June portfolio update

The G&W portfolio rose 6.07% in June, while the benchmark gained 3.7%.

	August 3, 2017	June 30, 2019	Since July 1, 2018	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio*	1.0000	1.4233	33.74%	42.33%	20.34%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	78,082.47	13.08%	27.48%	13.58%

*Returns are pre-tax, include franking credits, and assume dividends are reinvested. The SPAX2F0 is simply the total return of the S&P ASX200 Accumulation Index adjusted to include any franking credits received. N.B. I do not account for cash in the portfolio. The net result is that my returns are somewhat overstated (though I am nearly always close to fully invested).

In June, I did some trimming around the edges of the portfolio. I sold down about 40 per cent of my position in OneMarket (ASX:OMN) at 80.5c and sold my small holding in Capral (ASX:CAA) at 11.5c. In the case of OneMarket, I felt the position size did not reflect my view of risk/reward on offer. In the case of Capral, I felt there were better opportunities to deploy the capital. It is always much harder to sell stocks than buy them, and time will tell if my thinking is correct. I made a small addition to one of my largest holdings, which is undisclosed. It was my only purchase this month.

The good performance was nearly entirely due to the extraordinary performance of Open Orphan (AIM:ORPH), a stock I bought as Venn Life Sciences in January. Open Orphan reversed into Venn in June, which drove the share price to 6.8p from 2.65p at the end of May. My friend Chris brought Venn to my attention when it was trading around 1.5p. Needless to say, I am very grateful.

May portfolio update

The G&W portfolio fell 0.51% in May, while the benchmark gained 1.71%.

	August 3, 2017	May 31, 2019	Since July 1, 2018	Since Inception	Annualised
G&W Portfolio*	1.0000	1.3346	25.41%	33.46%	17.14%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)	61,250.80	75,296.36	9.04%	22.93%	11.98%

*Returns are pre-tax, include franking credits, and assume dividends are reinvested. The SPAX2F0 is simply the total return of the S&P ASX200 Accumulation Index adjusted to include any franking credits received. N.B. I do not account for cash in the portfolio. The net result is that my returns are somewhat overstated (though I am nearly always close to fully invested).

In May, I purchased one new stock for the portfolio, Nippecraft. Nippecraft is a paper products company listed in Singapore. It is the owner of the Collins and Debden brands, which you might be familiar with if you've recently purchased a diary. Nippecraft has been troubled in recent years, recording a number of years of losses and delisting from the main board of the Singapore stock exchange. (It is now listed on Singapore's second-tier Catalist board with the ticker N32.) Despite its woeful performance, Nippecraft has net current assets and leasehold properties well in excess of its market cap. While it is currently unclear whether the value of these assets will be realised in the near future, Nippecraft is a welcome addition to my basket of net-nets.

During the month, another one of my net-nets -- Vical Inc (VICL:NASDAQ) -- announced it would seek a reverse merger with Brickell, a early-stage biotech company. While the stock initially shot up on the news, it was subsequently sold down to level below the announcement. Vical shareholders are yet to vote on the proposal, so I am continuing to hold my shares.