The curated database of hedge funds that publish investor letters. Research by geography, strategy, and schools of thought.
| # | Fund | Strategy | Style | Geography | AUM | Latest Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Middle Coast Investing returned 12.5% in Q2 2026 as markets traded on baskets rather than fundamentals. Semiconductors and data center stocks soared while hyperscalers faced AI profitability doubts. The manager trimmed winners, added CDW and S&P Global at attractive valuations, and reduced cash to 13.7%. Despite strong company-specific results, stocks traded on sector sentiment. The portfolio maintains concentrated exposure to aerospace, travel, and financials with disciplined valuation focus.
The manager invests in a diversified portfolio of primarily small and mid-cap value stocks across multiple sectors, focusing on individual company fundamentals while acknowledging that in 2026 the market increasingly trades on baskets and trends rather than company-specific factors. The portfolio maintains meaningful exposure to aerospace, travel, financials, and data center beneficiaries, with the manager seeking to understand market basket dynamics to contextualize stock movements without losing focus on underlying business quality and valuation.
The manager expects the market to continue trading on baskets and trends rather than individual company fundamentals. They plan to focus on understanding basket patterns to make sense of stock movements and know when to readjust portfolios, whether riding a lucky tailwind or running against the crowd. The manager emphasizes doing best when focusing on what's happening at individual companies, but acknowledges knowing what's happening at the sector or basket level is valuable for timing portfolio adjustments and maintaining composure in a fascinating but not always easy to manage market.
As of Jun 30, 2026
Daniel Shvartsman founded Middle Coast Investing LLC in 2023 after managing personal and family investments for over a decade. He brings extensive financial media experience from roles at Investing.com (VP of Content, 2021-2023) and Seeking Alpha (Director of Marketplace, 2012-2020), where he spent eight years in various leadership positions. Shvartsman continues to co-host the 'Razor's Edge' investing podcast and holds CRD# 7820995 as a registered Investment Adviser Representative. He passed the Series 65 examination in August 2023 and maintains active registration since November 2023 with no disciplinary events or disclosures.
Middle Coast Investing employs a dual-strategy approach combining passive indexing and active value investing based on classic Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett principles. The firm focuses on patient, thoughtful investing with medium to long-term horizons (3-5 years or more), emphasizing undervalued stocks supplemented by bonds, ETFs, or cash for balance. The active strategy blends traditional value investing with quality and growth at reasonable prices (GARP), typically evaluating stocks on 1-2 year horizons while maintaining significant cash positions for flexibility and downside protection.
Lead Portfolio Manager
Moderate Conviction Bullish
Market Conviction
The portfolio holds 15 named top positions with specific sizing disclosed, ranging from 10.4% (Amazon) down to 2.2% (Broadcom). The manager provides clear thesis summaries for multiple holdings and discusses specific catalysts like Corpay's triple beat and TripAdvisor's asset sale. However, the portfolio appears diversified beyond these top 15 positions, and the manager acknowledges making some positions too small (CDW) and uses hedged language about basket dynamics affecting individual stocks. The manager sold 11% more positions than bought, suggesting some uncertainty. The letter is more analytical and exploratory about market dynamics than declarative about specific investment theses, though individual position discussions show moderate conviction.
Growth Outlook
The manager describes Q2 as the S&P 500's best quarter since Q2 2020 and notes several bullish signs including the Iran war ending, SpaceX's massive IPO, and multiple huge companies listing in U.S. markets as signs of bullish sentiment. However, the manager expresses concern that the market trades on baskets and trends rather than fundamentals, with trends winning when they conflict. The manager notes the market is starting to doubt hyperscalers on AI profitability. The tone is constructive but cautious about market dynamics, acknowledging good performance while flagging structural concerns about how stocks are trading.
Risk Appetite
The portfolio reduced cash from 15.5% to 13.7%, indicating modest deployment, but the manager sold 11% more equity positions than bought, suggesting selective trimming rather than aggressive risk-taking. The manager trimmed winners like Taiwan Semiconductor, TD Synnex, Alphabet, Astronics, and Broadcom while making only small new purchases in CDW, S&P Global, and Microsoft. The bond/fixed income allocation decreased from 2.9% to 2% and hedge position from 1.4% to 1.1%. This reflects a mildly positive tilt with selective adding but not aggressive deployment.
Capital Deployment
Cash decreased modestly from 15.5% to 13.7% (a reduction of 1.8 percentage points), indicating some deployment. However, the manager explicitly states they sold 11% more equity positions than bought in Q2, meaning there was net selling activity. The bond/fixed income allocation also decreased from 2.9% to 2%, and the hedge position decreased from 1.4% to 1.1%. The cash reduction appears to come more from market appreciation and trimming of non-equity positions rather than aggressive new equity deployment. The net selling of equity positions combined with modest cash reduction suggests slight de-risking overall, scoring slightly negative.
Forward Guidance
The manager plans to continue focusing on individual company fundamentals while monitoring basket dynamics to know when to readjust portfolios. There is no clear aggressive deployment bias - the manager describes being 'not nimble enough to jump on short-term trends' and emphasizes the importance of not losing their head in a market that trades on baskets. The forward stance is watchful and selective rather than actively deploying. The manager acknowledges making CDW too small a position, suggesting some caution in sizing even when finding opportunities.
Language Signal
The letter contains balanced directional language. Bullish terms include 'best quarter', 'bullish sentiment', 'soared', 'recovered', 'attractive', and 'underestimate demand at their peril'. Bearish or cautious language includes 'plummeting free cash flow', 'market is starting to doubt', 'most susceptible to the music stopping', 'perceived AI victims', 'out of favor', 'problems far beyond', and 'overshot the mark'. The manager frequently uses neutral analytical language about baskets and trends. The net balance leans slightly positive but is largely descriptive and analytical rather than directionally bullish or bearish.
Perceived Risk
The manager identifies several specific risks with meaningful discussion: hyperscaler free cash flow plummeting while the market doubts AI profitability, semiconductor stocks being 'most susceptible to the music stopping', the market trading on baskets rather than fundamentals creating disconnects, inflation fears from geopolitical conflicts, and AI disruption threats to software and middleman businesses. These risks are named and discussed substantively but not in an alarmed tone. The manager frames these as observable market dynamics to understand rather than imminent threats requiring defensive positioning. The risk discussion is moderate and analytical rather than minimal or systemic in nature.
Opportunity Density
The manager describes finding selective opportunities like CDW at less than 10x earnings and S&P Global trading at a 'normal' multiple, but acknowledges making CDW too small a position, suggesting some hesitation. The manager sold 11% more positions than bought and trimmed multiple winners, indicating selectivity rather than abundance. The letter emphasizes the challenge of stocks trading on baskets rather than fundamentals, making it harder to capitalize on company-specific opportunities. The manager describes being 'not nimble enough to jump on short-term trends' and focuses on understanding basket dynamics to contextualize movements. This suggests a moderate, selective opportunity set requiring patience rather than a rich environment full of compelling ideas.
Time Horizon
The manager discusses aerospace stocks getting credit because 'the backlog in demand will take years to resolve' and describes temporary hiccups not deterring longer-term demand. For S&P Global, the manager states 'for this to work, S&P Global will need to continue outgrowing the market to compound earnings growth' suggesting a multi-year compounding thesis. The manager emphasizes focusing on individual company fundamentals over short-term basket trading, stating they are 'not nimble enough to jump on short-term trends'. The letter discusses surviving 'over the years' and not 'dropping our baskets'. However, the manager also actively trims positions, sold 11% more than bought, and discusses quarterly results and near-term catalysts like Corpay's earnings beat. This suggests a 2-4 year investment horizon with willingness to trade around positions, scoring in the medium-term range.
Top Conviction Themes
Key Catalysts
Every insight in this database connects to the original source. Read the actual thesis, see the actual concerns, and make your own call.
Buyside Digest has no business relationship, partnership, agency, sponsorship, endorsement, or affiliation with Middle Coast Investing LLC or any other manager whose content appears on the Service, except where expressly stated. We do not receive Manager Content directly from managers in most cases; content is collected from publicly available sources. Managers have not necessarily reviewed, approved, authorized, or endorsed our display of their content, our editorial commentary, our metadata extraction, or our classifications. Use of a manager’s name is for accurate attribution and identification purposes only, under principles of nominative fair use.
Buyside Digest does not independently verify the regulatory status, registrations, licensing, qualifications, credentials, or professional standing of managers whose content appears on the Service. We do not represent that managers are properly registered with applicable regulatory bodies, that their content complies with applicable securities laws, or that their performance representations are accurate. Inclusion of a manager in our database is based on the publicly available nature of their content, not on our verification of their regulatory status or content compliance. Users are responsible for conducting their own due diligence on any manager.
Performance data, returns, assets under management (“AUM”), and similar figures displayed on this page are sourced from publicly available manager communications (including investor letters), public filings, or other third-party sources. Buyside Digest does not independently verify performance figures, calculate returns, or audit manager-reported data. Such figures: May be selectively reported by the manager; May use non-standard calculation methodologies; May not reflect fees, expenses, taxes, or other costs; May be inconsistent across reporting periods; May be outdated. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Performance figures should not be relied upon for investment decisions without independent verification. Users should request audited performance data directly from the manager and conduct their own due diligence.