Taking Stock, Recalibrating, and Signing Off

A half year shareholder letter (to me), the last update for six months

While the second half of 2024 gave me a much-needed confidence boost, the first half of 2025 served up a generous portion of humble pie. While the overall market has largely recovered from its tariff- and recession-fear-induced sell-off, my portfolio is lagging due to a couple of mistakes, misfortunes, and good progress going unrewarded by the market; it’s been a challenging year so far, but one that has notably refined my investment approach.

This will be my only update for the next six months. As of Monday, I start an internship at Capital Group. During and for three months after the internship, I won’t be able to write about stocks online. If you’d like updates on the names I cover, most will be covered by other

Breakout Investors

analysts, so I recommend joining the community (Whatsapp group/Substack/app) if you haven’t already for continued updates. In the meantime, I plan to let the portfolio run for six months, so I’ve been busy making final adjustments.

This is a long piece, and I will cover the following topics in this order:

• My Portfolio Performance

• Portfolio Update

• Learnings

• A Life Update

My Portfolio Performance

My performance YTD has been underwhelming. I’m around -20% for the year, whereas the indexes are hovering around breakeven. This is not entirely unexpected, given that I do lean into volatility and heavily concentrate positions. My performance is also measured in GBP, so currency has contributed around 8% to that underperformance. That said, it’s disappointing, and I will explore what held me back later.

Performance YTD: My Performance (Blue); SPY (Green); IWM (Yellow)

For those reading my letter for the first time, I consider my investing journey until mid-2024 to be what I call “paying my tuition”, making mistakes that taught me so many incredible lessons. That said, it left me with a lot of catching up to do. By last year’s end, I was on par with the indices. While this year’s performance is frustrating and has set me back again, I think the overall trend still looks good.

Performance since inception: My Performance (Blue); SPY (Green); IWM (Yellow)

Note: I have included both SPY and IWM as benchmarks. The IWM is a more relevant benchmark since I invest predominantly in micro/small caps. I included SPY simply because many investors use this to benchmark.

Note 2: All performance % given in Time Weighted Returns.

Portfolio Update

In my last letter, I included an update for every company I have ever written about. In this letter, I am choosing to do it a little differently. I will only write about companies I currently hold, I have held during the latest period, or that I have a close eye on, which is less than usual, given time constraints of an MBA.

Last time, I also published a tracker for every company I have covered. This will be the last time I do so because I do not feel it is a valuable tool. I no longer want to track when I first spoke about a stock vs where it is today. I have only closed tracking positions when I have entirely lost confidence in the stock and its future potential to make money. However, I have made money on many of the losers in the tracker. I have lost money on some winners. For example, I doubled my money on names like Nexgel and HeartCore, even though both are down in the tracker. I didn’t close them in the tracker, because I thought I’d have chances in the future to make money on them again.

Research tracker

Instead of the tracker, I will state below the names I will give an update for, and I will provide a current portfolio review after that. Stocks are alphabetical but in two sections.

Current portfolio:

• Crexendo (CXDO)

• Duos Technologies (DUOT)

• Intermap Technologies (IMP.TO / ITMSF)

• INmune Bio (INMB)

• Locafy (LCFY)

• Nexgel (NXGL)

Extra names:

• Creative Realities (CREX)

• HeartCore (HTCR)

• Intellicheck (IDN)

• Streamline Health (STRM)

Stocks - Current Portfolio

Crexendo (CXDO)

• Article on June 27th, 2024; price $3.07

• Hosted Q2 review and Q&A with management on July 8th, 2024

• Updated thesis, Nov 9th, 2024

• Current price $5.44; return to date: +77%

It feels strange to say this, but I’ve been pretty disappointed with what feels like a meagre 77% return on Crexendo since I first wrote about it a year ago. The delivery has been superb, and I think the market is not yet giving the company the credit it is due.

The central thesis is that Crexendo has the best UCaaS product on the market, the best customer service, and charges the least, and the gap seems only to widen. It’s no surprise then that they have been consistently poaching licensees from the two bigger platforms, MetaSwitch (recently sold off by Microsoft) and Broadsoft (Cisco) for the past year, a trend which shows no signs of slowing.

The company is also sitting on a pile of cash. It will likely deploy that cash over the next six months and acquire a licensee or two. I think this will be a catalyst for the stock re-rating.

The stock is trading in an ascending triangle. I don’t know when it will break out to the upside (to do so it needs to break the $7.50 resistance), but I’m confident enough to bet my money that it will sometime over the next six months.

Duos Technologies (DUOT)

• Initiation thesis, Mar 25th 2025; price: $6.15

• Current price $7.97; return to date: +30%

I like the chart for Duos a lot. First, note the channel that has been in place since 2022. If it breaks out of that channel, the stock could rip. Also, note the run it had since Sep 2024, more than tripling in a couple of months. The stock fell sharply since, wiping out half of the run-up, but immediately turned around and has rapidly made new highs since April with excellent volume and pace. Finally, there is a resistance around $8, from the round number effect and recent highs. If and when the stock breaks $9, it has a lot of room to run; often, the longer the channel, the faster it runs when it breaks.

So the real question is, does Duos deserve to break out of the channel? Since publishing my thesis, Duos reported an impressive Q1, with revenue up 363% YoY to $4.95M, driven almost entirely by the Energy segment. The Fortress AMA contributed ~$4.7M in revenue plus $0.9M in equity income from Duos’ 5% stake in New APR Energy. Management confirmed 570MW of turbines are already deployed, with the full 730MW portfolio expected to be in use within weeks (likely already is now). While I modelled out no growth on this part of the business beyond Q2, management is actively considering expanding the fleet, which could drive revenues beyond my projections. In the meantime, the energy business has started to provide substantial and stable revenues that support the company’s other businesses.

The Edge AI business has started generating revenue, with the first standalone pod generating revenue from April. Ten pods have been ordered, and Duos remains on track to have 15 deployed by year-end. Management continues to target 70% gross margins. The repeatable model focused on underserved Texas regions seems to be going smoothly. More deployments are expected in Q2 and Q3 as anchor tenants are secured.

The rail segment remains non-core. Revenue fell to just $65K in Q1 due to site delays, and no new deployments occurred. Management reiterated that it is cutting costs here and may exit the business if a buyer emerges. The past quarter was particularly bad for rail, so any return to normalcy would be a welcome boost, though not hugely important.

I’m pleased with Duos’ execution so far. Both energy and edge businesses appear to have gone smoothly and are ahead of schedule. Financing remains the biggest uncertainty for me, but I trust management’s conservative approach and desire to minimise dilution (of which I’m sure there will be some). The company remains on track for $28–30M in 2025 revenue (300% up YoY), and to end the year with positive adjusted EBITDA, which probably translates to a small improvement in Q2 and then an excellent Q3 and Q4.

Intermap Technologies (IMP.TO / ITMSF)

• Abbreviated thesis July 23rd 2024; price $0.74 (CAD)

• Complete thesis on August 20th 2024

• Current price: $2.24 (CAD); return to date: +203%

Intermap has been a massive winner for me. I sold my position in December, wanting to see the stock consolidate after the crazy run it had since last summer, and I got timing broadly right. I also wanted to get an updated pulse on whether the stock deserved to keep going or not. There was always a risk of the enormous Indonesia project being awarded to someone else, which would likely have devastated the stock at the elevated prices.

Intermap delivered a mixed Q1 with some noise around the Indonesia project. Revenues more than doubled year-over-year, driven by strength in acquisition services and recurring software/data income, while EBITDA margins expanded to 28%. Execution across the rest of the business has been impressive: the U.S. Air Force contract is ramping, the Malaysia water mapping award adds visible backlog, and Intermap was recently selected as part of a $200M NGA program. Commercial traction is also picking up, with renewals in insurance, telecom, and a new space data partnership. While Indonesia has seen minor permitting delays, there’s no indication the contract is at risk, and field operations continue. Management reaffirmed full-year guidance ($30–35M revenue), implying confidence in continued delivery and contract wins through the rest of 2025. The increasing diversity of growth opportunities is now more evident, and the Indonesia optionality remains intact. I feel more excited again about the prospects and have been building up a position again.

INmune Bio (INMB)

• No writeup; avg price $7.43

• Current price $7.91

This is probably against my better judgment, but the risk-reward on this one is so lop-sided I cannot resist taking a punt.

INmune Bio is a clinical-stage biotech company developing immunotherapies that target the innate immune system to treat neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. Its lead asset, XPro, is a selective soluble TNF inhibitor in a Phase II trial for Alzheimer’s (and later likely other CNS disorders), aiming to reduce neuroinflammation without suppressing immunity. It also has INKmune, a natural killer cell-based therapy in early trials for various cancers, and CORDStrom, a cell therapy for rare genetic diseases approaching regulatory filing. The potential market is significant: neurodegeneration (e.g. Alzheimer’s) and cancer immunotherapy represent multi-hundred-billion-dollar global opportunities. However, INmune is still in early clinical stages with no significant revenue and limited cash reserves, so its success depends on trial outcomes and regulatory milestones. It is worth noting that the management team has built and initially financed this company from scratch and, unlike typical biotech management, they have continued to put their own money into the company, participating in financings and just recently increasing their holdings.

The company will release top-line phase II results for XPro in the end of June (mainly cognition and selected biomarkers). If they are bad, I could imagine the market cap being cut in half over the next six months (though it could drop more sharply in the short term as people move on). If the results are very good, I could see the stock multiplying by 5-10x in a similar time period, with more upside potential down the road. There are a variety of middle-of-the-road outcomes too (e.g. shows slower cognitive decline, but not statistically significant). The market is pricing in a very small chance of success. People far more experienced than I believe the odds are more like a coin flip. Heads, I’ll be laughing; tails, I’ll be wishing I did not break my rules to place such a binary bet. We’ll see how it turns out.

Locafy (LCFY)

• Initiation thesis, Aug 12th 2024; price: $4.33

• Interview with management, Nov 17th, 2024

• Expanded thesis, Nov 25th, 2024

• Product overview and Q&A, Dec 16th, 2024

• Update following FTHM news, Jan 30th

• Thesis defence, Feb 2nd

• Current price $2.97; return to date: -31%

Locafy started the year strong with bullish news about a partnership with Fathom Holdings (FTHM). But since then, the company hasn’t published financials, the FTHM deal appears to be on hold or cancelled, and the much-anticipated large publisher deal has seen repeated delays. Either of these contracts could meaningfully change the outlook if and when the revenue actually hits the income statement. However, I’m questioning management’s ability to execute on major deals.

I’ve been a big supporter of Locafy. I believed the risk-reward setup was compelling, and I still do to a degree. However, being so heavily weighted in this name has been an enormous drag on my performance this year. I’m now ready to admit I was wrong to size it as I did.

What I got right: Limited downside risk. I still think I was right on this principle. The downside was small when I invested. Even during what appears to be a capitulation among investors currently occurring, my investment is only down 31%, which isn’t terrible. I think the price will settle, even without big opportunities working out, higher than it is today. However, I paid a considerable opportunity cost, given both the market and many of my other investments have done so well since then. My lesson here is to reapply the same downside risk principle on a more ongoing basis, rather than just at the time of purchase. At $10, after doubling my money, there was far more risk of losing the unrealised gains if delivery fell short, and I failed to recognise that.

Another learning is that technicals matter. I could have saved myself a lot of headaches by simply following one of my key tenets (momentum). Invest in good companies while they are going up. When the stock broke down out of its channel at the start of March, it would have been wise to get out and wait. Wait for signs of delivery from the larger contracts, and/or for the stock to show signs that it had finished selling off. It’s fallen another 50% since then, from $6 to $3.

The final lesson is the most important: delivery. I want to invest in companies that deliver. Companies that say they are going to do something and then do it. Locafy remains a company with extraordinary potential, but only if it can close deals and implement them. I am dialling up my scepticism of delivery significantly for all my investments.

A final note, I have recently massively reduced my position size in Locafy. It’s now the smallest positions in my portfolio. I’m not quite ready to entirely sell, given that they should reach breakeven sometime soon, and the publisher deal seems to be so close to generating revenues. That said, I feel much more at peace with it at this reduced position sizing.

Nexgel (NXGL)

• Article on Jul 26th, 2024; price $2.74

• Current price: $2.32; return to date: -16%

You wouldn’t know it from the current stock price, but I’ve been very impressed with Nexgel. The company has delivered on many fronts over the past year. It is in a far better position than when I initiated it, and has a bright future. I believe three things have driven the stock down: tariff fears, another AbbVie delay, and technicals.

I’ll start with the technicals. The stock simply did too much too soon. Many traders were watching the below ascending triangle. When the stock broke out to the upside, it ripped up, but the move was frankly too much too fast for no immediate fundamental reason (no news). Hence, I massively reduced my position. The stock came back down into the triangle again. Around this time, I think investors worried about tariffs affecting the business, as well as further delays on the AbbVie partnership, which are likely the cause for breaking down now below the triangle.

While bears may see the current price trajectory as bearish, I believe the stock will again reject this break below the bottom line. The fundamentals just don’t support the stock being this cheap. Hence, I feel very comfortable buying a large position again at these prices.

Let’s get on to the fundamentals. The stock has been growing 100% YoY for the past couple of years. Management has set a $13m target for 2025, implying a 50% revenue growth rate. That said, management has a history of conservative estimates, which they go on to beat. I would be surprised if they did not hit $15m, meaning the stock trades at around 1.25x this year’s sales. Consensus estimates put the company at $0.31 of EPS by 2026, putting the stock at <8x forward P/E, which feels awfully low for a rapidly growing company turning profitable imminently with zero debt. Furthermore, the earnings estimate assumes the company is under $13m this year, and growth slows again to 36% the year after, reaching $17.5m in revenues by 2026. So its $0.31 on $17.5m, but they’re likely to beat $17.5m significantly. Only one analyst follows the company, and he is clearly using conservative numbers.

Investors may be concerned about cash flow and raising cash before profitability. While it is possible, I find the chance of a raise unlikely. Management has stated they have no intention of raising cash before profitability. They have $1.2m in cash on the books. I expect them to lose perhaps $300 to 400k in cash in Q2. By Q3, I expect them to be at breakeven in cash flow. They shouldn’t need to raise cash. Even if they did, let’s say they raise $1m (which I find very unlikely); even at current depressed prices, that’s only around 6% dilution, which certainly does not break the thesis.

I consider the main question in the investment thesis to be, how sustainable is the growth? I’ll go through each product line/partnership one at a time, and you can tell me if this sounds like a company that is slowing down.

Silly George (consumer beauty brand): Acquired in May 2024 when it was generating roughly $2M in annual run rate, Silly George has already reached $5M ARR. Q1 2025 featured strong early traction from the new lip gloss line, with hydrogel-based under-eye patches and other skin products set to launch in Q2. The brand appears to be rapidly evolving from a lash-focused e-commerce niche into a broader beauty platform.

SilverSeal (wound care / first-aid kits): Initial orders from Cintas began shipping in Q4 and continued into Q1, with early reorders confirmed. This relationship has the potential to scale meaningfully, as Cintas services over a million businesses across North America. Inclusion in their corporate first-aid kits means thousands of employees can become familiar with the product through workplace use. This drives recurring institutional revenue and serves as a powerful sampling channel for individual adoption at home. Additionally, the Walgreens rollout remains on track for late 2025, and Canadian Amazon/retail distribution is progressing in parallel.

Contract Manufacturing (private label and OEM): Nexgel added new customers in Q1 while continuing to serve large partners like Owens & Minor. Management promised a new deal to close in Q2. Sure enough, iRhythm (NASDAQ:IRTC) will integrate Nexgel's hydrogel into its FDA-cleared wearable devices for remote cardiac monitoring, further validating NXGL's medical-grade capabilities. The deal is mentioned in a new slide deck, but is not yet PR’d.

In a recent chat with Adam, he said he’s had more inquiries for this part of the business in the last month than he had for the previous twelve months. Part of this is tariff-driven, as inferior Chinese competitive gels currently only compete on price. Though revenues for contract manufacturing are lumpy, the business could see strong growth this year. The contribution margins are excellent if the business grows, as most of the cost of the gels is fixed.

Excerpt from latest slide deck

In-house Brands (Medagel & Kenkoderm): These smaller proprietary brands complement NXGL's larger initiatives. Medagel is expanding with new burn care products incorporating SilverSeal's antimicrobial technology, targeting retail and institutional markets later in 2025. Meanwhile, Kenkoderm is broadening beyond its psoriasis roots with eczema solutions launching in Q3. While modest revenue contributors today, I expect these brands to continue to grow.

STADA (European licensing partnership): Histasolv, an enzyme supplement that helps break down histamine in the gut (marketed as DAOSIN in Europe with over $10M in annual sales), launched in North America in Q4 2024 and has exceeded projections with consistent monthly growth. A recent contract amendment significantly expands the partnership beyond Histasolv, with a second product launching in Q4 2025 and multiple products planned throughout 2026. This deepening relationship validates the initial product's success and provides a multi-year roadmap for royalty-bearing products, establishing Nexgel’s European presence with sticky recurring revenue.

Clinical Trials and Medical Device Pipeline: Nexgel is advancing its medical-grade hydrogel into high-value therapeutic applications with minimal cash burn—just $89K in R&D expenses in Q1, with most trial costs funded by third parties. The Innovative Optics 30-patient study for reducing carcinogenic plume during laser hair removal is nearly complete, with data publication expected shortly and commercial launch targeted for H2 2025. With over a dozen states enacting plume safety legislation, early dermatologist feedback has been encouraging.

Beyond laser applications, Nexgel is conducting proof-of-concept studies for drug delivery patches. The Diclofenac Patch completed a 12-patient trial showing faster onset and longer-lasting pain relief versus Voltaren. The Apremilast Patch for psoriasis and arthritis is in earlier-stage testing. A third study is evaluating hydrogel use in microneedling recovery.

AbbVie: In 2021, AbbVie acquired Soliton for $550m to commercialise the Resonic device, an FDA-cleared acoustic pulse system for cellulite treatment. Nexgel is the sole supplier of the specialized hydrogel pads required for each procedure. Initial orders were placed in Q1 2025, with shipments beginning in Q2, though the commercial rollout has faced multiple delays on AbbVie's end and is now pushed to late 2025.

The opportunity remains substantial if and when it occurs. AbbVie originally planned to install up to 900 devices annually, each performing multiple daily treatments using 2-3 Nexgel pads. Even a conservative rollout of 450 devices could generate $1.3M+ in recurring EBITDA for Nexgel. While timing remains uncertain, management confirms the relationship is active and funded, with Nexgel ready to scale production when AbbVie accelerates deployment. While this is the most uncertain of all the opportunities, I do not believe it is being priced in at all at current prices, so it’s just free upside potential.

Copy of a table I included in my initial writeup with potential outcomes for the AbbVie rollout

Summary: The Nexgel team consistently surprises me with their ability to punch well above their weight and close and implement deals with companies far larger than themselves. The execution has been superb over the past year, and with the depressed share price, I am making this one of my biggest positions.

Additional Names

Creative Realities (CREX)

• Article on Feb 6th, 2024; price: $3.13

• Follow-up article on Jun 4th, 2024

• Current price $3.52; return to date: +12%

I still like the company and my gut tells me this will be a winner in the long term. However, with the consistent delays and failure to meet even the lower bounds of their guidance range, I’m not sure I can justify holding onto this one. They are too beholden to their clients’ timelines, and that has led to a poor delivery over the past couple of years. The stock has run hard since April, I believe in large part due to excitement around a new large contract that came in (and frankly, it had been pretty badly oversold). That said, I’m not sure how heavily to weigh this contract as I don’t really know if and when it will actually be delivered. Too unpredictable, and it’s not cheap enough that I like all the potential outcomes. If it sold off again like in April, I’d be tempted though.

HeartCore Enterprises (HTCR)

• Interview with management, October 1st

• Initiation article, October 13th 2024; price $0.81

• Current price $1.82; return to date: +124%

I was pleased to have doubled my money on this one back in 2024. I also jumped off way too soon (around $1.50), but nothing justified the meteoric rise past $2.50 (I said as much at the time). The stock is consolidating nicely now and is cheaper than when I first bought it. On a positive note, the balance sheet is stronger than last year (net cash rather than net debt). Worryingly, the core software business has been very weak the past two quarters. I’m keeping a cautious distance for now, but this business has explosive potential as big IPOs come in or if their software gains traction internationally, so good to keep an eye on.

Intellicheck (IDN)

• No writeup (check Florian’s work instead)

This stock did very well for me. Invested recently around $3.50, sold around $5 around a week later. I was happy to ride the wave of excitement for the stock. I think the company has a good fundamental trajectory and should be a mid to long-term winner. That said, what’s holding me back from investing right now? I still think the stock feels expensive above $5. I also don’t feel I’ve done the deep research required to feel convinced of the prospects that others see, mainly due to time constraints. I could see why others are excited at these levels though. In particular, I like the monopoly characteristics, but I suppose I just don’t have enough conviction yet. From a technical perspective, I could see the stock dropping to near $4 and then building back up. I’d be more tempted to buy back in there if I had flexibility in my portfolio, which I won’t.

Streamline Health (STRM)

• Initiation article, December 8th; price $3.24

• Current price $5.19; return +60%

This is sadly a case of being right, but not enjoying the fruits of being right. While the stock had a good run until Jan, it had a poor start to 2025. Simply put, my thesis was that the business was very cheap and would re-rate as the company turned breakeven. I thought breakeven would come earlier than the market expected because of an update to a debt agreement. That said, I was a little annoyed that they did not manage to keep up with my shortened timeline, and I was annoyed at the stock performance for the year.

When I saw that IDN (see above) was taking off, I figured it would be an easy way to make a quick buck, which it was. I had no spare cash, so I sold out of STRM, thinking I would buy back in after a week or two with an extra 30% share count. I did not expect any immediate catalyst for STRM stock - oh, how I was wrong. I was punished by the universe for chasing a shiny object. While I was happy with a quick 30%, I missed out on a quick 130%. The company announced it was being sold, and the stock rocketed up.

Ultimately, I’m glad to have been right that the stock was way too cheap. I’m glad to have made a great return in six months for some family members and others who followed me into the trade. I’m also sad to have lost money on the stock when others gained. That said, I couldn’t have predicted the company would sell that week. I’m still not sure what my takeaway from the experience should be. Was I foolish, or just unlucky? I’m leaning towards unlucky, since I had a much higher conviction in IDN’s return in the short term, and I was right on IDN. I guess I’ll use this as a data point, but wait for more data points before tweaking my general approach.

My Current Portfolio

Below are my positions in size order:

• Duos Technologies (DUOT)

• Nexgel (NXGL)

• INmune Bio (INMB)

• Crexendo (CXDO)

• Intermap Technologies (IMP.TO / ITMSF)

• Locafy (LCFY)

Learnings

My three most important lessons for the past six months are as follows:

1) Execution is King

I’m going to weigh the past performance of management teams far more heavily in my considerations when buying stocks. I’ve been delighted with companies like DUOT, NXGL and CXDO, where I consider execution to have been excellent, even if the market hasn’t rewarded them like I think they deserve. When these kinds of companies go down, I have the conviction to buy more. In contrast, I didn't know what to do when some of my investments failed to deliver and the stocks went down. Hold out or even buy more because the risk/reward technically still looks good now they are cheaper, or move on because bad delivery may continue indefinitely. I don’t want to have to make that kind of choice.

2) Market timing

I’ve been fully invested and long through what has been a terribly turbulent first half of the year. It has been far from comfortable, but it has taught me a lot:

1. Microcaps really are volatile. Many go down far more than the overall market for seemingly no reason other than liquidity. I knew in theory, but it was interesting to see this play out in real time.

2. I am capable of holding through market downturns. Yes, I’m fully aware that this crash was relatively minor compared to crashes I’ll likely have to endure in my career. That said, what people feel in small crashes is likely what they will feel in big crashes, only turned up a few orders of magnitude. I watched myself closely through the dip. The fact that my whole portfolio dipped over 35% felt a little frustrating, but I was never tempted to turn and run. I felt that most of my companies were delivering well, and that I just needed to be patient. So I feel good about that.

3. To comfortably sit through crashes, I must be confident that my investments will continue to deliver. If not, I will become confused about whether stocks are falling because of fundamental reasons or market reasons. Or, if everything goes down, it’s tempting to want to wait out the market’s recovery, even if intending to sell a stock. However, it’s hard to say whether that stock will actually recover with the market or not. I think in some cases, a market crash is a catalyst for a stock’s rerating downwards. It comes back to my first point, it’s all about execution.

4. This period has made it clear to me that a hedging strategy can reduce pain and volatility in downturns. If you can use them effectively, obviously, you’ll do much better than other investors. That said, I’m not at all confident in my ability to time the market such that they can compensate for the drag they might put on my portfolio when I’m wrong. I might play with “pretend” hedges, by specifically writing down when rotating into and out of hedges, and watching those paper hedges play out. I’ll track that performance and see how I do before making any decisions on that front.

3) I’m better when nimble

When things were going up last year, I felt confident rebalancing, taking profits, putting them in names that I felt had more near-term potential. I compared this strategy to having a sports team with a few players on the field, and some excellent players on the bench. By swapping players in and out, I got more out of the players. While I certainly made some notable mistakes, being nimble was a clear net benefit, as my overall performance was far higher than the sum of the performance of my individual investments.

However, in this downmarket, I was substantially less nimble than I was between last summer and January. I think there were two reasons. First, it’s harder to choose to sell something if there are no profits to take. It feels like losing. Therefore, it’s tempting to wait for the individual stock to come back up, even if it’s not my highest near-term conviction stock. Second, I was just busier with life and was not watching the portfolio as closely. Part of this might even have been psychological. I may not have chosen to look at the portfolio closely as often in part because it’s just painful to do so in a downturn.

In the future, I’ll probably try to be nimble again. That said, I won’t be able to be for the next six months, so I suppose this will be another data point for me to confirm whether I’m better sitting on my hands or being a more active manager.

Life Update

Stanford

I’ve just finished the first year of my MBA here at Stanford. It has been amazing. The classes and lecturers have been superb. I feel like I’m constantly learning about the world, businesses, and myself. The lessons about myself seem to be the most important. I’ve learned what my biases are, what emotions and situations might trip me up, what I’m passionate about, and what I’m not. I’ve learned how to cover more ground in less time, using tools such as AI, and to lean on friends and strangers to make better decisions. The experience has been invaluable, and I feel very grateful to be here.

Berkshire

I was privileged to attend the Berkshire annual shareholder meeting. It was incredibly touching to be amid an outpouring of love and admiration for Warren Buffett and gratitude for all the care and service he has given to the investing community. There was a wide range of fascinating people there, people who are talented, good-natured, humble and eager to learn and share, making for a great crowd.

I also met a personal hero of mine, Will Green, a fellow Brit who wrote one of my first and favourite investing books, Richer, Wiser and Happier. Despite being swamped by fans, he was very generous in chatting and letting me take a selfie.

Internship

After applying for over twenty-five internships and interviewing with eight investment companies, I settled on joining Capital Group for the summer. The biggest selling point for me was the people and the culture. Strangely enough, I don’t even feel I was interviewed. It felt like I was having a fun and engaging chat about investing with friends (friends far smarter and more experienced than me, of course). I’ll be in LA for the summer, starting next week. I won’t know what I’ll be covering there until I arrive, so I may need to lean on some of you for your expertise in particular sectors. I’m a little nervous to start covering far larger companies than I’m used to, but I’m more excited to learn from some of the best investors out there.

Life

Despite so much going on in my life, what has felt like the most rapid change has been my two boys growing up. They are turning five and three this summer, and it amazes me how quickly they learn, grow and absorb everything around them.

Hopes for the next six months

I hope to finish my internship a far better investor than I am now. I’m going to give my all to learn, grow, and hopefully give Capital Group a good return on investing in me for the summer. Though you won’t hear from me again for a while, I’ll be back a little wiser before Christmas. In the meantime, good luck in the investing endeavours and chat soon!

Author’s Disclosure: I have a beneficial long position in many of the companies mentioned in this update, either through stock ownership, options, or other derivatives, and I may buy or sell any of the stocks when you are reading this. I wrote this post myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. I am not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.

Breakout Investors’ Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Breakout Investors as a whole. Breakout Investors is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank.