My plan was to do a voiceover for this post, but I woke up with a sore throat and headache, so I will just publish it as is.
It goes without saying that this is not investment advice, so do your own work. Though one quarter is not enough time to determine if I am succeeding at this investing thing, but putting my performance out there helps keep me accountable.
Overall Performance
This has probably been the worse quarter I have had since going full time. So many things that could have been managed better with hindsight. Though I think volatility is the price of admission for this game, I still had some stumbles even when adding to positions.
Overall I was down around 12% for the quarter. This tracks with the Nasdaq and Russell which are down 10-11% each. This is well behind the TSX and S&P 500 which is flat and down about 4.6% respectively.
What’s interesting is the drawdown in dollar terms is larger than my entire portfolio was 5-6 years ago. Crazy stuff.
Individual Position Performance (by weight)
Cipher (CPH.to) -11%
CPH is down about 12% and about 30% from the high last year. I did take a slug of capital off the table in the MOB news last year, but this position still moves the overall portfolio. I still hold and may add here.
Viemed (VMD) -9.2%
VMD reported Q4 and results were fine. The business is not well liked. I think the worry has shifted to the impact of DOGE may be on VMD. The demographics are strong for the business medium and long term, so I continue to hold.
OFS Basket (ESI.to, MCB.to, TOT.to, PHX.to, PSI.to, PSD.to) -5% (on average)
Overall I can’t complain with the performance of this basket. My addition of ESI was ill timed, and I have been adding (slowly). Strong performance from MCB as helped carry some of the other names. I have a post going over my thoughts on the basket and activity levels moving forward in the works. I have been watching the Canadian election polling data. At this point it looks like the Liberals will win another one.
Sangoma Technologies (STC.to) -35.1%
Though I wasn’t happy with the last quarter, I was happy with the recent news on them starting off the NCIB. The shares are now down over 40% from the high at the start of the year.
Quipt Home Medical (QIPT.to) -23.7%
Though my position in QIPT is not this far underwater, the YTD isn’t pretty. I had some poor timed adds to the name as I thought the activist news would be a potential catalyst. I still like the bet, but I won’t be adding.
Dirtt Environmental Solutions (DRT.to) flat
I managed to add to DRT in the low 0.90s. I continue to like the business and the prospects. Of course there are tariff and overall activity level risks with this in the short term.
Geodrill (GEO.to) -2.3%
I am surprised by the performance of GEO YTD. The business is doing quite well and the outlook is very strong. The comments on the most recent call were very bullish. I added to the position recently.
Mattr Corp (MATR.to) -19%
My timing when adding MATR to the portfolio was poor as well. I like the company and the upside, so I will likely add to the name on weakness.
Foraco International (FAR.to) -15.8%
FAR reported a weak quarter and there is uncertainty on when the business will transition off the lower quality clients. Layer on weak nickel and lithium prices and you even more uncertainty. Having said that, copper and gold have been strong so we should see at least some stability. Expectations are low for this one, so I may add and fill out the position.
Cash
Though this isn’t my smallest position, it has been getting smaller as I put some cash to work. I had about 15% cash earlier in the year after several go private transactions. I’m about 6% cash with a couple of very small and low conviction picks that I can liquidate and redeploy.
Closing Thoughts
I am glad the quarter is over. I have no opinion on the geopolitical headlines other than this is the most uncertainty I have seen from a political standpoint.
I did not think I would track this closely to the Qs given the composition of my portfolio, but here we are. I am not changing much of anything with my approach to investing at this point.
On a side note, I will be in Vegas at the Planet MicroCap Showcase. If you are attending, feel free to say hi. I am bad with names, so don’t take anything personally.
How did you do in Q1 2025? I would love to hear about it.
Thanks for reading my work.
Dean
I think we all hit bumps here and there. I was completely flat footed going into COVID (small caps, brick and mortar, no tech). Just gotta keep swinging the bat.
Will be at Vegas if you want to chat
You're funny Dean!!