I’ve sold off some more shares to raise a bit of cash for the current environment, looking to add to some favored stocks and generally to reduce some exposure to a few of the riskier names in my portfolio.
I have now sold off my entire holdings in Winthrop Realty Trust (FUR), largely because I just have no handle on the value of commercial property right now. I think FUR has a chance to do reasonably well during the turmoil, and I like the company management, but I think I can find better investments for the next couple years, so those positions are closed.
And I have sold off half of my holdings in NagaCorp, the Cambodian casino operator. This is essentially a stop loss at about 25%, though I’m holding the other half and, considering the real value of their license and their casino, I am willing to hold the remaining shares through significant losses if necessary (much like my small position in the Vietnam Opportunity Fund, this is a bet that eventually these frontier markets return to favor — I can be patient on these).
I haven’t been this active in my trading in quite some time — but cash seems to provide a better opportunity now than do some of those holdings in which I don’t have a lot of conviction. I imagine I’ll be reporting some purchases before too long.