To The Moon

🌟🌟🌟2024 has been an phenomenal year for me with the US and Singapore markets reaching their all time highs.  The US equities especially the Magnificent 7 - Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms, Tesla and Nvidia have led the growth and now make up about a third of the S&P500, compared with about a quarter at the end of 2023.

My investment portfolio consists of 2 parts - Core and Satellite.  The Core part forms the foundation of my investment strategy.   These are predominantly quality stocks and ETFs.   The Satellite part consists of growth stocks and stocks that have a potential to grow exponentially.  These are stocks that tend to be  more volatile  in nature.

Core Portfolio

Singapore

The best performers in my Core Portfolio are my 3 Singapore Bank Stocks.  DBS, OCBC and UOB.  These banks have reported excellent earnings results for the year with the momentum in wealth management activities continuing to support overall performance as the banks continue to enjoy strong inflows from the region. 

This strong performance has resulted in all 3 bank stocks hitting their all time highs in 2024.  DBS $DBS Group Holdings(D05.SI)$   led the rally with its stock up 47% year todate while OCBC and UOB are up 32% each.  As a result the STI ETF reached a 17 year high this year too.

I have invested in all 3 banks because of their robust earnings potential and their nice juicy dividends yield of between 5% to 6%.

Core Portfolio 

USA

Alphabet 

My best performing stock in the US is Google $Alphabet(GOOGL)$   as I am up 67%.    Google's shares have been on an upward trajectory recently as new AI developments fuel investor optimism.    Recent launches such as Google's Willow Quantum Computing Chip, AI Video Generator Veo 2 and Gemini 2.0 are the key drivers of optimism, reaffirming Google's leadership in AI technology. 

Google has rewarded me with slow and steady performance since I have invested in the company in 2022.  However it gave me a scare when it fell below USD 100 at one stage but has since recovered and done very well.  Google has rewarded me with dividends this year too which is the first ever as it has a solid balance sheet and cash flow. 

Nvidia 

Nvidia $NVIDIA Corp(NVDA)$  has been one of the best performing members of the Magnificent 7 in 2024 as it reached its all time high of USD 152.89.  However recently it has been sidelined by another competitor Broadcom which has jumped 33% in just 1 month due to soaring demand from the boom in Generative AI and reported a 220% jump in AI revenue in 2024 to USD 12.2 billion. 

Nonetheless I am keeping faith with Nvidia as the demand for its Blackwell chips is "insane" according to CEO and Founder Jensen Huang.  Nvidia's CUDA Platform is a giant moat for Nvidia as it is well established within the developer community.  CUDA makes it much easier for developers to take full advantage of parallel processing in GPUs. 

Nvidia's dominance is more than its GPU chips as it has achieved a very  sticky end to end system of software, hardware and services. 

I believe that Nvidia is well ahead of its competitors as it is continuing to innovate and introduce new products.  The next GPU would be Rubin, due in 2026 which would be even better than Blackwell. 

Satellite Portfolio 

USA

SoFi

My best performing stock in my Satellite Portfolio is SoFi $SoFi Technologies Inc.(SOFI)$  as I am up 92% so far.   SoFi's share price has surged by a massive 261% since the start of 2023 due to strong customer growth and recurring profitability.  It has reached a new historical high of more than 10 million members across its suite of products and services, increasing by nearly 2.5 million year todate. This is more than 9 times in less than 5 years. 

I have just started to invest in SoFi about 3 months ago and it is certainly one of the fastest growing stocks in my Satellite portfolio. 

Carnival Corp 

Carnival Corp $Carnival(CCL)$  share price has been on a tear and has risen 55% year todate.    It has recently reached its 52 week high of USD 27.16 which is a far cry from its low of just USD 13.78.

Carnival is one of the largest cruise companies in the world with popular brands such as Cunard, Holland America, Princess Cruises, P&O and Costa.  Carnival's fleet includes 87 ships.  Carnival was severely impacted by the Covid 19 pandemic but is now well on its way to recovery due to pent up demand from passengers globally. 

Carnival achieved a record breaking financial performance in 2024 with USD 25 billion in revenue and USD 1.9 billion in net income.  Looking ahead to 2025, Carnival plans to continue its growth by leveraging strategies such as private island destinations and maintaining premium pricing. 

I have invested in Carnival 3 months ago as I could see that it was undervalued.  I am happy that my conviction has paid  off as Carnival is heading into 2025 with record bookings at higher prices.   I am happy with Carnival's performance as I am currently up by 59%.

Conclusion

These are just a few of my best performing stocks for 2024.  As 2025 beckons, I am filled with optimism and belief that it is important to choose quality stocks and hold them long term.  In the short term, these stocks maybe impacted by the usual market volatility or negative news.  But the magic of compounding happens when you hold them long term.  

As the late great Charlie Munger likes to say, "The Big Money is not in the Buying and Selling but in the Waiting." 

With patience and time in the market, that is how I intend to grow my portfolio so as to achieve my ultimate goal of FIRE - Financial Independence Retire Early. 

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