GOOG/BRK.B

End of year update

As mentioned previously, I have radically simplified my holdings into 8 long positions, the smallest being GILD. I also have a TSLA short (sized similar to FB). I have a bit of leverage through interactive brokers margin, but after accounting for assets I hold in cash-equivalents and TSLA short, I am roughly 100% invested in the market. 

The increase in GOOG reflects exercising employee stock options and the need to have more capital invested in GOOG to have the same economic exposure.

The relative reduction in Berkshire does not imply I'm less optimistic about it's future. It's just that the stock price got a bit higher lately (also as related to book value) and I'd happily add on any pullback.

While different companies merit different fundamental valuations, I was tracking the relationship between price of my two holdings: GOOG and BRK.B for some time, rebalancing somehow when any of those two stocks got out of favor. The chart below shows last 5 years of said relationships (2013-2017).

I'm still happily owning both, seeing bright future ahead of these two companies. I see the reduction as rebalancing, to maximize potential.

VRX is effectively a LBO play and GM is a self-driving bet, which should work out OK even if GM won't make a business out of self-driving cars, based on pure valuation. VRX's increase is a result of share price change (even though I trimmed # of shares) and I've covered GM previously.