Thursday, 8 August 2019

July portfolio update

The G&W portfolio rose 0.70% in July, while the benchmark rose 4.52%.



August 3, 2017
July 31, 2019
Since July 1, 2019
Since Inception
Annualised
G&W Portfolio*
1.0000
1.4332
0.70%
43.32%
19.81%
Benchmark (SPAX2F0)
61,250.80
81,614.76
4.52%
33.25%
15.50%


*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).

There was quite a bit of buying and selling in the portfolio this month, but no other real news to report. I added three net-nets to the portfolio, all of which are listed in Japan: NKK Switches (6943), Sanko Sangyo (7922) and Fujix Ltd (3600). I also added to my largest holding, which is undisclosed. At my most recent purchase price, this stock sold at half the value of its net tangible assets, which consist of largely cash and real estate, a trailing gross dividend yield of 15.05% and a P/E of 4.29 despite a record of consistent profits. While this stock has peculiarities, and is difficult to purchase, the price is simply ridiculous, which is why it accounts for slightly more than 20% of the portfolio.

In part, these purchases were enabled by the consideration received from the sale of Spicers (ASX:SRS) to Japan's Kokusai Pulp & Paper Co. This old-world paper business has been one of my most successful investments to date, thanks to the hard work of the shareholder-aligned board that has run the company since 2017. As a final surprise, we received a little bit more in consideration than was initially promised. In July, I also sold my shares in Yowie (ASX:YOW), which I bought some months ago as a net-net. There has been an awful lot of drama involving Yowie recently as I detailed in my March update. My sense is that shareholders will be dudded one way or another, given the cast of unsavoury characters involved. I bought the stock in March when it was trading at 7.3c and was able to exit on July 5 at 8.6c, largely due to good fortune. I have little to no skill as a trader, so despite the satisfactory result I won't be seeking to repeat the experience soon.

Late in the month, I also bought a small merger arb position in Nzuri Copper (ASX:NZC) after reading this post on the Alpha Vulture blog