%	22.32%	7.88%

2023 Portfolio review

I’ve had some good ideas this year and plenty of good luck. My taxable account ended the year +53.96% while my self-managed super fund (Australian retirement account) ended +41.8%. These sorts of results are unlikely to be repeated. They are also much less impressive when you take into account the poor results of 2022 (-15.5% for the taxable account and +0.65% for the SMSF).

As I’m based in Australia, I calculate my returns in AUD and I use the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) as a long-term benchmark. This index was up 14.19% for the year.

Since inception, my taxable portfolio's CAGR is 17.09% while my SMSF's is 16.71%. While the results are pleasing, I'm a much better investor than I was a few years ago and I've set myself a goal of pushing the CAGR up to at least 20% for both accounts.

My PA's track record

My SMSF's track record

A few quick notes on the numbers: I do not account for cash in my PA, but I do in my SMSF. Historically, I have nearly always been fully invested in the PA. My SMSF is audited each year, but the numbers here are unaudited and are calculated net of all expenses and realised taxes (but not unrealised taxes).

The year of the busted biotech

After a poor 2022, I focused on special situations in 2023 as I had short-term tax losses. In particular, I focused on biotech net-nets.

My biggest winner was Cyteir Therapeutics (NASDAQ:CYT). I bought Cyteir as it was trading at a big discount to cash and winding down its research activity. In March, when I published my write up on Substack, the stock was trading around $1.62. On June 30, Cyteir announced it would discontinue development and liquidate to return cash to shareholders. I bought more shares following the announcement in the $2.40-$2.50 range. In October, Cyteir released a proxy showing a $2.92-$3.31 range of projected liquidation proceeds. Cyteir currently trades at $3.04, which is below the midpoint and also doesn’t take into account any potential proceeds from the possible sale of Cyteir’s IP (which seems unlikely but not impossible). I sold out of my Cyteir position in my SMSF, which has a low tax rate, to redeploy into THRX. I still hold my shares in my taxable account. It seems likely to me that the liquidation proceeds will land in the higher end of the range; I’m also hoping to sell my shares after a one-year holding period to reduce my tax bill.

Another big winner was Jounce Therapeutics (NASDAQ:JNCE). I first started purchasing Jounce shares in March. Shortly after my purchases, activist investor Kevin Tang offered to buy the company at $1.85 per share plus a CVR. I bought a reasonable stake at around $1 prior to the announcement, and added much more after Tang disclosed his interest in a 13D filing. I didn't expect Tang to make an offer, however I did realise that Jounce's deal with RedX Pharma was unlikely to close. My thinking was that shareholders would vote against the RedX deal and that could lead to a potential liquidation. The Tang deal ended up closing and I made good money.

Theseus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:THRX) was a similar story. After the company announced it would search for strategic alternatives, I (and others) bought shares while the company was still trading at a significant discount to liquidation value. I wrote up THRX in November when it was trading around $3.25. Shortly before the end of the year, Kevin Tang entered an agreement to purchase all shares for up to $4.05 in cash plus a CVR, which also includes a pay-out for potential cost savings. I had a large position in THRX, but I trimmed it by about a third prior to Tang + Orbimed/Foresite expressing interest in taking the company private. I bought some more shares at $3.70 shortly before the Tang deal was announced. I recently sold my entire position for $4.05. I made 40-50% returns on my initial purchases in around 40 days, so the idea worked out very well.

I also had a large position in Aptinyx, which was another biotech in liquidation. I traded APTX poorly. However, the liquidation proceeds were at the top of the company’s estimated range, which meant that my position ended up in a decent profit. I don’t like to rely on luck though, so I don’t feel great about this one regardless of the outcome.

My other large position during the year was CEL Corporation (5078.T). I wrote up CEL last December when the stock was trading at ¥2,109 per share. CEL started 2023 at ¥2,420 and closed at ¥3,210 (+32.64%). The company also paid a ¥80 dividend during the year. The gains were offset somewhat by the yen, which weakened during the year against the AUD. Despite CEL’s run up, it’s still incredibly cheap, however there has been no improvement in capital allocation. It remains one of my largest positions.

I did not have any major losers in 2023. I had some small losses on special situations and a couple of my Hong Kong stocks, which have very small weightings in the portfolio.

I don’t have a many great ideas going into 2024, and between THRX, CYT and APTX I have about 50% of the portfolio coming back shortly in cash. Thankfully, I have some time off work in the new year, so I’m hoping I can find some new ideas. But the outlook is not looking great. I’m hoping to stay patient until I find good ideas rather than rushing quickly to put the money to work.

Finally, I want to say thanks to everyone who has left comments on the Substack, interacted with me on Twitter or shared their ideas. I’ve also benefitted a lot from talking with my good friend Chris, who is a better investor than me, and has helped a lot on some of the most profitable trades this year. If you don’t have an investment buddy, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Happy new year and good luck in 2024.

September portfolio update

It's time for a very belated portfolio update. I'm hoping to continue posting these updates quarterly, as I find the exercise useful, but it's harder to find time lately.

My stocks performed well during the three months to the end of September. My PA was up 9.62% for the quarter, while my SMSF was up 6.33%. Over the same period, the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt) was up 0.79%.

The two portfolios remained heavily concentrated in three stocks: Cyteir Therapeutics, Aptinyx Inc and CEL Corporation. The first two are biotech companies which are liquidating; CEL is a construction company in Japan that is currently trading well below the value of its cash less total liabilities. 

Cyteir finished the quarter at $2.84 per share. It's now trading about $3.00, which is close to fair value. The company has disclosed a liquidation estimate range of $2.92-$3.31. That number does not include any value from the potential sale of the company's IP, which may or may not be valuable to another company. I see little downside in Cyteir at current prices, but the upside is nearly extinguished, so I may look to take some money off the the table to redeploy into other ideas.

Aptinyx, as I've mentioned in my last update, has not worked out as I imagined. However, I believe there is still some upside. It closed Q3 at 6.74 cents per share versus a disclosed liquidation estimate range of 7-10 cents per share. As Aptinyx is a very small company, the margin for error is small. I underestimated this risk when I put the position on. 

CEL meanwhile continues to perform well. The company recently reported results for the September quarter and upgraded full-year earnings guidance by 24%, which puts it on a P/E of about 12.5x. Importantly, about half of the earnings come from the recurring property management business, which requires little capital and has shown steady growth. The other two parts of the business are lumpy, however, they too have been growing lately. Meanwhile, CEL has cash less liabilities of about ¥4,261 per share versus its current price of  ¥2,874 per share. 

Portfolio changes

During the September quarter, I closed out my position in Arca Biopharma (NASDAQ:ABIO). Arca has been reviewing strategic alternatives, and trades slightly under its cash value. However, there's been no update in months now and the cash is slowly eroding. Meanwhile, it seems like the company could be headed towards a proxy battle, which could further erode the company's cash balance. I sold my shares for roughly the same price as my cost base.

I made a mistake by buying Pasithea Therapeutics on the back of a news release announcing a takeover offer. If I spent five minutes researching the buyer, I wouldn't have bought the shares. Luckily, I was able to sell my shares for about the same price I bought them. I won't always be so lucky with my mistakes. There was an interesting twist to the Pasithea story: when the takeover offer failed, as I expected, the company announced a tender offer for 70 cents per share, which was well above the market price. I had a quick look, but moved on, thinking that the offer would be heavily prorated (if not amended or withdrawn). In the end, the tender went through without any proration, which was a big surprise.

I participated in the Johnson & Johnson/Kenvue split off, but I didn't make any money, as I was greedy. After I received my KVUE shares, I waited for the price to recover, but instead it fell after concerns about KVUE's pending paracetamol litigation. I exited the position at a small loss. This had a negative impact on performance during the quarter, but I would have been worse off if I had held on as Kenvue has continued to fall.

Finally, I made some money on another biotech special situation, Pardes (PRDS). This seemed like a layup, so I probably should have bet a bit more. Besides all that, I added one new position to the portfolio. I'm considering buying more of this stock, so I won't disclose the name just yet.

Notes to self

It helps to learn from mistakes, so here are a few lessons from recent experience:

• When reacting to news about a company you are not familiar with, make sure to do the basic checks first before getting ahead of yourself (see the experience with KTTA);
• Be more prepared to sell out of something like CYT when it is close to fair value if there is something better available. While I know that the returns from here are unlikely to be spectacular, I've been a bit stubborn to sell because there is still a little bit of upside on offer. If I were starting the portfolio from scratch, I wouldn't put the position on in anywhere near the same size as it is today, so that suggests I should be more willing to sell at current prices.
• At times, I've been too quick to dismiss the ideas of others. From a process point of view, when someone else suggests an apparently attractive investment, I should do my own work to find out a) whether the situation is something I can assess with any confidence; b) whether the investment is attractive. I shouldn't dismiss the idea without doing that work.

The benchmark I use for both portfolios is the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt), which is pre-tax. I do not account for cash in my PA, but I do in my SMSF. Historically, I have nearly always been fully invested in the PA.

	August 3, 2017	September 30, 2023	Since July 1, 2023	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio	1.0000	2.4550	9.63%	145.50%	15.69%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	105,123.33	0.79%	71.63%	9.16%

N.B. The returns for my SMSF are unaudited and are calculated net of all expenses and realised taxes (but not unrealised taxes). 

	August 4, 2021	September 30, 2023	Since July 1, 2023	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W SMSF	1.0000	1.2203	6.34%	22.03%	9.67%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	98,123.18	105,123.33	0.79%	7.14%	3.25%

June portfolio update

Hello again, it's time for another portfolio update. Again, this one's a little bit late: I haven't had as much time to update the blog lately.

The good news is that my portfolio has done very well since the start of the year. My PA was up about 25.3% for the six months to June 30, while my SMSF was up 12.15%. For the June 2023 financial year, my PA was up 40.76% while my SMSF was up 32.09%. I am happy with the good performance, but it's important to note that my FY22 was poor. Importantly, both my PA and SMSF are now well ahead of my benchmark, the ASX 200, which is how I measure my long-term stock picking performance.

The gains have largely come from stocks recently added to the portfolio. My biggest winner was Cyteir Therapeutics, a biotech company that I purchased below net cash. On June 30, Cyteir announced it would liquidate its assets and return capital to shareholders, which led to a substantial increase in the price of the company's shares. Cyteir was a very large position for me, which was handy, and my investment thesis proved correct. (If only investing was always so easy…) I also made a lot of money on another biotech situation, Jounce Therapeutics, which I mentioned in my previous post. Finally, CEL, a Japanese real estate net-net, also performed well during the first half. I also had a small tailwind from forex movements.

My biggest loser was Aptinyx, another biotech liquidation. I was overly optimistic in my initial assessment of APTX's liquidation value, and I traded it poorly. APTX last traded at 7.22 cents versus an estimated 7-10 cents of proceeds from the liquidation, so I continue to hold the position. There was another instructive lesson from the APTX investment: I didn't consider that the company could face difficulties in getting the liquidation approved by shareholders. In the end, APTX was just able to reach a quorum; if not, who knows what would have happened. It is interesting to me that people could leave money on the table by not voting their shares, but the recent example of Calithera Biosciences shows that this can indeed happen. Another significant loser was Naked Wines, which has been my worst investment by far. I sold all of my Naked Wines position in May.

My focus now is on finding new investment opportunities; I have a lot of cash coming back from the biotech liquidations and other special situations. Unfortunately, the portfolio's discount to intrinsic value has narrowed significantly since the start of the year, and I don't have ideas of the quality of CYT or JNCE at the moment. I am confident that I will find good places to put the money to work in the future. In the meantime, I will be keeping myself busy with shorter term special situations, which I have found to be a good alternative to holding cash.

The benchmark I use for both portfolios is the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt), which is pre-tax. I do not account for cash in my PA, but I do in my SMSF. Historically, I have nearly always been fully invested in the PA.

	August 3, 2017	June 30, 2023	Since July 1, 2022	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio	1.0000	2.2395	40.76%	123.95%	14.61%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	104,296.22	16.61%	70.28%	9.42%

N.B. The returns for my SMSF are pre-tax and unaudited.

	August 4, 2021	June 30, 2023	Since July 1, 2022	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W SMSF	1.0000	1.1475	32.09%	14.75%	7.48%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	98,123.18	104,296.22	16.61%	6.29%	3.25%

March portfolio update

Hello again,

It's been a while between posts as I've been sharing my stock writeups on Substack rather than on the blog. I do want to keep in the habit of writing quarterly reviews on the portfolio, and that's what I'm going to do again today.

In the first quarter of 2023, I've had a very good run. In his book, Ed Thorp describes a random pattern of favourable bets as being characterised by moderate losses followed by dazzling winning streaks. While the jury is still out on whether I have an edge over the market, it feels like I've been on one of streaks Thorp is talking about.

My PA was up 17.6% in the first three months of the year. My SMSF was up roughly 12% over the same period. My biggest winner was Jounce Therapeutics, a new position I started purchasing in March. Shortly after my purchases, a vehicle owned by activist investor Kevin Tang offered to buy the company at $1.85 per share plus a CVR. I bought a reasonable stake at around $1 prior to the announcement, and added much more after Tang disclosed his interest in a 13D filing. I didn't expect Tang to make an offer, however I did realise that Jounce's deal with RedX Pharma was unlikely to close. My thinking was that shareholders would vote against the RedX deal and that could lead to a potential liquidation. 

Jounce has now entered a merger agreement and it seems that the deal is likely to close. I initially sold my stake when Jounce traded up to $1.90, as the value of the CVR was uncertain. However, I ended up buying my whole stake back, plus more, after reading the transaction documents more carefully. JNCE has now disclosed that the CVR is likely to pay out 13.77 cents in the event that the company can successfully exit its lease obligations. (The company has signed a non-binding letter of principle with its landlord to cancel its leases, but hasn't signed a binding contract.) CVR holders are also entitled to 80% of the proceeds of any sale, licence or other disposition of Jounce's biotech assets. While the value of these assets is uncertain, they could be worth something. JNCE recently disclosed positive data from its phase 2 trial of JTX-8064, for example, and Tang has certain obligations under the agreement to seek to dispose of these assets.

I purchased my stake back at $1.86, which implied a value for the CVR of 1 cent. I still hold my shares today. Interestingly, JNCE is now trading at around $1.92, which could be due to the fact that there are some civil lawsuits filed against the company regarding its disclosures around the transaction. I don't see this being a huge problem, as JNCE has since filed additional information. These additional filings also highlight that the value of JNCE in a liquidation scenario is between $2.00-2.08, assuming they are able to break the lease and the company is liquidated by May 31, 2024. Considering all of this, I think JNCE remains very attractive at current prices.

My other big winner during the first quarter was another biotech position trading below liquidation value, Cyteir, which I wrote up on Substack. While the price has moved up substantially, I still think the stock is attractive, as it is trading well below cash value. I also made money in MTCR, another biotech which announced a liquidation, and OIIM, a special situation which I participated in.

I exited my position in US Masters Residential Property Fund (ASX:URF) while buying JNCE. I also exited a small position in YMIRLINK, a Japanese software business, for a small loss. I think YMIRLINK is attractive but I felt the company lacked a strong catalyst to close the valuation gap.

My portfolio is far more concentrated than it has been historically. This has worked out well in recent months, and I am happy with my largest positions. However, I'm hoping I can find equally attractive investment candidates to reduce the risks of overconcentration in the portfolio.

My PA was up 1.7% in January, 2.6% in February and 12.8% in March. 

	August 3, 2017	March 31, 2023	Since July 1, 2022	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio	1.0000	2.1022	32.13%	110.22%	14.03%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	103,249.15	15.44%	68.57%	9.66%

My SMSF was up 3.7% in January, 1.5% in February and 6.5% in March. Note that my SMSF returns are unaudited and include fees and realised taxes (but not unrealised taxes). This is a rather messy approach so in future I may stick to reporting audited yearly results for my SMSF, which are a better indication of performance. 

The benchmark I use for both portfolios is the S&P/ASX 200 Franking Credit Adjusted Annual Total Return Index (Tax-Exempt), which is pre-tax.

	August 4, 2021	March 31, 2023	Since July 1, 2022	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W SMSF	1.0000	1.1457	31.88%	14.57%	8.57%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	98,123.18	103,249.15	15.44%	5.22%	3.13%