Top 5 Positions As Of 26 September 2018

Because of the changes in the Optarix US portfolio in September 2018 as well performance of individual positions, the top five positions in our portfolio has changed. As of 26 September 2018, the five positions with the highest weighting are now:

1. Emerson Electric (EMR) +36.6%
2. Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI) +36.9%
3. Stanley, Black and Decker (SWK) +38.5%
4. Aflac (AFL) +29.5%
5. Apple (AAPL) +76.9%

The position that dropped from the last list is Atlassian Corp Plc (TEAM). We reduce that position earlier this month. It was the 4th time that we reduced TEAM to reduce our risk exposure and rebalance our portfolio.

Apple (AAPL) has re-appeared in the top 5. We started this position in July 2015 at a share price of USD 125.00. We sold some shares in December 2017 at USD 174.89. As of writing AAPL is traded at about USD 222.00.

While we like it a lot when shares gain in value, we use the right opportunity to reduce larger positions and to either add to smaller positions or - more likely at the moment - we start new positions altogether. At the moment the portfolio is still in a very early stage. By that we mean it has only 35 positions. We are aiming for about 50 to 100 positions in total, most likely a combination of dividend aristocrats and high-tech growth companies.

We see high-tech growth companies as a higher risk. However, at the moment they also tend to produce gains faster. Effectively we are accepting the higher risk for better returns. At the same time we also take money of the table at the right time to generate cash for starting new positions in either dividend aristocrats or other high-tech stocks.

Happy investing!

Disclaimer: We own shares in all companies mentioned. We have no plans to start or change a position in any of the stocks mentioned in this post in the next 48 hours. This post is not financial advice. You are responsible for due diligence before making financial decisions.