The year started out fairly well for our Portfolios. It looked like more of the same upward stock price trajectory that we’d become used to over the past several years.
Yet, after years of stock prices climbing to higher heights, we had to start thinking… When is it going to end?
Maybe it doesn’t have to end… maybe the market could just pause, and allow for a little consolidation at these record high levels.
Unfortunately, the party was over less than 2 months into 2020. The fall from grace was swift, too, triggered by a global pandemic. As a result, the last 3 months have been a little tough on our Portfolios, right?
As the last quarter unfolded, my Portfolio developed more and more red. Years of price gains wiped out in a matter of weeks.
However, the other day I took a closer look and actually saw some green. Was there a Portfolio stock of mine that was actually positive for the year?
Excited by the prospect of a year-to-date (YTD) winner being in my Portfolio, I started to look around some more. You know what I found? Several winners!
How could that be? Every time I see a talking head, or read an investing article, I’m reminded of all the market declines and all the stocks that are in financial trouble.
Now don’t get me wrong, my Portfolio still has plenty of red when it comes to YTD performance. In fact, my Portfolio is squarely in the red for 2020.
Still, I’m happy to see that a few of my stocks are bucking the trend. So, rather than dwell on the negative, let’s focus on the positive. Let’s take a look at some of my YTD Portfolio winners…
Stocks in the Green (YTD Winners!)
Believe it or not, as of 5/16/2020, 7 of the 50 stocks in my Portfolio have managed to record price gains for 2020. The returns I will show are from price gains only… dividends are not included. If they were, the posted returns would look even better.
One might expect some of my winners to come from defensive sectors, sectors that hold up better in down markets. These sectors include Utilities, Healthcare and Consumer Staples. They contain companies that provide products and services that we use/need, regardless of what might be going on in the world.
Well, I can tell you that I didn’t have any winners from the Utility sector. That’s because I don’t have any Utility stocks in my Portfolio. It’s the only sector I can say that about.
Most of my winners (4 of 7) are members of the Healthcare sector. Some of these companies are working on treatments for COVID-19, while others are working on vaccines, and yet others provide diagnostic testing.
Another winner (1 of 7) resides in the Consumer Staples. One might think Procter & Gamble (PG) would be the winner here, but actually it’s not.
As for the other 2 YTD winners in my Portfolio, they come from sectors that have been hit hard during the pandemic. One is from the Financial sector, and the other is from the Industrial sector. These two have swam against the stream and held up so much better than I expected.
Let’s see those winners, ranked from highest to lowest percentage gain…
You can see the four Healthcare sector names include Gilead Sciences (GILD), Quest Diagnostics (DGX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) and Abbvie (ABBV).
The Consumer Staples stock is Hormel Foods (HRL), the Financial stock is BlackRock (BLK) and the Industrial stock is Fastenal (FAST).
Now some are only up a few percentage points, but those feel like big winners in this environment.
Note – Of my 50 Portfolio stocks, I have initiated positions in some of them in 2020. While some of these may be positive since I purchased them (as well as positive for the year in their own right), I’m only looking at stocks that I held at the beginning of 2020, and still hold today. This meant that a stock like Microsoft (MSFT) got left off the list.
In addition, a few more Portfolio stocks just missed the cut. They are showing declines small enough that they still feel like winners.
Here are those stocks, ranked with the smallest losses first…
Pepsico (PEP) is a Consumer Staples stock that you’d probably expect to perform well in this environment. Here’s a case where counting the dividends paid so far in 2020 would put PEP’s return in the green.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH) is yet another name from the resilient Healthcare sector.
On the other hand, Visa (V) and Air Products & Chemicals (APD) are the first stocks I’ve mentioned from the Information Technology and Materials sectors.
Summary
Somewhat surprisingly, a handful of my Portfolio stocks have managed to post YTD gains. It hasn’t been enough to put my Portfolio in the green for 2020, but it’s a nice sight to see a little green in the sea of red.
Most of my YTD winners have come from the Healthcare sector, but I do have some winners from other sectors as well.
Are you surprised by any of my winners? Do you have any beacons of hope residing in your portfolio? Please share your YTD winners in the Comments!