April was different. Not just because the numbers were green for the first time in three months — but because of where my head was while the portfolio quietly recovered.
In April, I launched AutonomAI (still WIP), an automation company built to help businesses reclaim time through intelligent workflows. I spent the month chasing customers, building the services, and thinking about helping small businesses. The portfolio ran in the background. I checked it less. I reacted to it less. And paradoxically, it performed better.
My combined portfolio gained ground, with IBKR registering +3.08% — the best month of the year so far. The market, after three months of tariff chaos and war-driven anxiety, staged a remarkable recovery. I participated in it because I stayed invested and calm.
There is a Buffett observation that resonates with me this month:
“I am a better investor because I am a businessman, and a better businessman because I am an investor.” — Warren Buffett
In April, for the first time, I feel both sides of that sentence simultaneously. Building AutonomAI sharpens how I think about the businesses I own. Owning businesses forces me to think long-term about what I am building. The two pursuits are not competing for attention. They are compounding each other.
Market Overview
What drove the market?
April was the best month for global markets in nearly six years. The S&P 500 advanced 10.4%, posting its best month since November 2020. The Nasdaq led the way, up 15.3%, as a total of five major indices posted returns of more than 10%.
What drove it? A combination of de-escalation signals in the Iran conflict, strong corporate earnings, and a market that had oversold in March. March 31 began a run of seven consecutive positive closes on the S&P 500, effectively regaining the losses from the entire prior quarter.
The technology sector was the greatest beneficiary of this run, advancing more than 20%, while the energy sector pulled back. My portfolio reflected this exactly: REI 0.00%↑ and OXY 0.00%↑ swapped roles as the energy boost faded, while Chinese tech names began to breathe again.
Quiet progress in China
No dramatic headlines from China in April. The businesses I owned simply got on with it. BABA 0.00%↑ recovered a bit, and JD 0.00%↑ held steady and paid a $1.00 per share special dividend. That was not a lucky event. JD 0.00%↑ is a profitable business returning capital to shareholders while the market questions whether it deserves to exist.
I acted on CAAS 0.00%↑ once again this month. The thesis is built on the same logic as every other China position I hold: a real business, real earnings, real cash, priced as if none of that is true. The market’s pessimism on China creates the opportunity. My job is to be patient enough to collect it.
UK was as expected
$MOTR recovered in April as consumer sentiment in the UK steadied. $WINE continued to drift lower, and I continued to hold. Neither position moved the needle materially, they remain what they are: patient, stock-specific theses in an unloved market.
Portfolio Performance
April was the month the year turned around. After losing ground across February and March, the portfolio gave almost all of it back in a single month.
The star of the month was Ring Energy ($REI), which surged, only to be diluted this week when management failed to disclose their intentions during the May earnings call.
Prosus ($PRX) recovered strongly as European tech sentiment improved alongside the broader market. Alibaba ($BABA) rose as well, as China anxiety eased.
The counterweights were OXY 0.00%↑, which gave back some of March’s oil-driven gains, $WINE, and $ATG, which moved further in the wrong direction. I held all three.
What actually happened this month
One move. One new position.
I opened $CAAS at $4.65. China Automotive Systems is a Chinese manufacturer of power steering components for passenger and commercial vehicles, with a growing presence in the electric power steering (EPS) market. The thesis was straightforward and the numbers were hard to ignore. As of April 2026, the company traded at a P/E of around 4, roughly a quarter of the industry average. It reported record results in 2025, with EPS rising 43% to $1.42 and revenue up 18% to $765.7 million. Insiders owned over 67% of the company and had been buying consistently. Management was also considering reinstating a share buyback program following the completion of their redomicile to the Cayman Islands.
This is a business that earns real money, is growing, is owned almost entirely by people with skin in the game, and trades like it is disappearing. I do not expect it to disappear.
Time ago I published my CAAS 0.00%↑ pitch:
Value Perspective
When I analyze a business to invest in, I ask myself: does this company have a real product, real customers, real earnings, and a management team that behaves like an owner? When I started AutonomAI, I asked myself the exact same questions about what I was building. Buffett’s observation is a description of a feedback loop. Running a business teaches you what durable competitive advantage actually feels like from the inside. Investing teaches you to ask whether what you are building will matter in ten years, not just next quarter.
The ATG position, still held, still underwater, remains the open loop. I mention it not to flagellate myself but to keep the accounting honest. One good month did not resolve a bad decision. The behavioral work continues because I find it hard to sell during their turnaround initiative.
Closing Remarks
April was the month where two things I was building began to feel like one project. Investing ran in the background because I had built it to run without constant intervention.
AutonomAI is the new variable. It consumes time, energy, and attention. It also helps with judgment in ways that sitting in front of a screen never could. Finding customers, solving problems, understanding what value actually means to another person makes me a more grounded investor.
My goal remains unchanged.