Scorecard # 35 – Realpolitik
“No Chinese leader has ever abandoned the insistence on ultimate unification [of Taiwan] or can be expected to do so. No foreseeable American leader will jettison the American conviction that this process should be peaceful or alter the American view on the subject”.
Henry Kissinger, On China (1)
Scorecard # 33 – Value Returns
During the quarter we initiated a position in TVA Group (TSX:TVA.B). Based in Quebec, the company is a leading broadcaster and owner of specialty channels targeting the French-Canadian audience.
Scorecard # 32 – The Other Virus
…when we see foolishness all around us, we remind ourselves that we are investors. Not speculators, investors. Value will once again have its day. It always does.
Scorecard # 30 – Flashback
“As Mark Twain so aptly put it, history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. The current market environment — especially in certain tech stocks — reminds us a little of the late ‘90s stock market.
Scorecard # 28 – Momentum
“This past year was our eighth consecutive year of positive returns. Our two biggest contributors to the portfolio in 2019 were our investments in Apple +58.8% (AAPL) and Facebook +56.6% (FB), both of which were purchased during the Q4 2018 selloff. Just a few meaningful and timely decisions can make a big difference to portfolio returns.”
Scorecard # 27 – Fundserv
“… We meaningfully increased our exposure to the U.S. health insurers by adding to our position in Anthem (ANTM) and initiating a new position in UnitedHealth Group (UNH). Democratic presidential candidates Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are touting “Medicare for All” and propose an outright ban of private health insurers. The heated rhetoric on the campaign trail led to a sector selloff which we took full advantage of…”
Scorecard # 25 – Booking.yeah
We made our initial investment in Booking Holdings (Nasdaq:BKNG) in late 2017 and recently added to our position. While we have previously disclosed that we owned the stock, we have not discussed its business in any detail. Here is a snapshot of our investment thesis.
Scorecard # 22 – Index Surgery
… Our large bet (6.8% weighting) on Express Scripts (Nasdaq:ESRX) is performing according to plan with the stock up +16.4% since we purchased it in April. Our recent writeup of our investment thesis for Express Scripts can be found in Scorecard #21. Our idea was published in Barron’s and was recently ranked as one of the best performing ideas from the View From The Buyside column. In an expensive market, good ideas are hard to find. But they are out there. It just takes a lot of effort to uncover them.