07/25: District Metals’ +231% Surge & the New Normal
Portfolio Update. Detailing our first professional moves at hedge fund Equity Focus
Welcome back dear fellow 🧙♂️ Hermits 👋
Want more context? Track the journey so far here.
Index
Briefing
Welcome to our fourteenth dispatch.
Today we’ll release our 18-minute executive summary for the month of July:
🚀 A 3x win from a uranium bet most pros missed
📊 Details on the performance figures and positions
🔐 Our shift to full fund operations… what we sold, what we kept, and why
🧪 Our first masterpiece… and the misunderstood contract that triggered the opportunity
🌍 A Japanese aerospace name hiding in plain sight
🌦️ And.. we’ll end on the quiet rise of our All-Weather Portfolio and its use as a benchmark
Please note that this update accurately reflects the portfolio changes within Equity Focus FIL, our regulated European hedge fund.
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None of the following should be construed as investment advice. Please consult a financial advisor before making any investment decision. You will find a full disclaimer at the end of this post.
⛏️ District Metals Case Study
In just a few months, we’ve seen one of our key theses come to life.
As mentioned previously, we’ve increasingly focused our efforts on identifying high-conviction, short-term catalysts… those likely to play out within 12 months or less.
Our March and April purchases of DMX have paid off handsomely.
With an average entry price of C$0.3014 and an average exit price of C$1.02, the position has delivered a >3x return in just a few months.
We believe the results speak for themselves.
We spoke about the company in the last few letters. Here are a few examples:
The catalyst here was remarkably straightforward.
Sweden is lifting its ban on uranium mining and refining.
This sets the stage for a revaluation of assets like Tomtebo, now property of DMX but historically held on Stora AB’s books with a value in the $200–300 million range before the 2018 ban came into effect.
The company controls billions in uranium reserves, yet at the time of our initial purchase, it was trading at just $40 million in market cap. It was, quite simply, a no-brainer.
Unfortunately, due to the timing of our fund’s launch, we weren’t able to build a larger position. Capital was being redirected into our more efficient fund structure, and we needed to preserve liquidity.
How did we find this company?
Our system isn’t complex, but it does demand serious time and focus. Finding a single, high-conviction investment takes patience.
In fact, we only uncover 2 to 5 truly investable companies PER YEAR. But when we do, we don’t hesitate. We go all in.
Every investment we make is backed by months of deep research, ensuring we know each business inside and out.
Our 3–6 month process for each company includes:
📊 Financials – We break down the three financial statements.
📑 Filings – We read all the filings, so you don’t have to.
🕵️ Scuttlebutt – We talk to stakeholders, from management to competitors.
📈 Technical – We analyze price action to find the best entry points.
Our goal is to maintain a focused portfolio of 15 high-conviction companies at any given time.
And that’s exactly how in 2025 we executed:
District Metals (+231.78%)
Nebius Group (+142.86%)
Coursera (+75.38%)
Bluemetric Environmental (+64.30%)
*undisclosed O&G operator* (+63.60%)
Shelly Group (+51.74%)
Blade Air Mobility (+45.08%)
Golar LNG (+35.13%)
Daqo Energy Corp. (+34.63%)
📊 Portfolio Overview
Cumulative Performance Summary
Equity Focus** [A Shares] ➤ -1.54%
Equity Focus** [Y Shares] ➤ -0.69%
All-Weather Portfolio*** ➤ N/A
Personal Portfolio* ➤ +434.74%
* The personal portfolio reflects the author’s asset-weighted returns since January 2018.
** Equity Focus FIL was approved in April 2025 and started operating in June 2025. Figures are net of fees.
*** The All-Weather Portfolio, introduced in July 2025, serves as a benchmark reference.
Equity Focus FIL
Updated on July 30th, 2025
Class A Shares (ES0131237002)