March 12, 2010 11:30 AM ET
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Brian Lin
Strategy Long-Term Growth
Category Growth
Average trade replication time 2 minutes
1,710 Views
2 Subscribers
Fees 1.50% of invested assets p.a. Subscription Min $5,000.00*
Utilizes a deep knowledge of options in order to gauge investor sentiment. Will often invest when fundamentals are sound but when investor sentiment is negative. He will also use options to find discrepencies between short-term and long-term sentiment. He uses a bottom-up approach with an emphasis on long-term growth, relying on competitive moats and stable demand for the product or service.
He utilizes a bottom-up approach with an emphasis on predictable earnings and long-term growth. Predictable earnings are determined by past performance, economic moats and stability of demand for the products or services.
Whereas a value investor may invest during bullish times, he will use his knowledge of options in order to invest against popular sentiment and will use option prices in order to... [more +]
His research methodology is based on reading as much as possible, including SEC filings, blogs, newspapers and books. He also researches option signals and volatility in order to help determine buying opportunities.
He holds on average 10 to 20 securities and will not likely put more than 20% into any one holding. His buying frequency is fairly low, preferring to patiently wait for attractive prices and then hold the security. In the short term, he may hold ETFs until the prices become attractive.
He will sell a position when his assumptions about the company have changed (i.e. when the main drivers of the purchase are no longer relevant or have deteriorated). Furthermore, he will sell when the price increases enough such that a reasonable return on the investment is not likely. Finally, he will sell when he sees a significantly better opportunity elsewhere in the market. Short-term... [more +]
If he sees positive signals in an equity’s option chain, he may purchase the equity based on this fact. As stated, he may purchase ETFs to capture a macroeconomic trend or to hedge a position in the portfolio.
Investment Report
The markets have been quite resilient to seemingly negative news this month. Despite sovereign debt issues in Greece, lower home sales, weaker consumer sentiment, an increase in the discount rate, a weak job market, weak retail numbers, impending reduction of government support and other issues, stocks have been able to stay afloat during the month of February. I did not quite expect this but am...
March 2010
Personal Background
- Computer Science degree from MIT
- 7 years working in the technology space
- Started private investment pool in 2004
- Over 10 years of investment experience
Experience on Covestor.com‡
Brian Lin's Covestor.com Profile
- Overperformed S&P 500 for 16 of their 26 months on Covestor.com#
- Return Since Inception: 16.62% (January 2008)
- Last 3 Months Return: 5.05% (S&P 500 0.81%)
- Annualized Return: 7.55%
- Sharpe Ratio: 0.17 (S&P 500 -0.08)
- Maximum Drawdown: -47.22% (S&P 500 -56.78%)
Performance
| Inception August 26, 2009 | Model Manager | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| Return Since Inception (%) | 2.04 | 11.88 |
| Annualized Return (%) | 3.81 | 23.12 |
| Month to Date Return (%) | 1.74 | 4.14 |
| Calendar 3 Month Return (%) | (1.09) | (0.39) |
| Sharpe Ratio | 0.54 | 1.44 |
Monthly Performance (%)
| Month | Return | S&P500 | Outperformance | Risk | Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb | (0.75) | 2.85 | (3.60) |
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| Jan | (1.85) | (3.70) | 1.85 |
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| Dec | 1.79 | 1.78 | 0.01 |
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| Nov | 0.83 | 5.74 | (4.91) |
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| Oct | 0.30 | (1.98) | 2.28 |
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| Sep | 0.01 | 3.57 | (3.56) |
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The performance of the model manager's account has been calculated by CVIM on a daily time-weighted basis including cash and broker commissions. These returns do not reflect any CVIM suitability or risk score restrictions and are exclusive of CVIM fees. Therefore, they do not represent the performance of the CVIM model available for subscription. Benchmark returns have been calculated by CVIM using a time-weighted calculation of daily valuations and do not include cash or transaction costs. Please see the additional disclosures below.
Top Holdings
| Symbol | Security | Exchange | Allocation (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | n/a | n/a | 61.24 |
| FSLR | FIRST SOLAR INC COM | NASDAQ | 18.57 |
| UNH | UNITEDHEALTH GROUP INC COM | NYSE | 10.94 |
| SLV | ISHARES SILVER TRUST | AMEX | 5.49 |
| ATVI | ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC COM | NASDAQ | 3.76 |
Total Holdings 5
Data displayed is as of market close: March 11, 2010
Recent Transactions
| Symbol | Security | Type | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| FSLR | First Solar, Inc. | Buy | $118.92 |
| ATVI | ACTIVISION BLIZZARD INC COM | Buy | $10.79 |
| SLV | ISHARES SILVER TRUST | Buy | $16.99 |
| FSLR | First Solar, Inc. | Buy | $120.00 |
| FSLR | First Solar, Inc. | Buy | $120.00 |
Data displayed is as of market close: March 11, 2010
* The Subscription Minimum is the minimum subscription required to follow a particular model. The minimum amount is determined by CVIM, based on the characteristics of the underlying model. It should not be considered as specific investment advice for your investment situation.
‡ Covestor.com performance data has been calculated by Covestor on a daily time-weighted basis of the equity positions of the account and is exclusive of any commissions and cash in the portfolio. The member's performance on Covestor.com, based on a separate account, may not reflect the strategy employed to manage the model available for subscription on CVIM. Please see additional disclosures below.
# Since the model manager's inception in Covestor.com
It should not be assumed that any information discussed herein will prove to be profitable or that decisions in the future will be profitable or provide similar results. The information set forth herein is not a substitution for personalized investment advice, and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell a particular security or to subscribe to a particular model.
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