50% off Premium Yearly
He has taken some $$ off the table in energy (SU is a good example), and sporadically in other areas.
Everybody exited software, which is under pressure from AI. Then they went into oil, and subsequently trimmed it. The cyclical category of defense has also moved up as a conflict beneficiary. The narrative seems to be that, at some point, the US president will end the Iran conflict. Then we'd see energy retrace.
It's been a great way for governments to harvest taxes off people, because when you move from winners to winners you have to pay taxes all the way through. This'll be a big year for everybody paying taxes come March 2027. It's an unappreciated risk that people need to think about.
President's approval ratings have fallen below 30%. This reflects higher energy prices, and perhaps a tougher job market.
The president doesn't want to become a lame duck. If he loses control of the Senate or the House, he'd have to default to executive orders (which can be replaced as soon as he leaves office). So he's going to do whatever he can.
Monetary policy is not a lever he has control of. We've seen expansionary fiscal spending, and conflicts are inflationary. That spending makes its way into the economy, and that's why markets are at very high levels.
If there was a significant escalation, he might consider allocating to energy as a trade. But his firm deals in outlooks of 3-5 years.
You want to take your dry powder that you reaped from taking profits and invest it in segments of the economy that have been depressed. Software looks interesting. As does healthcare and medical technology. From a global perspective, luxury looks very inexpensive.
Some portions of the industrial market are worth a look, particularly companies that use IT resources.
A cyclical category has wild swings. A catalyst can drive the price up. Do you want to invest at the top of the cycle? No. You make money when you buy, so buy at the bottom of the cycle and hold till the top. If you miss the cycle, wait for the next one.
Pay attention to the semiconductor capital equipment companies, as they lead semiconductors by about 6 months. When the first category starts trending down/up, you know that the rest will soon follow.
For the last few years, as we've seen significant money printing through quantitative easing or fiscal spending, debt has favoured growth. Looking back to 2008-2009, growth came out of the market and the market collapsed significantly. The value market significantly outperformed.
Value names are very inexpensive now, so you could add them as ballast to your portfolio. You could buy staples now, and you'd be increasing the amount of income coming into your portfolio. Think PG, CL, UL, BN.
When tech crashes, you do the same thing. What you're doing is moving capital from expensive names to inexpensive. This builds a portfolio of sustainable wealth. If you get the timing right, you can avoid major drawdowns but still get fairly consistent growth.
His team are not really value investors, but more GARP (growth at a reasonable price) investors.