Bonjour! Do you know what day it is? It’s BUDGET DAY! The 11th day of each month. A discipline I started in 2012. I review my debts, assets, portfolio, costs, and whether I’m about to run out or cash or if I am flush.
This month, I did not touch my portfolio. No rebalancing. Bought nothing. Sold nothing.
| Performance since start, Time Weighted | +44.4% |
| Performance since start, Money Weighted | +29.1% |
| Performers | 1-month € Gains |
|---|---|
| Ariston | +1,346 |
| Maire Tecnimont | +698 |
| Saipem | +680 |
| Losers | 1-month € Loss |
|---|---|
| Vusion | -830 |
| Parrot | -620 |
| SOL SpA | -146 |
Cruising Discipline
I like to compare investing to flying. Sometimes, the best thing to do is just to stay the course. That is not to say that there won’t be any turbulences on the way. One sure thing is that every transaction creates costs. Getting jittery limits your gains over time.
Vusion took a massive -35% hit this month
Vusion dropped by 20% over 4 trading sessions mid-jan. This may happen when hordes of retail investors like you and I own an expensive company whose profit is very concentrated on a single client: Walmart. Even post-drop, the price-to-sales of 2.1x remains much higher than its comparable peers. To add insult to injury, the stock was downgraded by a BNP Paribas analyst right in the middle of the storm. Vusion products have a smarter power management system (railing in store shelves), and use standard bluetooth. Meaning any smartphone can connect to the price tag system. I believe the potential remains strong: there is a reason why Vusion won the contract with Walmart in the first place.
Parrot is also stalling: dropped over 30% in a month
The reduction I did just 2 months ago proved to be a critical move. Parrot SA has seen its share price tumble roughly 33% over the last month to trade near €5.58. It remains a loss-making company despite its promising militarized drones (not “military” drones, as pointed out by the founder, because these do not carry weapons). The lack of profits continues to weigh on the stock. The Q4 2025 results are scheduled for release on Feb 20. Investors are pricing a disappointing report. Parrot has tailored a niche for itself, and if the company turns a profit, its stock price is going to skyrocket.
The energy theme runs hot, with gas exploration. Saipem started the year with a $425 million contract for the Sakarya gas field. Their 2026 construction fleet is already fully booked.
Elsewhere, Fugro has started a rebound from the depth on the back of cost cutting action and more dynamism in the offshore wind market.
My portfolio discipline involves selecting a good mix of high margin businesses with growing sales and a handful of growth companies likely to be soon profitable that can deliver asymetrical returns.
Let’s carry forward without panic buying a rally, only to end up panic selling a dip!
This page is solely a record of how I manage my own personal account and is shared for informational and curiosity purposes only. It is not investment advice, a recommendation, nor an invitation to copy my portfolio. I am not an investment professional. Invest at your own risk.
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