November 2024 Portfolio Update
Two buys and one sale
I published my deep dive on Carlisle in November, an earnings summary of Pluxee and Edenred and one of Atkore as well as a little rant about 13Fs. I shared a post about my valuation methodology and notified paid subscribers about my two purchases in the month (first buy; second buy).
I also shared a personal update, which I’ll say a few words about: I parted ways with my employer because I wasn’t satisfied as a software developer with the software stack we used. This leaves me with a large personal decision about what I want to do with my professional life. I decided to take a small work break and won’t actively look for a new job immediately. We have a good safety net in Germany and through my investments, I have a significant security to allow myself some time to reflect. Because of this, I’ll probably be able to spend more time writing content for you. I’ll keep you updated in the coming months if I decide to go back to software development or if I may venture into the finance world full-time, perhaps even with this publication, if I see good growth in 2025. I’d need to triple my paying subscriber base to consider this however, a tall task.
The publication continued to grow in November, adding 196 subscribers, 1,000 followers and hitting almost 50k views. Thank you for all the support.
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Portfolio Update
As previously mentioned, I started two new positions. Both are “just” 1% starter positions as I learn more about the businesses.
I bought a position in Arcure, my first microcap at just 30 million euros, a French machine vision company focused on industrial site safety, predominantly with forklifts. The company looks to be cheap, high-quality and growing fast. As it is my first micro-cap, I decided to weigh it small at first and see what it’s like to own a micro-cap. So far, there has been increased volatility compared to my larger companies, with frequent 5% moves on a daily base. Always be careful with microcaps and never buy without a limit!
Secondly, I bought a position in Eckert & Ziegler, which is also just a starter position that I intend to scale. E&Z is a leader in nuclear isotopes, a niche with growing demand in medical and industrial high precision industries. The company is high-quality and investing for growth. Shares have gone up well in the last weeks but have been flat for over 5 years due to COVID-19 bubble valuations reverting and overshooting to the downside.
I also realized a large loss from my Atkore sale. The last earnings were very bad, in my opinion, and I lost my faith in management. In this post, I wrote in more detail about the decision and collected lessons learned from my investment in Atkore.
Lastly, I added a few more shares to my Hermle position. The company is struggling in the current macro environment but performing better than its end market. Over the long term, Hermle is a compounder, and I’m sure that they’ll see a turnaround once the end markets turn and Hermle returns to growth. In the meantime, they continue to invest countercyclically into growing their capacity.
My portfolio continues to get more European because I continue to see the best deals in high-quality businesses there. Time will tell if the market will someday appreciate the hidden champions of the old continent again. Meanwhile, I’ll buy more shares in great family-led businesses built for the long term.
Where are you based?
Atkore was so painful.