Portfolio Update - April 2025

(YTD): +2.08%, (1Y): 14.15%

Dear Fellow Investors,

I hope this finds you well amidst the market turmoil. With trade tensions and interest rate uncertainty dominating the headlines, 2025 is proving to be quite the rollercoaster.

In times like these, when fear is the prevailing market sentiment and uncertainty is the only certainty, I find myself channeling my inner Howard Marks. As he wisely observed, "the most profitable investment actions are by definition contrarian."

And boy, do we have a contrarian feast before us.

The S&P 500 just posted its worst quarterly performance since the dark days of 2022, and the stampede for the exits has reached a deafening roar. But where others see despair, I see opportunity.

In this environment, where fear has displaced greed as the primary market driver, I'm more convinced than ever that sticking to our disciplined, value-focused guns is the surest path to long-term investing success. While the market is busy throwing the baby out with the bathwater, we'll be there to catch those undervalued infants.

I’m not saying the road ahead wont be bumpy, but the destination will almost certainly be worth it.

In the immortal words of the legendary Sir John Templeton, "To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are avidly buying requires the greatest fortitude and pays the greatest ultimate rewards."

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Portfolio Performance

Year-to-date, the portfolio returned +2.08%, compared to (-13.53%) for the S&P 500.

Over the past 12 months, we've gained +14.15% versus (-0.27%) for the index.

I'm happy to have provided some downside protection in a tough tape. However, these results are more a function of our patient approach than any short-term trading acumen. By focusing on business fundamentals and resisting the urge to overreact, I believe we can continue growing our capital satisfactorily over time, even if that means occasionally trailing in hot markets.

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Portfolio Positioning