Welcome to the April update of Plan 5 Picks. Progress has been steady over the past month. We’ll start with the Plan 5 Monthly results for March:
Plan 5 Monthly: March 2015 Results
| Mar 2 Open | Mar 31 Close | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LinkedIn (LNKD) | 267.45 | 249.86 | -6.58% |
| Sierra Wireless (SWIR) | 37.50 | 33.09 | -11.76% |
| Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) | 141.97 | 150.85 | +6.25% |
| WisdomTree Investments (WETF) | 18.73 | 21.46 | +14.58% |
| XPO Logistics (XPO) | 44.17 | 45.47 | +2.94% |
| Plan 5 Monthly: March 2015 | +1.09% | ||
| S&P 500 | 2105.23 | 2067.89 | -1.77% |
Three of this month’s five picks saw a gain, just enough to offset losses by LinkedIn and Sierra Wireless. The small overall gain of 1.09% was still enough to beat the S&P 500’s 1.77% loss.
There is only one substitution this month, with Valeant Pharmaceuticals replacing LinkedIn. Here are the April Plan 5 Monthly picks:
Plan 5 Monthly: April 2015 Picks
| Company | Symbol |
|---|---|
| Sierra Wireless | SWIR |
| Ulta Salon | ULTA |
| Valeant Pharmaceuticals | VRX |
| WisdomTree Investments | WETF |
| XPO Logistics | XPO |
If you’re following along with Plan 5 Monthly, you’ll want to rebalance your portfolio at this point. You can find a refresher on how to do that right here. Or, even easier, you can try out the Balance Calculator tool that will do the math for you.
If instead you’re following Plan 5 Quarterly, it’s not time to make any trades this month, but let’s take a look at how the current picks are doing two months in. Here are the results so far:
Plan 5 Quarterly: March 2015 Progress Report
| Feb 2 Open | Mar 31 Close | % Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston Beer Co. (SAM) | 313.55 | 267.40 | -14.72% |
| Sierra Wireless (SWIR) | 36.98 | 33.09 | -10.52% |
| Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance (ULTA) | 132.08 | 150.85 | +14.21% |
| WisdomTree Investments (WETF) | 17.54 | 21.46 | +22.35% |
| XPO Logistics (XPO) | 36.79 | 45.47 | +23.59% |
| Plan 5 Quarterly: Feb-March 2015 | +6.98% | ||
| S&P 500 | 1996.67 | 2067.89 | +3.57% |
Plan 5 Monthly did quite well this month. WisdomTree Investments and XPO Logistics both grew by more than 20%, which more than made up for the significant losses by Boston Beer Co. and Sierra Wireless. So far Plan 5 Monthly is growing 6.98% during the current period, well ahead of the S&P 500’s 3.57%.
Finally, here’s a look at Plan 5’s overall progress from the beginning:
That’s all for this month. I’ll be back at the end of April with the next update.
Thrive!
Mike Ferrier