The third quarter started with a substantial rise in July, which surprised many investors. The company earnings were better than expected and the Sifter Fund’s return was more than 10 percent in July. In August, however, the market’s sentiments cooled, and the Fund decreased of about 3 percent.
September has historically been a bad month for the stock markets, and it was again. The Fund decreased by 6.8 percent, and due to this decrease, the Fund’s return remained plus or minus zero in the 3rd quartile. Since the beginning of the year, the Fund has decreased by 16.8 percent in euros.
During July-September, the lion’s share of our time was spent analyzing the results of the companies we own. The second quarter earnings were excellent, and so far, inflation, rising interest rates, or a decline in the economy are not reflected in their earnings or outlooks.
We also made another video based on these considerations, explaining how we believe our companies will perform in the changing economic environment.
During the quarter, we also investigated ten new companies, of which perhaps the most interesting were the US-based Edwards Lifesciences and the Swiss-based Temenos. However, we didn’t end up investing in either of them because they didn’t meet the investment criteria we set for quality companies.
