Saturday, January 9, 2010

Portfolio Update and Results for 2009

Here is where my portfolio stood at year end:

Boss Holdings 9%
BYD Co 25%
Clear Choice Health Plans 6%
Cogo 10%
Nicholas Financial 25%
Convera 9%
Cash 16%

For the year 2009 my portfolio had a 160% return. Obviously this year was incredible and it’s unlikely to be repeated. My portfolio’s results over a 3 to 5 year span will be more reflective of how good of an investor I am and I shouldn’t be judged on one year alone. I had a nice surprise at the end of the year when Clear Choice Health Plans announced it was being acquired for a 167% premium. My portfolio did well because of the investments made around a year ago. Investments I made such as Nicholas Financial, Horsehead Holdings, Footstar, BYD and Clear Choice Health Plans were made when other investors were pricing many of these companies as if they were going out of business. In all of the names I mentioned above, the intrinsic values of these companies wasn’t impaired in the recession but were trading for 50-90% less than they were trading for only one year earlier.

A quick update of what I’ve been up to. I’m currently a senior in High School. I haven’t figured out where I want to go to college yet but I will be hearing back from schools I’ve applied to soon. This past summer I interned at a hedge fund in New York City. I was also featured in the book Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett by Andy Kilpatrick.

I hope my blog is both interesting and profitable to readers. As always if anyone has any comments feel free to email me. I’d love to hear your feedback.