Portfolio Update — March 2025

(1M): +11%, (YTD): +18.94%, (1Y): +47.13%

The investing journey often reveals more about our psychology than our analytical abilities. While discovering promising companies at attractive valuations remains crucial, the discipline to know when to exit positions—both winners and losers—ultimately defines long-term performance.

Is knowing when to sell more important than knowing what to buy?

As a value investor, I take pride in finding quality businesses trading below intrinsic value, but its easy to neglect the equally important skill of knowing when that value has been fully recognized.

"The investor's chief problem—and even his worst enemy—is likely to be himself." — Benjamin Graham

This tension between holding winners and harvesting gains represents one of investing's fundamental paradoxes. The companies that drive extraordinary returns are rare, making it painful to part with them. However, price eventually matters, and capital is finite. Every position maintained is an implicit decision not to deploy that capital elsewhere.

In this month's portfolio update, I'll walk you through my recent decisions—what I bought, what I sold, and the rationale behind each move. I'll also analyze how these investments are truly performing against market benchmarks. As always, my goal remains finding the optimal balance between quality businesses and reasonable valuations across global markets.

---

Level up your investment research with Koyfin's powerful market analytics platform. I've been using their comprehensive dashboards, real-time data, and intuitive charting tools to make more informed financial decisions. Try Koyfin today using my referral link and get 20% OFF any paid plan.

Try Koyfin now!

---

Portfolio Performance

February has been a remarkably strong month for the portfolio, delivering an 11% return while the broader S&P 500 pulled back nearly 1%. This divergence highlights the value of maintaining exposure to underappreciated markets, particularly in Asia where Chinese equities have shown renewed strength.

My overall portfolio has now gained 18.94% year-to-date and 47.13% over the trailing twelve months, substantially outpacing the S&P 500's 1.24% and 17.26% returns over those same periods. This outperformance reflects the benefits of patience with high-conviction positions like Alibaba and Tencent, which continue to comprise a significant portion of the portfolio.

---

Recent Changes

While maintaining my core investment philosophy of seeking quality businesses at reasonable valuations, I've made a few adjustments this month. Most notably, I've realized substantial gains in Sea Limited, exited a small position in Owens Corning that didn't play out as expected, and established a new position in Baidu that I believe offers compelling value at current levels.