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ALL BLOG CONTENT IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. ANY REFERENCE TO OR MENTION OF INDIVIDUAL STOCKS, INDEXES, OR OTHER SECURITIES ARE NOT RECOMMENDATIONS AND ARE SPECIFICALLY NOT REFERENCED AS PAST RECOMMENDATIONS OF PATTON WEALTH ADVISORS. ALL GRAPHS, CHARTS, AND TABLES ARE PROVIDED FOR ILLUSTRATION PURPOSES ONLY. EXPRESSIONS OF OPINION ARE ALSO NOT RECOMMENDATIONS AND ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE IN REACTION TO SHIFTING MARKET, ECONOMIC, OR POLITICAL CONDITIONS.  IT IS COMMON FOR US TO USE A FUND AS A PROXY FOR AN INDEX OR ASSET CLASS.  FOR MORE DETAILS SEE OUR FULL DISCLOSURE HERE.

The following is to provide some insight and perspective on the performance of the Patton Flex Fund for March and more. For more information on the strategy of the Fund, visit our website here.

The Flex Fund is most often recommended as only one component of a Super-Diversified Portfolio. Therefore the information in this blog only pertains to one component of a Super-Diversified portfolio. For more on Super-Diversification, visit our website here.

Performance Summary

Patton flex fund performance May 2020

* Compounded annually net of all fees.

Note: individual investor performance may differ.

April's Performance

The Flex added to its March gains in April but did lag well behind the S&P 500’s biggest gain in 30+ years. The underperformance of the Flex during the month was almost entirely the result of the short positions.

Short sector allocation

The accompany graph shows the allocation of the short positions as of the end of April with energy stocks making up 25.6% of the total. These energy stocks have been very profitable to be short in 2020 but on average rallied +30.8% in April, costing the Flex -4.8% of return alone for the month, as investors were clearly bottom fishing in some of the most beaten up stocks. Some of the biggest movers are shown in the below table.

Energy stocks biggest gains

Flex Highlights

Shorts Outperformed Longs

The average short position rallied +19.0% in April, causing loses (shorts going higher cause loses), while the average long position gained only +11.4%. The Flex produced a gain in spite of this due to the long-bias (more longs than shorts) in place. Only 4 of the 53 short positions generated a profit while 71 of the 79 longs did so.

Uncorrelated Performance

The performance of the Flex continues to be relatively uncorrelated to the S&P 500 (not moving up and down at the same way at the same time). The below graph shows some select dates from April when the performance between the two was significantly different.

Select days in April Flex vs. S&P 500

As the graph shows, on the 1st and the 15th the S&P 500 fell sharply while the Flex was down far less while on the 17th and 27th the S&P 500 surged higher and the Flex was down fractionally. This performance behavior is exactly what we want and expect from the Flex and has contributed significantly to its long-term success.

Healthcare Stocks Added to Longs

The Healthcare sector has been one of the best performers in 2020 down just -1.3% for the year. The Flex added 4 new long positions in the healthcare sector increasing the long allocation to this sector from 6.3% at the end of March to 17.5% at the end of April.

Healthcare stocks new long positions

Contact Mark A. Patton :

The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. Any specific securities or investment strategies mentioned here may not be suitable for everyone. Each investor needs to review an investment strategy for his or her own situation before making any investment decision including whether to retain an investment adviser.

All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market, economic or political conditions.  Data contained herein from third party providers is obtained from what are considered reliable sources. However, its accuracy, completeness or reliability cannot be guaranteed. This content was created as of the specific date indicated and reflects the author’s views as of that date. Supporting documentation for any claims or statistical information is available upon request.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results.  Any comments about the performance of securities, markets, or indexes and any opinions presented are not to be viewed as indicators of future performance.

Investing involves risk including loss of principal.

Indexes are unmanaged, do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested in directly. For more information on specific indexes please see full disclosure here.

Any charts, tables, forecasts, etc. contained herein are for illustrative purposes only, may be based upon proprietary research, and are developed through analysis of historical public data.

All corporate names shown above are for illustrative purposes only and are NOT recommendations.

International investments involve additional risks, which include differences in financial accounting standards, currency fluctuations, geopolitical risk, foreign taxes and regulations, and the potential for illiquid markets. Investing in emerging markets may accentuate these risks.

Fixed income securities are subject to increased loss of principal during periods of rising interest rates. Fixed-income investments are subject to various other risks including changes in credit quality, market valuations, liquidity, prepayments, early redemption, corporate events, tax ramifications and other factors. Lower-rated securities are subject to greater credit risk, default risk, and liquidity risk.