Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio January 2009 Update
Let me provide a quick update on my Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio as of January 30, 2009. There were no new trades this past month. Originally, I expected that I would pick up a new position at the beginning of the year, but doubt crept into my mind regarding the macroeconomic landscape. Asset prices were declining faster than I expected, the government banking bailout did not appear to sufficiently unfreeze credit markets, and the most concerning news was that governments are proposing protectionistic measures. It is almost as if no one remembers economic history. I was hard press to spot any positive economic indicators.
The Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio ended on January 30, 2009 with a balance of $780,416.28. This is down 9.76% since last month, but the S&P 500 was also down 8.43% over the same period. Since its inception on September 21, 2004, the Fat Pitch Financials Port is down 22.18%, while the S&P 500 total return over the same period was -20.25%. On an annualized basis, the Fat Pitch Financials Portfolio is returning -5.58% per year. That’s not the type of returns one wishes for.
Fat Pitch Financials Holdings as of January 30, 2009
| Symbol | Price | Shares | Value | Gains | Current Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KFT | $28.05 | 2,000 | $56,100.00 | ($3,998.60) | -6.65% |
| WEST | $10.00 | 5,770 | $57,699.42 | ($17,343.96) | -23.11% |
| MSFT | $17.10 | 8,220 | $140,562.00 | ($51,624.92) | -25.74% |
| BR | $13.49 | 2,600 | $35,074.00 | ($15,106.00) | -30.10% |
| LENS | $2.55 | 12,140 | $30,957.00 | ($15,286.51) | -33.06% |
| WU | $13.66 | 2,290 | $31,281.40 | ($18,662.13) | -37.28% |
| PFE | $14.58 | 2,010 | $29,305.80 | ($20,743.20) | -41.45% |
| EBAY | $12.02 | 2,760 | $33,175.20 | ($26,976.85) | -44.85% |
| WFC | $18.90 | 1,400 | $26,460.00 | ($22,330.60) | -45.77% |
| MHP | $21.99 | 1,610 | $35,403.74 | ($34,714.96) | -49.51% |
| USB | $14.84 | 2,940 | $43,629.60 | ($56,453.00) | -56.41% |
| BID | $8.69 | 5,540 | $48,142.60 | ($77,002.18) | -61.53% |
| DEST | $8.50 | 6,710 | $57,035.00 | ($91,670.34) | -61.65% |
| PRXI | $1.13 | 13,610 | $15,379.30 | ($44,740.53) | -74.42% |
| USG | $6.51 | 1,080 | $7,030.80 | ($43,245.36) | -86.02% |
Disclosure: I own shares in each of the companies mentioned in this article at the time this article was published.
I am working on an extended write-up of Ebay on my blog right now. I find its auction business, Stubhub, Half.com, and Paypal to be great businesses. Skype, BillMeLater not so much.
‘Trouble’ is, Ebay’s good businesses throw off so much cash that management has the ‘opportunity’ to spend it recklessly.
It would be nice if management were better capital allocators, but at current prices, I just can’t ignore it.