French Hidden Champions Portfolio update

Some moves took place and you can see their impact in the portfolio recap.

I like to present the portfolio but also my estate fully (taking into account real estate…) so as to give you the full picture. It will enable you to see how important shares are in my estate and of my family. I am following the approach: show me your portfolio and I will tell you who you are!

Having a global view of the estate enabled me to discover that some of my assets had in fact a big weight and I wasn’t giving them enough attention. This mistake was corrected! It is always good to list all your assets and one will always discover some (hopefully) nice surprises.

Mastering taxes and all the different investment enveloppes is a must to improve your returns. I got to discover some of them recently thanks to a person who will recognize himself (as he is a reader!) and who very gratefully granted me one hour of his time to explain me many interesting subtilities (and which are quick wins!).

Multiplying cash flow sources is also a way for me to have additionnal funds to invest in companies. There are the classical sources of cash flow (savings, reinvesting dividends), the frenchy ones (rents from real esate) and the substack.

I know that there is a big debate going on concerning free substacks versus paid substacks. At my level I decided to go paid as:

1/ it forces me to write more which helps me become a better investor

2/ it incentivizes me

3/ I think that I bring additionnal value

4/ it takes a lot of time to go and see management teams, go to shareholder meetings and do scuttlebutt

5/ yes it is additionnal source of cash flow which I can invest

6/I discover the joys of having a company (accountant, taxes, data…)

7/ I am having fun and

8/ I give a lot of free content elsewhere (Twitter (@foxcasltehold, Blue Sky (my handle is foxcastle) and Linkedin.

It is always good to revisit some previous holdings as you already know them. It is never easy to buy them at a higher price but if the facts are good, management is good and the price reasonnable well there is only one thing to do!