Author: Yale Bock,
Y H & C Investments
Covestor model:
Long Term GARPFirst, it is nice to begin the Long Term GARP Portfolio on Covestor after having success at Wealthfront, only to be disappointed by them changing to a new business model. Still, I believe the Long Term GARP portfolio did very well for investors for the last few years and see no reason why that would not be the case on Covestor, and we appreciate the opportunity they have provided.
The Covestor portfolio is essentially the same as the Wealthfront portfolio, with almost 85% of the market value held in 5 holdings: Liberty Interactive, Intuit, Direct TV, Quest Diagnostics, and Starbucks.
Quest Diagnostics and Starbucks reported earnings last week, and the portfolio has other holdings which will report in the following few weeks, including IAC Interactive, Liberty Interactive and Liberty Media, Moneygram, VCA Antech, and British Petroleum. The following are summaries of why the 85% of the portfolio assets are held in the top five holdings.
Reasons for Owning the Portfolio Holdings
1. Liberty Interactive (LINTA) -Owner of QVC, Provide Commerce, Bodybuilding.com, Evite.com, Gifts.com, 40% of Lockerz.com, 34% of Home Shopping Network, 26% of Expedia.com, 26% of TripAdvisor.com, 30% of Interval Leisure Group, and 25% of Lending Tree.
Lots of great assets here. The company generates approximately $1.5 billion per year of EBITDA, and its debt is at low rates, with some of it maturing in 2029 and 2030. The business is not capital intensive and generates a great deal of free cash flow. Management has indicated over the next 3 years it will have about 5 billion dollars of cash to find places to allocate, either through buying back shares, buying other companies, or adding to existing ownership positions.