How I View My Portfolio Moving Forward?- Part 2

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This post is a continuation of the previous post to see how I associate the shares in my portfolio to the famous generals and advisors in The Three Kingdoms era, more specifically, the generals and advisors of the Shu Kingdom (my favorite in the novel, followed by Wu and lastly Wei).  I have 2 portfolios, the SG Dividend Portfolio for accumulating Singapore listed shares to build up passive income, and the US Growth Portfolio for growth and hopefully generating capital gains.  I have shared my thoughts on the SG Dividend Portfolio in Part 1, and in Part 2, I will share my thoughts on my US Growth Portfolio.

For my US Growth Portfolio, I have 7 shares.  These 7 shares act as the front-runner for my portfolio, where I have decided to start doing some form of trading in an attempt to achieve capital growth.  This may or may not go well as this means I am trying to market time, and that is something I am bad in, but I shall give myself one year to try it out to see my progress.  As such, they are like generals on the offensive, where I take on more risk to grow and expand my portfolio through capital growth.  After much deliberations, I associate the shares as follows:

The top generals of the kingdom that I adore are Microsoft (MSFT-关羽) and VOO ETF (VOO-赵云).  MSFT was the top performer in my portfolio in 2023, and I believe it will continue to do well, as they ride the wave of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and further growth their revenue from Azure, and also the gaming sector after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard in 2023.  Currently, MSFT definitely still acts like the unstoppable general, constantly helping the portfolio to 'expand territories', gradually and surely.  VOO ETF, on the other hand, acts like the all-rounded general which takes into account all sectors in the top companies, although it has an asymmetrical allocation towards the 'Magnificent Seven'.  This means that although VOO is unlikely to generate multiple times of returns due to the diversification it entails, it can act as the safety net that protects the portfolio.

The second-tier generals that I like are Google (GOOG-张飞), Apple (AAPL-马超) and JP Morgan (JPM-黄忠).  Together with the top 2 generals, they are the 'Unbeatable Fives' of my portfolio.  JPM is the only counter that is non-Tech, but being the largest bank, and one of the oldest bank in US, it is definitely a powerhouse in the portfolio, especially after it took over First Republic Bank profitably.  GOOG, a tough competitor of MSFT, is also a powerhouse, especially with its large market share in the search domain.  However, in the past year, while trying to catch-up with the AI trend to compete with MSFT, it has fumbled here and there, displaying the lack of 'well-thought-out' counteract moves against MSFT.  As such, though a giant itself, these small mistakes cost its position as the top general in the portfolio to rank in second.  AAPL on the other hand, is the top company in terms of market capitalization.  However, after it reached a new all time high in share price, it has been in the downtrend since the start of 2024.  Word has it that AAPL's products are no longer as innovative, but although I am not an AAPL user, AAPL users around me are unable to get out of the ecosystem that surrounds all the gadgets that they use.  As such, I believe there is still room for growth for the company, and management will further improve and innovate to capture their customer base.

The third-tier generals I continue to hold in my portfolio are Tesla (TSLA-魏延) and Palantir (PLTR-廖化).  Different from the third-tier advisors in my SG Dividend Portfolio, these two generals are placed in third tier not because they are not hot favorites, but because of the uncertainty and volatility of their performance, due to the high retail participation in these two companies.  Tesla has always been sensitive to news, especially to any post on X (formerly known as Twitter) by Elon Musk.  As such, Tesla, although a fierce general that definitely helps to expand territories, it is uncertain when it will turn its back against the portfolio due to random news against Elon Musk or future of electric vehicles.  Palantir on the other hand, is assigned third tier solely because of its tiny composition in my portfolio.  However, ever since Palantir started profiteering in 2023, its future is bright.  Currently it's share price is under some stress after the spectacular run up in 2023, as such, its performance in the first half of 2024 could be muted.  Nonetheless, I may slowly accumulate more of Palantir shares, and grow its ranks in the portfolio.

That's all for my US Growth Portfolio.  May the 'generals' continue to help my portfolio to grow and thereby boost the capital gains in the years ahead.  Barista FIRE, here I come...!

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