I have placed a final tranche with $TROW (-0.51%) I have placed a final tranche at

The position is now full for the time being and I have stopped my savings plan.

Bitcoin's strength fizzles out in 24 hours + Many US stocks hit annual lows + Tesla's sales in Scandinavia slump + Okta exceeds expectations + JPMorgan puts RWE on 'Positive Catalyst Watch'

Bitcoin $BTC (-0.33%)strength completely sold off again

• Bitcoin is losing value again after a strong rise on Sunday and is trading at almost 86,000 US dollars on Bitstamp.
• Market analyst Timo Emden from Emden Research describes the price rise as a "flash in the pan", as the initial euphoria following Trump's comments on cryptocurrencies has given way to a more sober view.

Many US equities at annual lows

• Microsoft Corp. $MSFT (-0.38%)falls to a new low for the year, currently down -2.62% to $386.57. The year-to-date performance is -8.30 %.
• T. Rowe Price Group Inc. $TROW (-0.51%)falls to a new low for the year, currently -1.97 % at $103.62. The year-to-date performance is -8.41 %.
• Occidental Petroleum Corp. $OXY (-0.53%)falls to a new low for the year, currently -5.98 % to $ 45.92. The year-to-date performance is -7.04 %.
• Target Corp. $TGT (+0.19%)reaches new 52-week low, currently -3.26 % at $120.19.
• Copart Inc. $CPRT (-0.55%)falls to a new low for the year, currently -0.64 % to $ 54.42. The year-to-date performance is -5.04 %.

Tesla's $TSLA (-2.43%)sales in Scandinavia collapse

• Tesla's sales in Scandinavia recorded a significant decline in February compared to the same period last year.
• The electric car manufacturer's market share is shrinking, while customer brand loyalty is being severely tested by CEO Elon Musk's political involvement in the Trump administration.
• In recent years, Tesla's vehicles have dominated the sales charts in Norway, Sweden and Denmark.
• But the tide has turned in 2024: According to the latest registration data from Monday, Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) is now falling behind competitors such as Volkswagen and Toyota, which are scoring points with new models.
• The figures speak for themselves: in Sweden, only 613 new Tesla vehicles were registered in February - a drop of 42% compared to the previous year.
• The situation is even more drastic in Norway and Denmark, where registrations fell by 48% to 917 and 509 vehicles respectively.
• This trend is particularly notable as the general demand for cars, especially electric vehicles, continues to grow in these countries.

Okta $OKTA (-0.77%)exceeds expectations

• Okta Inc. fourth quarter earnings per share of $0.78 beat analyst estimates of $0.74.
• Revenue of USD 682 million exceeds expectations of USD 668.91 million.

JPMorgan places RWE $RWE (+0.74%)on 'Positive Catalyst Watch'

• The US bank JPMorgan has placed RWE shares on its "Positive Catalyst Watch".
• According to analyst Javier Garrido's commentary published on Tuesday, he expects the Essen-based company to provide encouraging news on the use of capital with the publication of its annual results.
• He sees scope for further investment cuts of EUR 3 to 5 billion, which could open the door to further share buybacks in the future.
• Garrido's fundamental rating remains "Overweight" with a price target of 47.50 euros.

Tuesday: Stock market dates, economic data, quarterly figures

• Quarterly figures / company dates USA / Asia
• 18:00 Warner Music AGM
• No time specified: Target | Best Buy quarterly figures

• Quarterly figures / Company dates Europe
• 06:45 Kuehne & Nagel Annual results
• 07:00 Bilfinger | Lindt & Sprüngli Annual results
• 07:30 Continental | Fielmann Annual results
• 09:00 Continental BI-PK
• 10:00 Bilfinger BI-PK
• 12:30 Continental Analyst Conference
• 18:00 Freenet preliminary annual results
• Without time information: Bawag Group | VAT | Thales | Prada Annual figures

• Economic data

00:30 JP: Unemployment rate 1/25

00:50 JP: Investment Q4/24

11:00 EU: Labor market data January Eurozone Unemployment rate FORECAST: 6.3% previously: 6.3%

12:30 UK: Chancellor of the Exchequer Reeves, hearing in the House of Commons

15:00 EU: ECB, APP/PEPP monthly report

No time given:

CN: National People's Congress of China, press conference

US: Import tariffs on goods from China, Canada and Mexico come into force

US: Fed Richmond President Barkin, speech at Fredericksburg Regional Alliance event

Introduction:

BlackRock and T. Rowe Price are two prominent asset managers that offer both active funds and ETFs. When deciding whether to invest in these companies' stocks, their active funds or their ETFs, it is important to understand the differences and characteristics of these investment vehicles.

Shares of asset managers:

• BlackRock ( $BLK
  ): Current share price: USD 973.92. BlackRock is the world's largest asset manager with $11.6 trillion in assets under management as of the fourth quarter of 2024. The company offers a wide range of investment products, including ETFs and active funds.
• T. Rowe Price ( $TROW (-0.51%)
  ): Current share price: USD 107.17. T. Rowe Price had USD 1.61 trillion in assets under management as of December 2024 and is known for its active investment strategies. Unlike BlackRock, T. Rowe Price does not currently offer any crypto-related products.

Active funds vs. ETFs:

• Active funds: These are actively managed by fund managers who try to outperform the market by making targeted investment decisions. Active funds usually have higher fees due to the intensive management. T. Rowe Price is known for its active funds and has recently begun to transition some of these strategies into active ETFs. Example $TTEQ
• 
  ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds): ETFs are mutual funds that trade on exchanges and typically track an index. They offer diversification and often have lower fees. BlackRock is a leading provider of ETFs, including active ETFs that have the potential to outperform the market. Example $IVV (-0.63%) or the crypto ETFs $IBIT

Cost comparison:

• Passive ETFs: Typically below 0.20% total expense ratio (TER) for standard products.
• Active ETFs: Between 0.20% and 0.85% TER for equity ETFs.
• Active funds: Well above 1% ongoing charges.

Performance comparison:

Some studies show that actively managed funds can outperform passive ETFs in certain market phases. For example, actively managed growth funds from T. Rowe Price and Fidelity outperformed the Vanguard Growth ETF over a short period.

Bottom line:

Choosing to invest directly in BlackRock or T. Rowe Price stocks offers the benefit of participating in the success of these asset managers, including their exposure to the crypto space, particularly BlackRock. However, this comes with specific business risks. Buying ETFs from these providers allows for broader diversification but reduces direct exposure to cryptocurrencies. The choice should be made based on the investment period and risk appetite.

I would be interested to know how you see this and why you chose the exact asset you have in your portfolio?

Ps: If there are any spelling mistakes or anything else, please let me know. Should be an attempt to have a discussion at a higher level.

I used the "dip", if you want to call it that, to increase my position in $TROW (-0.51%) to top up my position. At € 94, I didn't get the lowest price, but I still feel comfortable with the purchase.

Any opinions?

Hello everyone,

I would also like to introduce myself and my portfolio briefly and concisely.

I've been a silent reader for a few months now. Now it's time to reveal a bit about myself.

About me:

My name is Sebastian, I'm 30 years old and I live in Bavaria. I live with my girlfriend in a house I inherited from my parents. I work in the business world as a mechanical engineer.

I can't say exactly when I started investing. I probably started about 4-5 years ago by participating in share bonus programs through my work. Otherwise, my investments have been steadily increasing since the coronavirus era. I was mainly triggered by Finfluencer. There are good and bad things about that. Good: I started investing. Bad: I bought a lot of things stupidly/blindly. I'm now trying to straighten that out and no longer follow such people.

Monthly savings rate approx. 2.5 to 3.0 k€.

I am not fully invested. I have and will continue to have a good cash position.

About the portfolio:

The aim is to create a healthy mix of growth, dividends (growth) and a stable, healthy basis. The dividends also serve somewhat as a "bonus".

As mentioned above, I have (or had) some stocks in my portfolio that I was/am not satisfied with and which I have therefore recently cleaned out and reallocated the freed-up capital. The reorganization process is still ongoing. Roughly speaking, I would generally like to have fewer individual stocks in my portfolio and will shift the weighting to ETFs.

About the individual stocks in the portfolio:

• $IUIT (-0.54%) This is a pillar of my portfolio. It runs with a monthly savings plan for €1000. The idea behind it is an ETF that gives me a good return and ideally outperforms "world ETFs". Sure, it's an ETF from one sector, but I think that's fine. The savings plan will continue to run.
• $HMWO (-0.65%) Also a pillar of my portfolio. Runs with a monthly savings plan for €1000. My selected "World ETF". Savings plan will continue to run.
• $XAIX (-0.29%) I am unsure about this. Also a sector ETF. Runs with a savings plan of €250 per month. Also technology-heavy. I'm thinking about cashing it out to compensate for the losses and to take profits from the current tech hype.
• $SHL (-1.72%) Largest single share position. Created through the share program mentioned above. 250€ monthly savings installment. The shares are sold selectively as soon as all the conditions of the program have been met and I have received maximum bonuses. I then switch directly to other stocks so that the SHL position does not become too large.
• $KO (+0.16%) It has recently become a pillar of my portfolio. Dividend growth, acceptable share price growth, few fluctuations. I like it. Will not be expanded for the time being.
• $MCD (-0.55%) See CoCa Cola. Has recently become a pillar of my portfolio. Dividend growth, acceptable share price growth, few fluctuations. I like it. I also see the share as strong in the real estate sector. Falling interest rates could trigger another good move here. Will not be expanded for the time being.
• $GOOGL (-0.65%) difficult. It has performed well, but is now considering realizing profits. Through my ETFs. I already have this stock indirectly in my portfolio. However, I have deliberately increased the weighting of this individual stock in my portfolio. Rather than buying more, I would rather take profits. However, I would add to it again after a correction.
• $MC (+0.21%) To be further expanded. Target 10k in the portfolio. I used the last small price slide as an additional purchase. Long-term investment. Will be bought at the next opportunity.
• $AMZN (-1.15%) See Google. I already have this stock indirectly in my portfolio. However, I have deliberately increased the weighting of this individual stock in my portfolio. Rather than buying more, more profit-taking. However, I would add to it again after a correction.
• $JNJ (-0.1%) To be further expanded. Target 10k in the portfolio. Dividend growth, acceptable share price growth, few fluctuations. I like it.
• $PG (-0.25%) Recently added to the portfolio. This stock should give the portfolio further stability. Target of €10k in the portfolio.
• $V (-0.36%) Recently added to the portfolio. This value should give the portfolio further stability. Target of €10k in the portfolio.
• $NKE (-0.71%) Difficult position. The recent dip was hard. Outlook also not good, if not bad. As things stand, I would like to sell this share. But I am reluctant to sell with a loss of just under € 1k. I will probably hold on for a while and then decide objectively. I had invested a little here after the dip in order to take advantage of a potential countermovement. I could have saved myself the trouble...
• $BLK and $TROW (-0.51%) same segment. I would like to decide on a share here and then expand it into a pillar of my portfolio. But which of the two...?
• $SBUX (-0.29%) Doesn't really fit into the portfolio anymore. The outlook isn't great either. I will probably sell it at +-0€ and shift the capital into a position to be expanded.
• $MPW (+0.8%) Legacy and memorial! Will continue untouched for now.

Of course, there have also been some failures so far, some of which have depressed performance considerably.

Any examples?

$YSN (-6.87%) : -36,80%

$PLUG (+0%) : -61,58%

$PYPL (-1.14%) : -14.68% (good luck for bad luck...)

$NKE (-0.71%) and $MPW (+0.8%) can probably be counted as well.

That's it. It has become a smaller wall of text. Sorry for that.

Feel free to give me feedback on my thoughts and the portfolio.

Have a nice weekend everyone!