| Holding | Category | Business | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Senvest Capital ( TSX: SEC ) | Canadian midcap | Investment Company | 6.5 yrs |
| Anthem ( ANTM ) | US large cap | Health insurance | 17 yrs |
| European Reliance ( ATH: EUPIC ) | Greek small cap | Life and Health insurance | 7.5 yrs |
| Kansas City Life ( KCLI ) | US small cap | Life insurance | 7 yrs |
| Riken Keiki ( TSE: 7734 ) | Japanese small cap | Manufacturing | 8.5 yrs |
| Investors Title Company ( ITIC ) | US small cap | Title Insurance | 7 yrs |
| Lewis Group ( JSE: LEW ) | South African midcap | Fumiture Retail | 6 yrs |
| IEH Corp ( IEHC ) | US microcap | Manufacturing | 8.5 yrs |
| Tachibana Eletech ( TSE: 8159 ) | Japanese small cap | Manufacturing Distributor | 8.5 yrs |
| Combined Motor Holdings ( JSE: CMH ) | South African small cap | Car Retail | 7 yrs |
| MIND C.T.I.Ltd ( MNDO ) | Israeli small cap | Billing Software | 1.5 yrs |
| Philip Morris Int ( PMI ) | US large cap | Tabacco | 21 yrs |
| Brimag Digital Age ( TLV: BRMG ) | Israeli small cap | Electronics Distributor/Retail | 1 yrs |
| Globrands ( TLV: GLRS ) | Israeli small cap | Tobacco | 1 yrs |
| Pacific Healthcare ( PFHO ) | US microcap | Worker's Compensation Management | 7 yrs |
| Altria ( MO ) | US large cap | Tobacco and alcohol | 1.5 yrs |
| Karelia Tobacco Company Inc. ( ATH: KARE ) | Greek small cap | Tobacco | 7 yrs |
| Clientele ( JSE: CLI ) | South African small cap | Insurance | 0.5 yrs |
| Nu-World Holdings ( JSE: CMH ) | South African small cap | Electronics Distributor/Retail | 1 yrs |
| Hamat Group ( TLV: HAMAT ) | Israeli small cap | Household Manufacturing | 0.5 yrs |
I also have a large short position on the S&P 500 index.
My portfolio has changed a lot since the start of COVID. I have closed or drastically reduced my positions of Seaboard, Mcrae Industries, Installux and the Bruce Fund. I've replaced these with several companies from more developing countries.
For several years, I believed the the US market was overpriced and I believe it now more than ever. Consequently, I believe that the equity gains of the future will come from developing countries such as China, Israel, South Africa. I invested in Alibaba (BABA), although it was not a big enough position to make the above list. I have had positions in South Africa for 7 years now, but it has only recently paid off.
Israel, on the other hand is a odd country. It is considered a developed country because its per capita GDP is US$42,000. But I still regard it as a developing country. The country has long been hobbled by hostility in a volatile region, but that is recently changing. Its population is growing by 2% annually. And many stocks in Israel appear to trade at multiples more typical of developing or stagnating countries. For example Globrands, the second largest tobacco distributor in Israel has a 13.5% dividend! And Brimag, another Israeli stock that I own, has a PE of 7.5 and a 9.7% dividend yield!
Looking at this portfolio, it is not surprising to know that I lagged the US market over the lifetime of this blog. Yes, I would have matched the S&P 500 if I didn't have the short. But the fact that my short was a hedge allowed me to go as long as I did. So my longs and short positions must be considered together in their entirely when evaluating my investment acumen.
Nine years ago I set out to apply Ben Graham's value principles with the goal of beating the "market". Over the last nine years, the S&P500 index returned 17.3% annually, with dividends reinvested. So, comparing to the US market, it appears I failed at my goal.
Basically, I suck.
After realizing this, I will no longer strive to beat the market. Instead, just getting a reasonable real return for my passive investment role is enough. By this I mean something like 5% return after inflation, taxes and fees.
So moving forward, this blog will reflect a very passive, conservative and long term view of things. It will be boring, but I will still write for a number of reasons. First and foremost, I write to improve my writing which helps me tremendously in my job and many other aspects of life. Secondly, I write to give back information and ideas from my long investment journey to the internet community. I have benefitted so much from information on all sorts of topics from other people on social media, internet forums, blogs and the like. They are almost always free, and I generally do not donate to charity. So, writing this blog is one way to give back some knowledge to the free internet community. And lastly, I write to help me think through my ideas.
Click here for last year's positions.
