Stocks were higher in the first quarter of 2024, continuing their winning ways that started in the fourth quarter of last year. Despite an up quarter overall, the MCM Thematic Growth Composite underperformed the broader
The quarter’s underperformance resulted from two factors: a concentration of performance in just a few stocks in the overall S&P 500 and—more importantly—my cautious view based on a fundamental analysis of the broader market, which is at the heart of the Thematic Growth Fund philosophy.) was responsible for 11.02% of the returns in the S&P 500 total return index, followed by Microsoft's 2.83% contributions. Of course, we own Microsoft and Amazon and benefited from those positions.
That said, I have a list of names I have put together that I think have already seen rather sharp declines over the past two or so years and haven’t benefited from the current AI mania. But for now, cash balances remain elevated. When market pullbacks bring valuation back into better long-term alignment, I will be an aggressive buyer of stocks and look to decrease our cash positions, bringing that target back to 5%, which would be a fully invested portfolio.