May 2023 Pricing Commentary (Audio version now available – use the controls above.) Our three ABC Funds significantly outperformed their index benchmarks during the month of May. This positive result can be largely attributed to the Funds’ portfolio overweighting in two top performing sectors – information technology and communication services – and notable geographic concentration in American equities accounting for 70-85% of our common stock exposure. Apple, Alphabet, Broadcom, Meta, Microsoft, and NVIDIA were key contributors to our success due to stellar quarterly earnings results and the market’s realization of their significant future growth prospects in generative AI. This is understandable given our front page editorial in our January 2023 ABC Perspective which emphasized that: “… we believe that we are presently on the verge of a Cambrian explosion of innovation that will dramatically alter our lives and elongate the secular bull market in equities for years to come. In particular, we see artificial intelligence (AI) as the principal agent of technological advancement and the overarching theme in the next leg upward for common stocks. In this regard, AI technology has the potential to reshape the world, boost productivity, and elevate corporate profits. For instance, AI will power self-driving cars, robotics, virtual/augmented reality, simulations, genomic sequencing, and new drug discoveries. Our portfolios are well positioned to take advantage of secular themes in technology, including AI, via core holdings such as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, NVIDIA, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.” Capitalizing on a number of common stock outperformers, we tactfully rebalanced our portfolios to add new positions in ASML, ServiceNow, and Canadian Pacific Kansas City. Looking ahead, we remain extremely confident with our three well-diversified portfolios and expect their positive performance to continue throughout 2023. Irwin A. Michael, PresidentI.A. Michael Investment Counsel Ltd.
