August was a quiet month for investors. From our own data it looks as if many market participants seized the opportunity to step away from their trading screens and catch some beach time. Anecdotal reports in from various market makers supported this thesis, which saw much lower volumes, especially in the small caps space.
Inflation slowed down unexpectedly in the UK in August, but this was seen as just a blip and economists were confident it would pick up again in September. This also took some pressure off the Bank of England. We were starting to see the first signs of fast moving wage growth, strains on the UK employment market, and supply chain disruption, which have become bigger themes in September.
Zoglo’s Incredible Food Corp
We added Zoglo’s Incredible Food Corp (CSE:ZOG) to the Venture Portfolio of small cap stocks upon its IPO in Canada. We see a big future for meat alternatives in the next decade and a large slice of the investment community is obviously supportive of companies which provide such alternatives. Zoglo’s Incredible Food Corp is leveraging a license from an Israeli company which gives it global distribution opportunities. Zoglo’s is developing a global network including through the distribution of its own products and white label tie ups.
Bellway Homes
We added Bellway Homes (LSE:BWY) to the Buy & Hold portfolio because the UK house builder was picking up momentum. We wanted a stock in the portfolio that captured the dynamics of both the ongoing shortage of UK housing, especially for first time buyers, and the rising price of residential housing in general. Bellway Homes is also a post-pandemic play which we think will continue to benefit from the opening up of the UK economy. We thought at the time the stock looked pretty cheap, with a PE ratio of 9.4. The analyst community is also still quite bullish and is focusing on a target price of around 4000.
Hugo Boss
Hugo Boss (ETR:BOSS) reported some great numbers in July, and again this was shaping up into a very interesting momentum play in the fashion space. It was added to the Tactical Trading portfolio. We thought it was moving into some interesting new directions with more emphasis on wholesale distribution. Forecasts on the adjusted group sales looked very positive. Reopening of core markets should also play well ahead of the next set of numbers. At the time of buying the stock the key risk was still seen as the potential spread of Covid shutting down the China retail fashion space.
Kamux Corporation
We dropped Kamux Corp (HEL:KAMUX) in August. We had been very enthusiastic about the stock in Q1, but while the proposition for second hand car sales in Finland and further afield looked like a solid one, we become more concerned about the way the operations were being managed on the ground. Further investigation by our Nordic correspondent bore this out. The share price breached our 20% stop loss when it fell from €18.03 to the €14 level in mid-August, causing us to exit the trade. Since then we have noted the share price has continued to struggle.
Tactical trading portfolio
These are shorter term equity and commodity trades which we can see playing out within one to three months. We will sometimes keep these on longer if the trade is still quite range bound but we are anticipating further upside. These trades have the tightest risk parameters.
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change |
| Raytheon Technologies | 73.3 | 84.76 | +15.6% |
| Sosander | 15.8 | 29.5 | +87.3% |
| Lloyds Bank | 40.4 | 43.78 | +8.3% |
| Glencore | 272 | 327.4 | +20.4% |
| S4 Capital | 5.8 | 8.14 | +40.3% |
| Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping | 30.14 | 28.33 | -6.0% |
| Bumble | 55.19 | 54.5 | -1.3% |
| Trainline | 338.6 | 365.8 | +8.0% |
| Hugo Boss | 52 | 47.3 | -9.1% |
*Prices as of close of play on 31st August 2021
Longer term buy and hold portfolio
These are positions where we see a longer term growth scenario, usually in the small to mid cap space, but sometimes larger companies. We will typically be keeping these stocks on the list for at least six months and often longer. Consequently our risk tolerance is higher for these positions than for the trading list.
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change |
| Remedy Entertainment | 14 | 38.8 | +181.2% |
| Harvia | 8.86 | 56.7 | +540% |
| Yellow Cake | 211.50 | 264 | +25.0% |
| ITM Power | 260 | 485.4 | +86.7% |
| MTI Wireless | 47.0 | 87 | +85.0% |
| QT Group | 86.40 | 115.4 | +79.9% |
| Nordnet | 152.20 | 157 | +2.9% |
| The Panoply | 268 | 232 | -13.3% |
| First Rand | 5229 | 6189 | +18.4% |
| Turkish Airlines | 13.86 | 12.62 | -9.0% |
| Generac Holdings | 430.34 | 436.98 | +1.5% |
| Live Nation | 81.78 | 86.7 | +6.0% |
| Bellway | 3474 | 3519 | +1.3% |
*Prices as of close of play on 31st August 2021
Venture portfolio
These are companies which we see as having long term and considerable growth prospects. Due to their size and the nature of the business they are in, we feel that our normal risk management constraints should not be applied to these stocks.
| Company/Instrument | Start price | Current price* | Percentage change |
| Nano One | 1.13 | 3.17 | +181% |
| Taat Lifestyle & Wellness | 1.26 | 3.47 | +175% |
| Kodiak Copper | 0.24 | 1.4 | +483% |
| Rritual Superfoods | 0.80 | 0.42 | -48% |
| Brigadier Gold | 0.28 | 0.07 | -75% |
| Euro Manganese | 0.44 | 0.63 | +43% |
| Thunderbird Entertainment | 1.05 | 4.39 | +318% |
| Cypherpunk | 0.21 | 0.19 | -9.5% |
| ProStar | 0.89 | 0.42 | -52.8% |
| Tombill Mines | 0.23 | 0.14 | -39.1% |
| Wedgemount Resources | 0.50 | 0.45 | -10.0% |
| Minnova Corp | 0.35 | 0.2 | -42.9% |
| Red Moon Resources | 0.82 | 0.95 | +15.9% |
| Zoglo’s Incredible Food Corp | 0.43 | 0.31 | -27.9% |
*Prices as of close of play on 31st August 2021
