Preparing for a Revamp and Congratulating a Friend and Classmate

U.S. markets closed a mixed week with the Dow Jones pulling back 0.24%, the S&P 500 slipping 0.03% and the Nasdaq rising a 0.31%. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index eked out yet another 0.40% gain.

George Soros’ #1 pick, Liberty Broadband (LBRDK), surged another 7.31%. The Walt Disney Company (DIS), Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) continued their winning ways with gains of 2.55%, 2.13% and 1.72%, respectively.

Eight out of your 14 positions rose over the past week. Also, 13 of your 14 remaining positions are trading above their 50-day moving averages and remain BUYs.

As I hinted last week, my publisher, other colleagues and I have been working especially hard over the past few months on revamping the format of the Alpha Investor Letter.

You will see the first results of that effort when you receive your monthly newsletter next week.

Over the past year or so, you may have noticed I have been focusing more on tracking the largest investments of Wall Street’s “smartest money.”

My three most recent recommendations have included George Soros’ top bet, Liberty Broadband (LBRDK), Bill Ackman’s #1 pick, Restaurant Brands International (QSR), and Warren Buffett’s biggest play, Kraft Heinz (KHC).

These recommendations have a couple of things in common.

First, some very smart money has bet massively on each stock. Some of the best investors in the world have put both their money and reputations on the line by investing in these positions. They each have a lot of “skin in the game.”

Second, these positions aren’t household names like Google (GOOGL) or Facebook (FB). Chances are you hadn’t heard much about George Soros’ #1 bet, Liberty Broadband (LBRDK), before. Yet, that position is up 22.04% just since Nov. 11.

These are the kind of recommendations I will be focusing on from now on. Also, I’ll be providing some color on each of these high-profile investors through interviews and “Meet the Manager” personal profiles. I think you will enjoy it.

Finally, on a personal note, I wanted to congratulate my Harvard Law School friend and classmate Neil Gorsuch, who was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Trump last night.

Neil and I were members of The Lincoln’s Inn Society, a social club that boasted at least half a dozen other past and current Supreme Court Justices as alumni, and whose signatures we always admired on our annual Christmas Dinner posters.

Neil always struck me as a very calm and measured guy, who loved the law and had the perfect temperament to be a judge.

I’ve since met his wife and daughters — and even his English in-laws who were visiting from the United Kingdom at the time — during our informal Lincoln’s Inn Society reunions over the years.

I think Neil will do a terrific job as a Supreme Court Justice, and I wish him and his fantastic family the best.

Portfolio Update

In column one, you will find the latest closing price of your position (“Last”).

In column two, you will find your position’s performance over the previous five trading days (“5D %Chg”). In column three, you will see whether your position is above or below its current 50-day moving average (“50D MA”).

A position is a BUY if it is trading above its 50-day moving average and is highlighted in GREEN.

A position is a HOLD if it has dropped below the 50-day moving average and is highlighted in RED.

Finally, in column four, I am including the performance of your positions over the past month (“1M %Chg”).

Click here to view the Portfolio Update table.

Sincerely,

Nicholas A. Vardy