Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast
Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast

Circle Internet Surges 2-27-25

2 min
•Feb 27, 20263 months ago
Listen to Episode
Summary

Scott Becker discusses his unexpected 30% gain in Circle Internet Group stock, a position he acquired through a hedge fund distribution. He reflects on the irony of this win against his typical investment strategy and contrasts it with losses in his larger individual stock positions like Microsoft and Amazon.

Insights
  • Passive distribution of stocks from investment vehicles can outperform actively managed individual stock positions, challenging conventional investing wisdom
  • Conviction-based investing in stocks you deeply understand may underperform random allocations, suggesting market unpredictability
  • Index fund investing as a core strategy with selective individual positions creates vulnerability to concentrated losses in major tech holdings
  • Short-term stock volatility (30% daily swings) doesn't indicate long-term investment quality or fundamental business strength
Trends
Cryptocurrency sector volatility driving large-cap tech stock price movementsRetail investor reliance on passive distribution strategies rather than active stock selectionUnderperformance of mega-cap tech stocks (Microsoft, Amazon) in current market conditionsDisconnect between investment conviction and actual portfolio performance outcomesYear-to-date market flatness masking significant daily volatility in individual securities
Topics
Individual Stock Investing vs. Index FundsCryptocurrency Market PerformancePortfolio Diversification StrategyTech Stock UnderperformanceInvestment Conviction and Due DiligenceHedge Fund DistributionsMarket Volatility and Daily Trading SwingsPassive vs. Active Investment Management
Companies
Circle Internet Group
Stock surged 30% on the episode date; host owns shares via hedge fund distribution despite lacking investment convict...
Microsoft
Host holds significant individual position that is currently struggling and underperforming market expectations.
Amazon
Host holds significant individual position that is currently struggling and underperforming market expectations.
People
Scott Becker
Podcast host and individual investor discussing his portfolio performance and investment philosophy.
Quotes
"even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while"
Scott Becker•Opening
"I don't really know what to do with them I don't know how to judge them I have no idea if they good or bad investments"
Scott Becker•Mid-episode
"This goes against all my investing logic that you better really know about what you earn and have a conviction around it"
Scott Becker•Mid-episode
"I'm generally an index fund investor. A couple of the big positions I have that are individual stocks are getting crushed."
Scott Becker•Mid-episode
Full Transcript
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Today's discussion is circle internet surges. And I guess the tagline is, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. So here's the deal with circle internet. Circle internet today is up literally 30%. It's still a relatively, I guess you'd think of it as a, not a small cap company, at $20 billion in market cap. It's driving today based on crypto, great quarter of Q4, crypto earnings, but literally up 30%. So when I say, even a blind squirrel gets nut once in a while, I happen to be an investor individually in Circle Internet. And again, for no other reason, it was distributed to me by an investment vehicle, a hedge fund that I invested in. So I ended up owning some Circle Internet. When I get distributions from this hedge fund I tend to keep the stocks because I don really know what to do with them I don know how to judge them I have no idea if they good or bad investments This goes against all my investing logic that you better really know about what you earn and have a conviction around it I don I have no idea what Circle Internet Really Group is. I just know it's up 29% on Wednesday and not doing any great prognosis by myself, anything at all, but up. But this is in contrast. I'm generally an index fund investor. A couple of the big positions I have that are individual stocks are getting crushed. It seems like all of my individual stocks that have large positions are getting crushed. So I'm part of Microsoft, part of Amazon, all struggling. Everything I invested in more recently, just trying to catch the wave, of course, not doing great. But the one win, the one nut this blind squirrel has gotten is Circle Internet Group, which is up 30% today. We'll see if that lasts. Year to date, it's even. It's basically literally even. So it's not been this great home run, this great winner. But today I'm a winner. So we'll take it. Thank you for listening to the Becker Business, the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Thank you very, very much.