In the first quarter, my US portfolio had a gunshot wound which led to severe bleeding. Thanks to the large band-aid of SG portfolio, it slowed the bleeding to a manageable 4%.
Unfortunately, Trump’s “Liberation Day” at the beginning of the second quarter resulted in wound infection and SG portfolio wasn’t spared.
The good news is the bacteria while strong was short-lived. It took some time, but the portfolio’s immune system, combined with dividends antibiotic has more or less stopped the bleeding now.
As seen from the image above, overall portfolio’s return for the first half of the year is -0.1%, with SG portfolio returning 2.4%. The US portfolio is down by 6.8%, including a forex loss of near to 7%. Without this forex loss, the US portfolio and total return would be in the green.
While both SG and US portfolios have underperformed the respective benchmarks for this period, I am not overly perturbed for the moment.
Firstly, it’s just the half-time. Just like how my portfolios have outperformed the two ETFs over the past month, the current gaps can still be narrowed in the coming months, if the companies were to announce better outlooks.
And secondly, XIRR of this portfolio since inception is still around 10%, hence I remain confident that this setback is temporary.
That said, let’s take a deeper dive to see how individual stocks have contributed to this performance, both good and bad.
It’s been a truly mixed bag, with both top and bottom performers seeing significant double-digit swings.
Let’s start with the top five performers.
Top 5 Performers
ZScaler (NASDAQ: ZS) had a fantastic quarter. Its consistent >20% growth and strong performance over the past two quarters have certainly caught the market’s attention.
The introduction of the Z-Flex program – a new purchasing mechanism – during the quarter, along with the expected acquisition of Red Canary by the end of August, signals continued growth momentum.
Already among the top five performers last quarter, Veeva Systems (NYSE: VEEV) consolidated its position further when market rewarded its strong start of its fiscal year (FY) 2026, in which not only did it beat its estimates, it also raised its guidance for the year.
Moreover, Veeva also updated its expansion into new markets beyond its current life science expertise. CEO Peter Gassner shared in the latest earnings call that they expect to have their first customers by the end of the year.
Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA) is off to a good start under new CEO Kecia Steelman. While it’s still early days, I sensed a renewed vigor from the company as I browsed through the earnings transcript. Hopefully, this will translate to improved performance over time.
The two surprise entries this round are local stocks UMS Integration (SGX: 558) and The Hour Glass (SGX: AGS).
I’m pleasantly surprised by the recent rally in their stock prices and glad that my patience with these investments over the past two years is starting to pay off.
(Incidentally, I highlighted both companies in my latest article on The Smart Investor last month – click here if you missed it.)
In terms of absolute dollar gains, the two remaining individual REITs in my portfolio, Parkway Life REIT (SGX: C2PU) and Frasers Centrepoint Trust (SGX : CFA) also made the top 5.
This is due to my significantly larger positions in them. Hence, a high single-digit percentage gain (including dividends) in either is enough to generate a mid-four-figure return.
Now, let’s briefly discuss the bottom five performers.
Bottom 5 Performers
| 1H 2025 | 1Q 2025 | |
| GOOG | -10% | -19% |
| ANET | -14% | -33% |
| AAPL | -24% | -14% |
| TTD | -33% | -47% |
| LULU | -42% | -27% |
It’s the same culprits as the under-performers in 1Q 2025!
However, the good news is two of my larger US positions, Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) and Alphabet(NASDAQ: GOOG) have pared their losses over the quarter. And ignoring forex loss, it’s only a single-digit percentage drop in their prices for the year.
More importantly, both reported strong 1Q 2025 results and if they can keep up with the momentum, their stock prices could recover further.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) is struggling to find a new growth driver and that explains the lacklustre performance of its share price. The consolation is that its Services segment is still growing at a decent pace, which made up near to 30% of its revenue now.
I am not completely writing out this tech titan yet, but since mid-2021, I have sold more than 60% of my position.
After missing its internal estimate for the first time in 4Q 2024, The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) rebounded and delivered a strong 1Q 2025 quarter, with revenue up by 25% year-on-year (YOY).
The jury is still out though if the company can sustain its growth. I am in this for the long term, and still remain confident that CEO Jeff Green can bring Trade Desk to a greater height in the future.
I was considering taking profits off Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ: LULU) end of last year when its share price was near US$400. But I hesitated and with market unenthusiastic about its outlook, the price tanked this year by more than 35% this year, reversing my profits to loss.
Thank goodness that is it’s the smallest position in my portfolio, hence the impact is limited.
Finally, in terms of absolute dollar loss, iFAST Corporation (SGX: AIY) and Mapletree Industrial Trust (SGX: ME8U), or MIT, took up two places due to their larger position size.
I have written more about them in earlier posts, please click the links (stock name) to read about my thoughts about them. Additionally, I have fully divested MIT due to a strategic review in May.
In conclusion, despite underperforming the benchmarks, I am pleased that the portfolio has recovered from the first quarter.
I have no idea of market’s mood in the second half of the year, but will continue to monitor the underlying businesses of the stocks.
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