The top five institutional holders of our first idea, a technology fund, are: Yakira Capital Management, Inc., 0.91% of shares; Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., 0.58%; Royal Bank of Canada, 0.55%; Herzfeld (Thomas J.) Advisors, Inc, 0.52%; and INTL FCSTONE INC., 0.39%.
Buy: Firsthand Technology Value Fund, Inc. (SVVC)
From Ian Wyatt’s Million Dollar Portfolio
Firsthand Technology Value Fund, Inc.’s (SVVC) looks for promising technology companies that haven’t yet gone public, it has more of a focus on “cleantech” companies. If you aren’t familiar with the term, cleantech means processes, products or services that reduce negative environmental impacts.
That cleantech focus hasn’t stopped Firsthand from getting in on other promising tech companies, though. Some of its best past investments include names like Facebook (FB), Twitter (TWTR), and Yelp (YELP).
Kevin Landis, the fund’s CEO and chief investment officer, has been in the VC business since 1998. He doesn’t just make investments and wait. He actually sits on the board of a number of companies his fund is invested in. That lets him keep an eye on Firsthand’s investments.
And the fund appears to be severely undervalued. Since it’s a closed-end fund, its shares trade at whatever price investors are willing to pay for it, regardless of the value of its assets. Based on the current price of two of its holdings—Pivotal Systems and Revasum—that have gone public in Australia, the fund is trading for less than those holdings alone are worth.
Right now, the fund’s net asset value—the market value of all its holdings—is $26.79 per share, yet it’s trading for just $12.78.
Recommended Action: Buy Firsthand Technology Value Fund at market prices.
Ian Wyatt, Ian Wyatt’s Million Dollar Portfolio, www.wyattresearch.com, March 27, 2019