November 2024 Portfolio Update
Free Topics: Quote, Portfolio + Quick Update, Earnings Part 1, MADOFF, Some trips for 2025, Books ... Paid Topics: Portfolio(s) Discussion/Commentaries, and so much more...
Quote for this month:
"Hard work, honesty, if you keep at it, will get you almost anything." -Charlie Munger
*Portfolio*
*I am NOT a financial advisor. I’m sharing my investing journey. Not investment advice. Do your own research.*
Portfolio (Basic):
Holding since:
2020 - LKQ 0.00%↑ - 03
2021 - SFM 0.00%↑ - 03 | OPFI 0.00%↑ - 05 | VMD 0.00%↑ - 05 | IAC 0.00%↑ - 08 | SPOT 0.00%↑ - 11
2022 - MITK 0.00%↑ - 01 | WBD 0.00%↑ - 04 | $EVVTY - 09 | $NTDOY - 12
2023 - PYPL 0.00%↑ - 01 | TCS 0.00%↑ - 01 | BSM 0.00%↑ - 05 | BUR 0.00%↑ - 09 |
2024 - (First ???) - 01 | (Second ???) - 04 | BOC 0.00%↑ - 09
Quick Free Portfolio Update
Although I did mention that most of my updates will be provided behind paywall, I thought it would be good idea to let know on exits and “some” entering (entering that are liquid enough or known well enough I have no problem sharing).
Exited - UG 0.00%↑
I sold out of UG for about 60% ish return…
Unfortunately I was never able to build up large enough position (stock took off) and so I sold out for a nice (in percentage) gain. I will keep it on my radar because UG can be sometimes volatile stock (ans also illiquid) and might give another opportunity to re-enter… or not… on to the next one…
Earnings Part 1
MADOFF: The Monster of Wall Street
Last week I finished watching MADOFF on Netflix and if you haven’t watched it, I highly recommend it. I’m not big on series but this one is only 4 episodes and I think its useful to watch to anyone who deals with investments … for some it to learn about how others might be dealing with their money and for others is to learn lessons of what not to do…
I think there are too many people on Wall St, who although might not be doing what he did, they might be crossing the unnecessary line just few too many times…
Warren Buffett famously said, “We look for three things when we hire people: intelligence, initiative or energy, and integrity. And if they don't have the latter, the first two will kill you”.
Some trips for 2025
I have decided to give something new a try … I will be attending Planet MicroCap Showcase: VEGAS 2025 - Apr 22nd to 24th, 2025. If anyone is going to be attending it DM me and lets meet up, drinks on me…maybe…
I will also be going to Berkshire’s AGM on May 3rd, have not 100% confirmed the dates but something along the lines of May 1st to May 5th.
Books
I realized that my descriptions of the books that I read may not always give them full credit as when I read these books and when I write about them, I only share one or two things that really stand out to me. So I have decided to also include a quick short description from Goodreads (no affiliations) so that way you get my thoughts but also more generic description to get a better feel for the books and in so hopefully adding them to your “to-read-list”.
This time around I finished three audiobook and one physical book:
Play It Right: The Remarkable Story of a Gambler Who Beat the Odds on Wall Street by Kamal Gupta
YZ:
This was an interesting listen about a guy who pretty much came from nothing to have one of the best track records on Wall St.
Its a fun listen with a lot of interesting stories about someone else’s success via Wall St, but also I think many of us can take some lessons on what to do and what not do be it on Wall St or just in our “regular life” … I guess you could say it pairs well with MADOFF movies except that Mr Gupta did it all in complete opposite way…
Yet another example of “playing a game that you can win and staying away from the ones that you do not have some kind of edge in.”
Goodreads:
A real-life underdog tale of one man turning the tables on the casinos and Wall Street without selling his soul to the devil All around the world, the words "Wall Street" conjure up a powerful image. For some, it is the center of America's capitalist system and the engine of its economic growth. For others, it is the home of rapacious bankers and reckless traders whose greed would lead to a global financial crisis. For an Indian-born blackjack player, Wall Street represented something else entirely -- a chance for him to play in the largest casino in the world. Kamal Gupta's improbable journey, from a wide-eyed Indian immigrant to an ultimate insider in the rarefied world of investment banks and hedge funds, is a uniquely American story. Nowhere else would it have been possible for a scrawny computer scientist to enter the world of high finance solely on the basis of his gambling abilities. After spending seven years creating an investment methodology, Gupta went on an incredible run, generating an unprecedented 103 consecutive months of positive returns while managing money at large hedge funds. His success did not go unnoticed, and he found himself under constant pressure to take bigger risks to make even more money. He refused and always played it right, knowing that there was such a thing as "enough" money, something very few, if any, of his Wall Street peers understood. Much like Maria Konnikova's bestseller, The Biggest Bluff, Play It Right isn't so much about money as it is about the human condition and beating the odds, whether at a casino, on Wall Street, or in life itself. Kamal Gupta earned an undergraduate degree in electrical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi -- entering the elite institution after only completing eleventh grade -- and received a master's in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in just 11 months. Bored in the tech world, he turned himself into a professional blackjack player. An unexpected turn of events brought him to Wall Street, where for over two decades he beat the odds in every imaginable way. Gupta lives in the greater New York City area with his family.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power by Daniel Yergin
Goodreads:
The Prize recounts the panoramic history of oil -- and the struggle for wealth and power that has always surrounded oil. This struggle has shaken the world economy, dictated the outcome of wars, and transformed the destiny of men and nations.
The Prize is as much a history of the twentieth century as of the oil industry itself. The canvas of history is enormous -- from the drilling of the first well in Pennsylvania through two great world wars to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and Operation Desert Storm.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World by Daniel Yergin
Goodreads:
In this gripping account of the quest for the energy that our world needs, Daniel Yergin continues the riveting story begun in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Prize. A master storyteller as well as a leading energy expert, Yergin shows us how energy is an engine of global political and economic change. It is a story that spans the energies on which our civilization has been built and the new energies that are competing to replace them. From the jammed streets of Beijing to the shores of the Caspian Sea, from the conflicts in the Mideast to Capitol Hill and Silicon Valley, Yergin takes us into the decisions that are shaping our future.
The drama of oil-the struggle for access, the battle for control, the insecurity of supply, the consequences of use, its impact on the global economy, and the geopolitics that dominate it-continues to profoundly affect our world.. Yergin tells the inside stories of the oil market and the surge in oil prices, the race to control the resources of the former Soviet empire, and the massive mergers that transformed the landscape of world oil. He tackles the toughest questions: Will we run out of oil? Are China and the United States destined to come into conflict over oil? How will a turbulent Middle East affect the future of oil supply?
Yergin also reveals the surprising and sometimes tumultuous history of nuclear and coal, electricity, and the "shale gale" of natural gas, and how each fits into the larger marketplace. He brings climate change into unique perspective by offering an unprecedented history of how the field of climate study went from the concern of a handful of nineteenth- century scientists preoccupied with a new Ice Age into one of the most significant issues of our times.
He leads us through the rebirth of renewable energies and explores the distinctive stories of wind, solar, and biofuels. He offers a perspective on the return of the electric car, which some are betting will be necessary for a growing global economy.
The Quest presents an extraordinary range of characters and dramatic stories that illustrate the principles that will shape a robust and flexible energy security system for the decades to come. Energy is humbling in its scope, but our future requires that we deeply understand this global quest that is truly reshaping our world.
I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
YZ: My comment for both The Prize and The Quest is that they are great starting points for learning more about oil and gas (for those who know little to nothing about oil and gas and its beginnings in modern world … like me) and I’m currently listening to the third book by Daniel Yergin in the series called The New Map.
Ergodicity: Definition, Examples, And Implications, As Simple As Possible by Luca Dellanna
YZ:
To be honest reading Ergodicity was like reading book in “Spanish” technically I can understand some words and yet still have no idea what the book is about, kind of… I think book over complicates things to some degree and in my understanding books by Nassim Nicholas Taleb are more useful…
If I was to summarize Ergodicity in one quote it would a quote by Jimmie Johnson “In order to finish first, you must first finish”
Before buying the book you might want to watch video below to get a feel if that is something that will be interesting to you
Goodreads:
What is ergodicity, and why does it matter?
"The Most Important Property to Understand in Probability, in Life, in Anything." – Nassim Nicholas Taleb on ergodicity.
"I think the most underrated idea is ergodicity." – David Perell, author.
Is ergodicity the most important concept in decision-making and behavioral sciences? (Yes.)
Is it relevant for you in your daily life? (Yes.)
Is it possible to explain it so simply that a grandma or a high-schooler can understand it? (Yes.)
Even if they know nothing about maths? (Yes.)
That's because ergodicity is an essential idea with so many practical applications. Sadly, most books describe it in a very technical way, making it inaccessible to most people.
In this short book, 6-times author Luca Dellanna describes ergodicity as simply as possible. You will read stories about how not knowing about it destroyed his cousin’s career as a skier, or how misunderstanding it caused additional deaths during the pandemic. You will learn how to spot situations where ergodicity matters and the three strategies to react appropriately.
The book is approximately 169 pages long, of which 143 are pure content and the rest are tables of content, etc.
Who is this book for?
This book is for readers interested in growing themselves, their career, or their businesses and who want to learn about ergodicity and its practical applications without having to understand its mathematical foundation. No mathematical knowledge is required, only a high-school-level understanding of English.
Readers who want to master the theory and mathematical foundation of ergodicity are better off reading a more formal manuscript. This book is not a substitute for it but a complement.
I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
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