Scorecard # 29 – The Bear
COVID-19 pulled a bear market out of hibernation and humanity took its place.
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 # 26 – The Drug Oligopoly
We like to invest in industries with long-term tailwinds and pharma distribution checks that box. An aging population leads to increased drug utilization, drug price inflation increases revenues as does the introduction of new drugs. The “Big 3” – McKesson, AmerisourceBergen and Cardinal Health – are a distribution oligopoly with over 90% market share in the United States.
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 # 24 – Facebook Redux
The Value Fund returned +5.3% in 2018 net of fees and expenses (or approximately +7.1% gross). We managed to outperform both of our benchmarks in 2018. The S&P/TSX Total Return Index finished down -8.9% for the year. The S&P500 Total Return Index was down -4.4% for the year. Measured in Canadian dollars (the Value Fund’s reporting currency) the S&P500 Total Return was up +3.9% for the year.
Tilray
Canada’s grand cannabis experiment is likely to end badly for many investors and for Nanaimo-based Tilray Inc. (TLRY-Q) shareholders in particular.
Scorecard # 23 – Fear and Courage
There is a concept in cycling that has been adopted by famed value investor Tom Russo that resonates with us – namely the capacity to suffer. There will be times when our prudent value investing approach will be out of step with the markets and we will experience the pain of looking foolish for ignoring expensive and/or poor-quality stocks. But our long-term and patient approach when things aren’t going our way serves us well when panic returns. The ability to endure short-term pain (be it psychological, emotional and/or physical) often leads to long-term rewards. Buffett has often said that temperament is more important than intelligence in investing. Fortunately we were wired a certain way that happens to be helpful in the investing arena.