Following an annual custom since 2013, by the tip of the yr, I evaluate my portfolio by writing/updating very brief summaries for every particular person place. 17 of the 23 positions from final yr are nonetheless within the portfolio and I’ve added 6 new positions. That turnover has been largely pushed by evaluations (Admiral, ABO Vitality), or the worth goal had been reached (DEME) and by discovering new concepts. A extra complete Efficiency evaluate will comply with in early January 2025.
A brief person information:
My most popular fashion of investing is a backside up strategy, specializing in 20-30 small/midcap shares that in my view have return/threat profile over the following 3-5 (or extra) years. Many of those shares usually are not family names and are unlikely to make spectacular features in any single yr. A lot of them look attention-grabbing solely after the second or third look and are slightly boring, which is strictly what I’m on the lookout for. So in case you are on the lookout for a “Scorching inventory for 2025”, this publish gained’t assist you a lot.
And all the time bear in mind: THIS IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE. PLEASE DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH.
As final yr, I’ve created a portfolio overview chart primarily based on holding durations which I proudly current right here:
The summaries of the earlier years may be discovered right here:
My 22 (+1) Investments for 2024
My 23 Investments for 2023
My 28 Investments for 2022
My 21 (+6) Investments for 2021
My 20 investments for 2020
My 22(+1) Investments for 2019
My 21 investments for 2018
My 27 investments for 2017
My 27 investments for 2016
My 28 investments for 2015
My 24 investments for 2014
My 22 investments for 2013
Let’s go:
1. TFF Group (Holding interval 14,0 years)
TFF is the “Final inventory standing” from the preliminary portfolio 13 years in the past. It’s the world main, household owned & run oak barrel producer. Their official motto is “Time is in your aspect”. Has grown nicely over a few years resulting from Asian demand for aged French wines and opportunistic acquisitions. Whisky barrels have added to progress. After a few years of organically constructing US operations (Bourbon) from scratch, which required important capital outlay and no gross sales. 2024, after a while seemed just a little bit weeker which is most probably the results of an general tougher setting for premium wine, whisky and different alcohol. This led to a big a number of compression, on a trailing 12 month foundation, the inventory is as low-cost as after the GFC. For me, no purpose to promote. “Long run Maintain”
2. G. Perrier (11,8 years)
French, household owned & run small cap, specialist for electrical installations with a robust place in Nuclear upkeep. Continued progress regardless of financial headwinds. They added a brand new section in 2021 (aerospace and defence) which is now contributing considerably. As many French small caps, 2024 led to a big mutliple compression. Perhaps they’ll use the setting to accumulate some extra corporations. “Long run Maintain”.
3. Thermador (11,5 years)
Thermador is a French primarily based, specialist development provide distribution firm with a give attention to pumps and something linked with water circulation. Distinct “outsider fashion” company tradition with an emphasis on decentralized determination making and common M&A exercise. 2024 has been powerful for Thermador, with the French financial system not recovering. They nonetheless handle to earn first rate margins which speaks to the standard of theire enterprise mannequin. “Long run maintain”.
4. Bouvet (10,4 years)
IT consulting firm from Norway. Once I purchased the inventory ten years in the past, the inventory worth beforehand had been hit laborious by the oil worth decline, Statoil was the biggest consumer. The enterprise and the inventory confirmed a robust restoration since 2016. I used to be uncertain in regards to the inventory in some years however the firm stored rising. In early 2020, I bought half of the place (a lot too early in fact). The corporate surprises me yearly, once more with double digit (organc) progress in 2024. In comparison with the standard of the enterprise, the inventory shouldn’t be too costly. “Maintain”.
5. Companions Fund -MSA Capital (9,3 years)
An funding right into a fund run by an excellent buddy. Mathias is a “Munger fashion” investor with a concentrated portfolio of “moaty” corporations, a lot of them from the US. I feel it’s a good complimentary publicity for my funding fashion and he has been ouperforming my portfolio by some proportion factors per yr till 2022. On the finish of 2024, the fund will transfer below a brand new “authorized umbrella” however all the pieces else stays the identical. Aside from many “Cathy Woods fashion” progress traders, I’m 100% positive that the Companions Fund will proceed to do nicely over the following 10-20 Years “Long run maintain”.
6. Sixt AG Pref & Widespread shares (4,9 years)
Sixt is an organization I’ve been admiring for a very long time however by no means managed to “pull the set off” to purchase. Lastly, through the darkish days of Covid-19, I managed to construct up a place within the cheaper pref shares.
2024 was not such an awesome yr due to market worth losses of the automotive stock particularly within the US. Nevertheless, progress, particularly within the US was spectacular and 2025 may grow to be quite a bit higher with out the losses on the used automotive gross sales. “Long run maintain, probably add”.
7. Chapters Group (4,8 years)
Chapters is “Germanies reply” to Constellation Software program and/or “Mini Danaher” and has established just a few platforms by which they purchase small enterprise. The corporate once more managed to promote shares to new traders at excessive share costs. The inventory is clearly a guess on the Jokey Jan, whom I do know since a few years. in 2024 I had the pleasure to go to their investor day and annual shareholder assembly in Hamburg. The present inventory worth clearly has future progress priced in, however nonetheless a “Long run maintain”.
8. AOC Fund (4,4 years)
The second fund funding. This time into an “activist fund”, most well-known due to its profitable marketing campaign on Stada some years in the past. They take a reasonably concentrated long run strategy and actively work with/in firm boards. Apart from te actually nice ong time period efficiency, a purpose can also be to comply with and attempting to study from them. After a really sturdy 2022, 2023 and 2024 had been clearly weaker years in absolute and relative phrases as a few the positions (AGFA, PNE Wind) are struggling. The long run monitor document continues to be excellent. “Long run Maintain”.
10. Alimentation Couche-Tard (3,9 years)
ACT entered the portfolio in 2021 as one in all my only a few giant cap investments. It was the uncommon probability to get into a top quality compounder at an affordable valuation (13-14x trailing PE) nearly 5 years in the past. The corporate is known for its decentralized, entrepreneurial tradition and glorious capital allocation. After a failed bid for Carrefour, ACT had fallen out of favor with some traders which opened this chance. 2024 as soon as once more noticed a failed bid for “Seven &I”, the Japanese Group proudly owning the 7-11 model. In some unspecified time in the future in time I might need to “re-underwrite” as in addition they have a brand new CEO. “Maintain/Evaluation”.
11. DCC Plc (2,1 years)
At its core, DCC is a really unglamorous, mid-cap distribution firm headquartered in Eire and working through 3 completely different platforms (Vitality, “Know-how” and healthcare) across the globe and might be characterised as “serial acquirer”. Regardless of an especially sturdy 20 yr+ monitor document, the inventory fell out of favour and traded at very engaging valuation ranges. The primary enterprise, (fossile) Vitality clearly has challenges, however DCC is adressing this actively of their technique. As in 2023, Vitality was the principle driver of DCC’s enterprise in 2024. Fairly as a shock, DCC introduced that after a strategic evaluate, they’ll disinvest evrything besides the Vitality enterprise within the coming years. This led to a brief time period share worth enhance, nevertheless the inventory pale again down these days. Though I just like the change in principal, I might want to watch how they execute this startegy change. “Maintain & Watch”.
12. Royal Unibrew (2,2 years)
Royal Unibrew is the second Danish addition ensuing from my “all Danish shares” sequence. What I appreciated in regards to the firm is the very fact, that on high of a really sturdy monitor document, they appear to have a really attention-grabbing decentralized tradition and actually good capital allocation abilities plus high notch reporting. The enterprise as such appears to be a vey secure on and really engaging in comparison with different beverage classes.
As the remainder of the alcoholic beverage business, they’d issues in passing price inflation to prospects in 2022/2023. In 2024, margins recovered, though they’re nonetheless considerably beneath “pre Covid” ranges. For me, the long run case continues to be intact,“Maintain”.
13. Sto SE (2,3 years)
Sto SE, the German insulation firm, is the remaining member of the “freedom Insulation” basket”.Sto is financially actually strong and the valuation is average. Nevertheless, as different development associated shares, Sto suffered from the decline and likewise regulatory uncertainty esp. in Germany. I had added to the place by 2023 with excessive hopes of a restoration in 2024. Nevertheless, the corporate appears to haven’t managed the cycle nicely and issed an enormous revenue warning for 2024 and cancelled their mid-term goal with out giving a brand new one. I’ve to confess that this actually disturbed me. That is clearly a place to “Watch”.
14. SFS Group (1,9 years)
SFS Group was one of many first new addition in 2023. Swiss primarily based SFS produces metallic precision elements and likewise distributes instruments for the equipment business. They managed to accumulate Hoffmann, a well-known German device distributor. I additionally just like the tradition with an enormous give attention to the apprenticeship system. The CEO has began his carreer as an apprentice and labored his option to the highest. The corporate did fairly nicely regardless of a tough setting in 2024. A International presence with native manufacturing in all giant markets is a plus. “Maintain”.
15. Energiekontor (1,5 years)
Energiekontor is at the moment my solely renewable vitality firm. The primary distinction to ABO Wind is that in addition they personal and run renewable energy crops and do have a good capital allocation. They don’t function as internationally as ABO Wind. As many different gamers, they needed to difficulty a revenue warning resulting from mission delays. To date it appears that 2025 might be an excellent yr. Mid time period, there’s clearly uncertainty for the politcal aspect. “Maintain/Watch”.
16. Italmobiliare (1,3 years)
. Italmobiliare doesn’t deal in actual property or furnishings, as a foul translation would possibly point out, however is a Non-public Fairness fashion investor into Italian “High quality” corporations, run by the present head of the founding household. On the time of buy, the inventory traded at round 50% of intrinsic worth and lots of the portfolio corporations, particularly the bigger ones like Espresso model Borbone and excessive finish fragrance maker Santa Marie Novella have superb progress prospects. They paid a large 3 EUR didivdend in 2024, underlying companies on common developed fairly nicely. “Maintain, probably add”.
17. Laurent Perrier (1,4 years)
Laurent Perrier can also be an 2023 addition, a small place that I see slightly as a part of a “inventory assortment”. Laurent Perrier is a pure play Champagne firm with an extended historical past, an excellent model and primarily based on “publish Covid” numbers seemed fairly low-cost. 2024 was a tricky yr for Champagne and different alcoholic drinks, however Champagne is one thing that has been round for a very long time and would possibly keep related for an equally very long time. “Maintain”.
18. SAMSE Group (1 yr)
SAMSE was my closing 2023 addition. A french distributor of constructing supplies that has been rising properly for an extended timeand is majority owned by the founding households and the staff. Wanting again, the timing was clearly very unhealthy, though they made an attention-grabbing acquistion in France which ought to assist them quite a bit, if and when the financial system turns round. “Maintain”.
19. Eurokai (0,9 years)
Eurokai, the German, household owned operator of varied Container terminals was mainly a alternative commerce as Logistec, my Canadian Port operator acquired taken over. It was additionally my finest buy in 2024. Regardless of an advanced construction and low liquidity, Eurokai in my view is a really engaging share because the valuation is extraordinarily low and enterprise has been doing very nicely. There are good possibilities, that 2025 can be even higher plus there’s a first rate probability of a good larger dividend. I purchased extra through the yr, making it one in all my bigger positions. “Maintain”.
20. Amadeus Hearth (0,8 years)
Speaking a bout unhealthy timing, Amadeus Hearth, my second buy in 2024 once more was expertely unhealthy timed. Amadeus operates each as a recruiter/temp staffing agnecy and as an expert coaching firm lively solely in Germany. As they had been anticipating a restoration in 2024, the invested in new workplaces which clearly didn’t assist them a lot. Though outcomes had been nonetheless fairly OK, multiples compressed quite a bit in 2024. Not even activist AOC (the place I’m a fund investor) may change a lot regardless of shopping for a big stake. 2025 needs to be defintely higher, however who is aware of what occurs. “Watch”.
21. Hermle (0,7 years)
Additionally my third buy in 2024, Hermle, turned out to be badly timed. Hermle, a “Hidden Champion” producer of Excessive Tech 5-Axis multi objective milling machines did clearly higher than opponents in 2024, nevertheless a German machine maker small cap has few mates nowadays. Hermle retains investing by the cycle which ought to repay if and when the cycle turns. Valuation clever, the inventory trades at “Euro disaster” degree, however who cares about valuations nowadays anyway ? “Maintain”.
21. EVS Broadcast (0,5 years)
EVS Broadcast, the principle “fruit” of my all Belgian Shares sequence did barely higher than the primary two 2024 purchases. EVS, a market chief in tools required to supply dwell sports activities tv/streaming has been gaining market shares in its market over the previous years and has made some good acquitisions. Managment executes nicely and has elevated the forecast 2 instances in 2024. “uneven” years a normally just a little bit weaker, however I’m fairly assured that they’ll proceed to carry out nicely. I made EVS over the yr to one in all my largest positions. “Long run maintain”.
22. STEF SA (0,5 years)
STEF is one other 2024 buy, that regardless of being a French firm, was not a complete desaster. The corporate is the French chief in Chilly chain wharehouses and transportation and is expaning strategically throughout Europe. The corporate is owned largely by household and worker shareholders and has a really defendable enterprise mannequin primarily based on a robust “bodily moat” of their community. After all 2024 was not nice with the weak financial system, however STEF managed to accumulate additional adjoining enterprise and in my view, will do nicely over time. For an “infrastructure like” firm, the valuation may be very average. “Long run maintain”.
23. Fuchs SE (0,2 years)
The final write-up and buy in 2024 was Fuchs, a household owned and run Lubrication enterprise primarily based in Germany however performing globally. Regardless of not being “tremendous low-cost”, contemplating the top quality of the enterprise and managment I nonetheless suppose that Fuchs gives a really decen threat/return profile. The corporate is quite a bit much less reliant on the OEM passenger market than many traders suppose and in my view is a possible top quality, long run compounder at a good valuation. “Long run maintain”.
+1 Thriller Inventory
Sadly, I didn’t have the time to complete the write-up for this one, however I already included it as a starter place within the portfolio. Extra on this one in early 2025.
