Stock Track Final Presentation-Comments

StockTrak Portfolio: 2

Leah White Masters of Bus iness Admini s t ra t i on, St . Ambrose Univers i ty

MBA:675 Dr. Xiaowei L iu, PhD December 11, 2022

This presentation will provide an overview of my activity for the second half of the course in the StockTrak tool. I will provide an overview of my activity, my positions currently held, as well as how market conditions have impacted this portfolio. I will also share ideas of what I would have done differently based on the materials learned throughout the course. First, let�s take a look at my activity.

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Activity to date Market-Buy # of transactions Qty Price Equities 24 6060 ($416,234) Cash spots 2 101 ($8.46) Foreign equities 10 730 (N/A)* Spots 1 100,000 $.67 Options 7 25 ($5,292.00) Futures 8 8 $55,117.77

Coupon Payments # of transactions Qty Price Bonds 2 2 $600.00

Dividends # of transactions Qty Price Equities 16 2,290 $1,192.21

Limit-Buy # of transactions Qty Price Equities 1 100 ($12,879.00)

Market � short # of transactions Qty Price Options 3 3 $512.00

Short-proceeds # of transactions Qty Price Equities 3 220 $62.61

Stop-Buy # of transactions Qty Price Equities 1 10 ($589.00)

Market-Sell # of transactions Qty Price Equities/Options 6 1,302 $49,982

In the second half, I had 84 transactions, an improvement from the first half when I only had 53. This activity was a lot more diverse in nature as well. The Stock Trak assignments helped me dig in and explore and try transactions I wouldn�t have otherwise. 29% of this activity has been buying stocks, 2% in purchasing cash spots, 12% in purchasing foreign equities, 1% in spot purchases, 8% in purchasing options, 10% buying futures, 7% in market selling equities and options, 2% in coupon payments received from bonds, 19% in dividends received from stocks, 1% in limit- buys for equities, 4% in market shorting options, 4% in proceeds from market-shorts, and 1% in stop-buy of equities.

While I did a much better job of expanding my activities, you can see the dollar amount I was willing to put up for these is quite small. I tended to be very uncomfortable throwing too much money at the items I didn�t feel very confident in.

My paralysis by analysis tended to ease a bit too. I tried to buy more of the things that had done really well for me, and I was able to increase what I sold quite a bit better than the first half. That being said, I likely should have sold a lot more than I did! I just never could quite find the sweet spot for when it felt right to do so.

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In the last week, I finally worked down my cash balance quite substantially as well. Rather than over $384,000 of cash balance, I had under $14,000 by the end. That was a big step for me!

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Portfolio performance vs S&P500 ETF

When I compare my results with the S&P500 ETF over the past 30 days, we once again see how weak the performance of my portfolio has been. I need to diversify more, but I was much better than the first half. My portfolio responded in a very similar patter to the S&P500 which is encouraging.

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Current positions - equities

The next several slides break down my current positions, as well as a brief overview of their performance. I will give a brief overview of each holding for the equities, then summarize the other securities as a whole. Some of my stocks wouldn�t pull the graph in Stock Trak, so my apologies for that.

My first is Kellogg. While it�s performed well at points, it�s bid/ask price continue to be slightly below what I paid. I tried to find a time to sell this when I wouldn�t lose money and never found the opportunity. Overall, not a great performer or buy, but I would hold it a bit longer to try to recoup my investment as it�s very close

Ford is my next, and it�s been a solid performer for me. My timing was good, and overall, it�s performed nicely. While there was volatility with it along the way, I never lost money on it.

Verizon was another affinity buy for me. It�s wasn�t an all star, but it did perform decently.

GM was another well-known brand, and since I had purchased so many car stocks in foreign markets, I wanted to add a few from the US as well. It was another steady

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performer and a good add.

3M was my next addition, and it was disappointing. It�s down 2.35% from purchase. I saw it was trending downward, but hoped I was buying it at a low point. That wasn�t the case!

Sam Adams was another affinity brand purchase, and it�s been steady but losing money. It will be an interesting one to watch to see if it rebounds.

Pioneer was one of the more expensive stocks I purchased, and it hasn�t performed well. I wanted to ditch it but could never stomach the loss. It�s down almost 21% from where I purchased it. One of my worst performers!

Deere was another nod to a local company, as well as another expensive buy. It�s been worth it and performed steadily. While it�s red now, it�s still well about the purchase price, and is up over 12%. Had this assignment continued, I likely would have sold this.

Disney was a brand I like but which I haven�t liked the returns on. Their stock steadily declined until they announced the return of Iger as CEO. While it�s showing signs of recovering and trending upward, it�s still down more than 8.5% from where I purchased it. I would likely hold onto this one to see what would happen.

Pepsi has been stable as well, but it�s another that is up from where I bought it. That being said, with it�s volatility, I think it would be time to sell if I were to continue on.

Honeywell has been one of my best purchases, but has dropped lately. Should have timed it better and sold it while it was high!

Nike has done fine, but it�s another I would let go as it�s made money but not trending well right now.

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Current positions - equities

Anheuser-Busch was a fun buy, and it�s been doing okay, up slightly. I lost money on Devon Energy, but luckily only bought 20 shares. It�s down almost 21%. Republic Services, one of the companies in my group project has been a steady performer, up 3.5%. Apple is better than it was at the last check-in, but it continues to be a stinker, down 4.28%. It continues to suffer from reports production out of it�s plants in China are slowed to more Covid issues.

Applovin Corporation is doing well, up 17.12%. Coke was an expensive buy but a good one. I wanted to compare Coke versus Pepsi, and in terms of performance, Coke is beating them. Up more than 15% from when I bought it. Consolidated Water Company is another of my worst performers, down almost 9%. Starbucks is up, but I should have stuck with my original shares. The extra shares purchased this past week just aren�t performing as well as the double digit returns I was seeing on the original stock purchased during the early days of the assignment.

Target has been another bummer. It�s down 8.83% , but I would hold onto this until after the holidays. Curious if strong holiday sales will cause this to rebound in Q1 next year! Stericycle is another company in our group project, and it�s performed surprisingly well. Waste Management was the company I was assigned, and I liked

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how well it was doing, I purchased more shares. Had we had more time, I would have been interested to see how it performed. Winnebago industries is showing signs of improvement, but I still show it as a loss of 3.6%

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Current positions - equities

Macy�s is another I am curious to see how the holiday season and 4th quarter earnings affect. It�s still below my purchase price. Trane Technologies, the company by husband works for posted strong results and is another I grabbed additional shares of. The newer shares aren�t performing quite as well, but overall, still up 3.17%. Wayfair didn�t pan out for me, but it�s price is now rebounding. Life Banc was a foreign buy, and it�s another lackluster performer/

Mcan Mortgage is another foreign market purchase, and I did even worse on it! Down more than 6%. Advent Technologies return is still up over 3%, but the last 30 days have been rough for them.

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Current positions - equities

Like I said, when it came to purchases in foreign exchanges, I gravitated towards car manufacturers. BMW held its own but isn�t exciting. Volkswagen is down nearly 3%, so didn�t do as well. STPZ is an ETF from PIMCO for 1-5 years TIPS. It showed promise early on but is about break even at this time. SCHG is a Schwab US Large-Cap Growth ETF. It was another strong performer in the first half, and I should have unloaded it while it was high. Now it�s another that is about at breakeven.

REMX is a VanEck Rare Earth/Strategic Metals ETF, and it�s still performing nicely, up over 4%. I should sell it before it trends like some of my other ETFs. ALTM is Kinetik

Holdings Inc - Ordinary Shares - Class A, and this industrial services

buy is down over 10%. Disappointing results for that. COIN is Coinbase

Global Inc - Ordinary Shares - Class A, and its� a packaged software.

As with many tech stocks, it�s really not doing well, down more than

17%. HYS is another ETF I bought due to my early success with ETFs.

This is PIMCO 0-5 Year High Yield Corporate Bond Index Exchange-

Traded Fund, and it�s at breakeven.

GYLD is Arrow ETF Trust - Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF, and it�s

up with a nice 6.67% return. It�s another I would consider selling if

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things continued on. LIF is a Canadian buy, Labrador Iron Ore Royalty

Corporation. It�s one of my foreign exchange purchases that has

been a good performer, up 11%. MKP is Mcan Mortgage Corporation

and is another Canadian company. It�s not faired as well and is down

slightly. ARKQ is ARK Investment Management LLC - ARK

Autonomous Technology & Robotics ETF, and in keeping with other

tech buys, it�s not been an exciting buy. It�s up slightly, so that�s a

good sign!

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Current positions - equities

My buy from Lovesac has offered a great return up over 20%. CX, Cemex, is a buy from the Latin American Exchange, and it�s up slightly but trending down. It would be one I should definitely sell. BAND, Bandwidth Inc - Ordinary Shares - Class A

has been a rockstar, up 32.5%! Arconic finally paid off. This local purchase is finally showing signs of being a good pick, up over 5%.

MFEM is another Pimco ETF, and it�s another decent performer, up a few percent. QRTEB is Qurate Retail Inc - Ordinary Shares - Series B, a retail trade

buy that has been a real stinker. Down more than 42%! MFUS is

PIMCO RAFI Dynamic Multi-Factor U.S. Equity ETF. I bought a bunch

more PIMCO ETFs after early performance was so strong. This one

hasn�t been a good one and is down slightly. 7267 was a foreign

exchange purchase of Honda Motor, and it�s not performed well. It�s

down 3.67%.

7203 is Toyota Motor Company, and while the US based car

companies have been good buys, this has not, down over 4.5%. IFRA

is another ETF, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. - iShares

U.S. Infrastructure ETF, and it�s been a solid performer up nearly 9%.

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It�s another I would strongly consider selling. AIRS, Airsculpt

Technologies Inc is another poor tech buy, down 8%. It was really

inexpensive, but it didn�t prove to be a good purchase. PFIX, is one of

my worst performing ETFs, Simplify Exchange Traded Funds -

Simplify Interest. Down more than 22%!

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Current positions - equities

TNYA was an inexpensive buy of Tenaya Therapeutics Inc that didn�t pan

out. IT�s down nearly 36%. GGLS is an ETF, Direxion Shares ETF Trust -

Direxion Daily GOOGL B, and since Google hasn�t been performing

well, neither has it. Although it�s just down a few percentage points.

MSOX never did pan out. Advisorshares Trust - AdvisorShares MSOS

2x Daily ETF, I should have unloaded it a lot earlier on and cut my

losses. VIHDD is Vision Energy Corp and this energy sector purchase

did well, up more than 38%.

My lessons learned from an equity perspective were many. Just

because something performed well, doesn�t mean you should

continue to buy more of it. Some of it has to do of the original timing,

and you lose some of the magic when you buy it at higher rates. Also,

I was enamored early on with ETFs. There were some that continued

to do really well, but others did not.

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Current positions � mutual funds

When I examine my mutual fund purchases, I see I should have purchased A LOT more of them! These all are professionally managed and were far more consistent and solid performers than when I tried to find the �good� buys in the stock market. My worst performer had positive returns of 3.87% and my best 13.27%. All solid, positive returns.

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Current positions � bonds

Bonds were another solid performer, and I should have devoted a much larger chunk of my portfolio to them. All positive or break even, these were a nice, safe component to help balance my portfolio.

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Current positions � options

Options were hit and miss for me. Some did very well � over 32%! � but a few were just abysmal. I experimented and really didn�t do well with a few of these decisions. This is one if the project were to continue, I would steer clear of in favor of areas better suited for my knowledge and skillset.

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Current positions � cash spots

Current positions � forex

Cash spots and forex were both pretty uneventful for me. Neither did super well or super badly, and I don�t think these comfortable areas for me either.

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Current positions � futures

My experience with futures was another mixed bag. I didn�t really do well on many of them, and others were just slightly positive. Overall, I wouldn�t call my experience with these a win.

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Results� comparing the first to second half

PORTFOLIO VALUE $1,022,417.86 VS $1,014,803.53

RETURN PERCENTAGE 2.24 VS 1.48

CASH BALANCE $384,114.53 VS $13,776.63

BUYING POWER $1,587,147.22 VS $1,124,496.80

When I compare the results from the first half of the course with the second half, I feel pretty good about what I was able to learn and accomplish. While my portfolio value and return decreased, I did do a good job of decreasing my cash balance. My buying power was also reduced, but again, I did a better job of really trying to see what results I could net by fully engaging in the exercise.

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Market conditions

� Continued inflation

� Fed rate hikes

� Covid surges abroad

� Looming talks of recession

The second half of this assignment brought with it much greater volatility than in the first half. Continued inflation dominated, along with commentary from the Fed about continued rate hikes seemed to directly impact the market. In the global markets, continued Covid surges has slowed down sourcing and production, causing the market to react. The employment market remains strong, defying the predictions of many. Average hourly earnings rose at their highest pace since January, and while that was bad news for investors, it was good news for American workers. These higher wages led to higher inflation, and that�s what the Fed is continuing to try to slow with their rate hikes.

It will be very interesting to see what happens in January when December earnings are announced. Retail sales still seem to be strong, despite the constant talk of a looming recession. This gives investors a lot to consider. One things I did note for sure throughout the past 8 weeks is that the market is very reactive. It can spook and excite easily, and it�s all about trying to find those opportunities that can lead to strong investment yields or losses!

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Market Results � Past 30 days

When we look at the results for the major indexes for the past 30 days, it�s a stark contrast to the first half of the project. This slide in my last presentation was green for all three major indexes. This picture is a grim reminder of the volatility in the markets lately. A long view becomes even more important, and hasty actions should be avoided as they could be very expensive!

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Lessons learned!

In the second half of the course, I really challenged myself even further. For me, I really liked to stick with brands I know. This was an interesting piece when going to the international exchanges. Turns out I have a high affinity for car manufacturers, so it was fun to see which performed better and worse than others.

When studying my results, I have three major take-aways for what I would do if this assignment were to continue: � I wouldn�t get so excited. My ETFs and several of my stocks performed well in the

first half, so I decided to buy more ETFs and more of some of those stocks getting me the best results. Past performance isn�t always the best indicator for the future, and this method wasn�t the best. Several of my EFTs were stinkers, and I should have looked for new stocks to give a shot.

� I should have purchased more mutual funds and bonds, especially the mutual funds. My mutual funds performed better than every other segment overall. I should have allotted a higher dollar amount to them. I could have also purchased several more bonds.

� Finally, I would sell more. I did increase what I sold substantially from the first half, but it�s something I should have done even more of. I really struggled on timing, and when I did get frustrated � most notably, Tesla and Microsoft, I sold at a loss. I

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should have been more assertive and done this earlier on. Then I could have found other ways to invest with better opportunity for returns.

Overall, I want to reassert my appreciation and gratitude for those who do this for their profession. I am responsible for the development and administration of our life insurance and annuity products at work. However, many of the pricing assumptions and actual profitability results are driven by investment returns. These men and women do an amazing job generating these returns to keep us competitive and to keep our customer�s money safe and growing. I always respected what a phenomenal job they do. However, I have a deeper level of appreciation for it after completing this exercise. Not only is the selection important, but the time horizon and so many other variables. It was a fascinating exercise! (and I am relieved it wasn�t using my own real money!)

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