Tracking Charlie Munger's Daily Journal Portfolio – Q2 2018 Update

·         Charlie Munger’s Daily Journal Portfolio continues to have just four positions.

·         The portfolio has been largely untouched since their first 13F filing for Q4 2013.

·         The overall portfolio value increased marginally during the quarter.

Charlie Munger’s Daily Journal portfolio value increased marginally this quarter from $160M to $161M. Since their first 13F filing in Q4 2013, there has only been one change to the holdings: POSCO was reduced significantly in Q4 2014. After accounting for this sale, the portfolio value has remained remarkably steady over the last four years. To know more about Charlie Munger, check out the book Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger.

Regarding the origins of this portfolio in 2009, Charlie Munger said the following during Daily Journal’s (DJCO) AGM Q&A: “In addition to Daily Journal's businesses, we have a great bundle of securities and want to dispel again that this is not some minor version of Berkshire. We have a bundle, because we bought them at a time when we preferred to own them to holding cash and had a lot of extra liquidity on hand that came to us by accident. The chances of more gains like what we have done in the last four or five years is zero. Oh, well we will have a big gain next quarter, because of a deferred tax reduction from the Trump tax code change, so we will look like a genius for one more quarter, I suppose.” The cost-basis of the positions acquired at the time was $63.4M and it has quadrupled since.

Below is a look at the holdings:

Wells Fargo (WFC): WFC stake forms ~55% of the entire portfolio. The stock was at $45.40 EOY 2013 during their first 13F filing and is now at $56.41.

Bank of America (BAC): BAC is another large stake at ~40% of the portfolio. The stock was at $15.57 during their first 13F filing for EOY 2013 and is now at $30.13.

US Bancorp (USB): USB is a 4.35% of the portfolio position. The stock is at $51.06, around 25% higher compared to the EOY 2013 pricing of ~$40

POSCO (PKX): The minutely small 0.45% portfolio stake was sold down by ~85% in Q4 2014 at prices between $64 and $73. The stock is now at $67.54.

The spreadsheet below show Charlie Munger's Daily Journal US stock holdings as of Q2 2018. Please visit our previous updates to get an idea on how the portfolio has progressed:

To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of cloning hedge fund picks, check out our book Profiting from Hedge Funds: Winning Strategies for the Little Guy .

Tracking Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management Portfolio – Q1 2018 Update

• Philippe Laffont’s 13F portfolio value decreased from $12.78B to $12.11B this quarter.
• Coatue Management increased Twitter and Electronic Arts while adding Micron.
• The largest three positions are Twitter, Facebook, and Shopify and they add up to ~23% of the portfolio.

Philippe Laffont’s 13F portfolio value decreased ~5% from $12.78B to $12.11B. Recent 13F reports have shown a total of around 50 individual stock positions in the portfolio. The largest five stakes are Twitter (TWTR), Facebook Inc. (FB), Shopify (SHOP), Electronic Arts (EA), and Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO), and they add up to around ~36% of the entire portfolio.

Philippe Laffont is one of the most successful among the "tiger cubs". To know more about Julian Robertson and his legendary Tiger Management, check out Julian Robertson: A Tiger in the Land of Bulls and Bears.

Below is a summary:

Broadcom Ltd. (AVGO): AVGO is currently a large (top five) 6.32% of the portfolio position. The stake saw a ~30% increase last quarter at prices between $240 and $285. The original position was from Q2 2015 at prices between $120 and $148. The stock is now at $248. There was a ~16% trimming this quarter.

Note: Coatue also had a large position in Avago that was established in H1 2014.

Apple Inc. (AAPL): AAPL is a 2.59% of the portfolio stake. It was established in Q3 2016 at prices between $95 and $116. The following quarter saw a ~50% selling at prices between $106 and $118. Q3 2017 saw another ~150% stake increase at prices between $142 and $164. The stock is now at $188. There was a ~40% selling last quarter at prices between $153 and $178 and that was followed with a ~55% reduction this quarter at prices between $155 and $182. 

Note: Apple had a previous round-trip. A large ~7% long-term stake was disposed of in Q1 2016 at prices between $93 and $110.

Facebook Inc. (FB): FB is the second-largest position in the portfolio at 7.52%. The original stake is from Q3 2013 at prices between $24 and $51. The four quarters thru Q2 2016 had seen a ~50% combined reduction at prices between $86 and $120. There was an about turn in Q3 2016: ~50% increase at prices between $114 and $131. The stock currently trades at $203. There was a ~25% reduction last quarter at prices between $168 and $183. This quarter saw a ~17% increase.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): GOOG was a long-term ~4% portfolio stake. Recent activity follow: Q4 2015 saw a whopping ~330% stake increase at prices between $625 and $767. The following two quarters saw a reversal: ~45% reduction at prices between $668 and $767. There was another ~25% selling in Q1 2017 at prices between $786 and $852. The stock is now at $1140. The position was disposed this quarter at prices between $1000 and $1175. Coatue realized gains.

Liberty Broadband (LBRDK): LBRDK is a large ~6% portfolio stake established in Q2 2016 at prices between $55 and $60. The stock is now at $78.67.

Shopify (SHOP): SHOP is a top-three 7.21% of the portfolio stake established in Q2 2017 at prices between $85 and $123. The stake saw a whopping 170% increase last quarter at prices between $92 and $119. The stock is now at $157. There was a marginal increase this quarter.

Below is a spreadsheet that shows the changes to Philippe Laffont's Coatue Management US long portfolio holdings as of Q1 2018. For a look at how the portfolio has progressed, see our previous update:

To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of following the best hedge fund picks, check out our book Profiting from Hedge Funds: Winning Strategies for the Little Guy .    

Tracking John Armitage’s Egerton Capital Portfolio – Q1 2018 Update

• John Armitage’s 13F portfolio value increased from $11.42B to $12.29B this quarter.
• Egerton Capital added Union Pacific and WorldPay during the quarter. 
• Adobe Systems, Charter Communications, and Microsoft are the largest three positions in the portfolio.

John Arimitage’s 13F portfolio value increased ~8% this quarter from $11.42B to $12.29B. The portfolio is very concentrated with recent 13Fs listing around 30 positions. The largest five individual stock positions are Adobe Systems, Charter Communications, Microsoft, Bank of America, and S&P Global and they add up to ~28% of the entire portfolio.

Below is a summary:

Bank of America (BAC): BAC is a large (top five) ~5% position established in Q4 2016 at prices between $15.50 and $23 and the stock is now at $28. There was ~28% stake increase this quarter.

Applied Materials (AMAT): The ~5% AMAT stake was established in Q1 2017 at prices between $32 and $40 and increased by ~18% the following quarter at prices between $37.50 and $47.50. There was another ~23% increase in Q3 2017 at prices between $41 and $52. The stock currently trades at $46.13. There was a ~30% reduction this quarter at prices between $46 and $62.

Alphabet Inc. (GOOG): The large ~5% stake was established last quarter at prices between $968 and $1077 and the stock currently trades at $1140.

Note: Alphabet Inc. has seen several roundtrips in the portfolio going back to 2011.

Activision Blizzard (ATVI): ATVI is now a ~3% stake. The original position was built up in 2015 at prices between $19 and $39. Q1 2016 saw a one-third reduction at prices between $28 and $39 while the following quarter saw the exact reverse: one-third increase at prices between $33.50 and $39.50. Q4 2016 saw a two-thirds reduction at prices between $35.50 and $45.50. The pattern reversed again in Q1 2017: 225% increase at prices between $37 and $50. The stock is now at $77.19. There was a ~19% selling in Q2 2017 and that was followed with a ~9% trimming the following quarter. Last quarter saw the pattern reverse: ~22% increase at prices between $58.50 and $67. The position was sold down by ~50% this quarter at prices between $63 and $78.

Constellation Brands (STZ): STZ is a 1.50% portfolio stake established in Q2 2016 at prices between $138 and $165 and increased by ~20% the following quarter at prices between $161 and $171. The stock is now at $215. Last quarter saw a ~15% reduction and that was followed with a two-thirds selling this quarter at prices between $210 and $230.

MasterCard (MA): MA was first purchased in Q2 2014 at prices between $69 and $78. The position has wavered since. Last three quarters of 2016 had seen the stake more than doubled at prices between $87 and $107. There was a ~40% reduction in Q1 2017 at prices between $105 and $113. The pattern reversed in Q2 2017: ~60% stake increase at prices between $111 and $126. The stock currently trades at $200. There was a ~40% selling last quarter at prices between $140 and $155 and that was followed with a one-third reduction this quarter at prices between $155 and $184.

Below is a spreadsheet that highlights the changes to John Armitage's Egerton Capital US long stock portfolio as of Q1 2018. For a look at how the portfolio has progressed, see our previous update:

To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of following the best hedge fund picks, check out our book Profiting from Hedge Funds: Winning Strategies for the Little Guy .    

Tracking Jeremey Grantham’s GMO Capital Portfolio – Q1 2018 Update

• Jeremey Grantham’s 13F portfolio value decreased from $16.95B to $16.35B this quarter.
• GMO Capital reduced Microsoft while increasing US Bancorp.  
• The largest three individual stock positions are Alphabet Inc., Apple, and Microsoft Corporation and they add up to ~13% of the portfolio.

Jeremey Grantham’s 13F portfolio value decreased ~4% from $16.95B to $16.35B this quarter. The portfolio is diversified with recent 13F reports showing well over 500 different positions. The largest five stakes are Alphabet Inc. (GOOG), Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), Oracle Corporation (ORCL), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and they add up to ~21% of the portfolio.

Note: In a Jan 2018 WelathTrack interview, Jeremey Grantham predicted the market to be in a melt-up (S&P 3400 to 3800 in short order) – thinks emerging markets is a safe bet. He also said they have a small hedge in FAANG like stocks which they will get out of when S&P gets to that range. As a secondary recommendation, EAFE equities was suggested.

Below is a spreadsheet that shows the changes to Jeremey Grantham's GMO Capital US long portfolio holdings as of Q1 2018. For a look at how the portfolio has progressed, see our previous update:

To learn more about how to profit from a strategy of following the best hedge fund picks, check out our book Profiting from Hedge Funds: Winning Strategies for the Little Guy .