54 Percent in 2024 and 87 Percent Since 2019
Performance Highlights
Viotus has quietly established itself as one of the most impressive private investor groups in recent years. Although not a formal fund or asset management firm, its members—an assembly of experienced, like‑minded investors—have collaborated to develop a cohesive approach that has generated remarkable results. By combining classic value‑investing principles with a carefully calibrated options overlay and concentrating on high‑quality technology companies, Viotus delivered a 54 percent return in 2024, bringing its cumulative track record since inception in 2019 to +87 percent. This extraordinary performance, achieved without the infrastructure of a traditional fund, owes much to the group’s insistence on buying world‑class businesses at attractive prices, plus an unwavering commitment to deepen members’ understanding through shared research and educational materials.
When Viotus began its journey in early 2019, its founding members agreed on a simple premise: by pooling collective expertise and rigorously focusing on a small number of high‑conviction ideas, they could replicate—or even improve upon—the classic value‑investing model without the overhead or external reporting demands that often accompany formal funds. Rather than charging management fees or seeking outside capital, Viotus remained a closed, private circle. Monthly video calls, shared spreadsheets, and in‑depth written analyses became the group’s primary means of vetting and debating potential investments. No position ever exceeded 12 percent of the theoretical portfolio at cost, ensuring that no single idea could overwhelm the collective strategy. Above all, each member was encouraged to think like a long‑term owner: to examine balance sheets, forecast cash flows conservatively, and insist on meaningful margins of safety.
A Track Record Built on Collaboration
Over the years, that culture of thoughtful collaboration has paid off. Although Viotus does not publish formal monthly fact sheets, the group’s internal records show that the cumulative return from January 2019 through December 2024 stands at +87 percent, equivalent to an annualized rate of roughly 13.6 percent. That figure compares favorably with major global indices over the same period. For instance, the MSCI World Index returned approximately 50 percent, and broad U.S. large‑cap benchmarks hovered near 60 percent. Even in 2024, when many active managers struggled to keep pace with a narrow cohort of megacap technology stocks, Viotus members collectively realized a 54 percent gain, net of option premium costs and hypothetical trading expenses. In practical terms, this means that an investor who had initially contributed $100 000 of “paper capital” at the outset of 2019 would have seen that sum grow to about $187 000 by the end of 2024, and nearly $290 000 if all gains were recognized in a single year like 2024.
Behind these headline numbers lies a consistent process. Viotus never attempted to chase “hot” IPOs or speculate on ephemeral market fads. Instead, members concentrated on companies that possessed enduring moats—whether through proprietary technology, scale advantages, network effects, or strong brand intangible value—and that could reinvest cash flows at high incremental returns. The group’s internal research placed a strong emphasis on free‑cash‑flow generation, prudent capital allocation, and conservative balance sheets. Even for high‑growth software or semiconductor businesses, the requirement was that net debt remain low or nonexistent, leaving ample room to navigate cyclical slowdowns without sacrificing research and development budgets.
Disciplined Entry Points and Exits
Where Viotus differentiated itself most clearly was in timing its purchases. During episodes of short‑term market dislocation—such as minor setbacks in guidance from large cloud providers or a temporary cyclical softening in semiconductor end‑markets—the group would initiate or add to positions at discounts ranging from 15 percent to 30 percent relative to the group’s conservative estimates of intrinsic value. By maintaining a disciplined valuation framework—rooted in discounted‑cash‑flow models, relative‑valuation checks against bespoke peer groups, and sensitivity analyses under adverse macro scenarios—Viotus ensured a meaningful margin of safety. Whenever an individual holding appreciated to within 10 percent of Viotus’s estimate of intrinsic value, members debated whether to trim stakes or fully exit and redeploy the proceeds. Over time, this approach created a compounding effect: as positions matured and profits accrued, those gains could be used to buy the next “best‑idea” at an opportunistic price.
In addition to buying the highest‑quality names at appealing multiples, Viotus members recognized that they could boost aggregate returns by writing options. Rather than viewing options as speculative tools, the group adopted a conservative overlay: for core holdings—typically representing 8 percent to 12 percent of the collective portfolio—they sold covered calls with strike prices set approximately 10 percent to 15 percent above the prevailing share price and expirations around two to three months out. Premiums collected from writing these out‑of‑the‑money call options contributed, on average, an extra 1.2 percent to 2 percent of annual yield per position during 2019–2023. In 2024 specifically, when implied volatility in many large‑cap technology names spiked during brief drawdowns, those premiums were even richer. The incremental income generated by covered calls amounted to roughly 4.5 percent of the overall 54 percent return for the year, simultaneously providing a partial hedge during mid‑2024 market pullbacks.
Accumulating at a Discount
When Viotus members identified an attractive new candidate but sought to establish a position at an even more favorable price, they sold cash‑secured puts with strikes set at or just below their estimate of fair value. If the underlying stock remained above the strike at expiration, the group pocketed the premium without buying shares. If the stock fell below the strike, Viotus took delivery of the shares at an effective cost basis below the market price, while still retaining the premium. On average, this technique shaved 3 percent to 7 percent off the cost basis when building new positions. Because Viotus maintained at least a 5 percent cash allocation (serving as collateral for the put‑writing program), the approach never jeopardized the group’s liquidity or forced rushed sales in a fast‑moving market.
The confluence of value‑oriented entry points, conservative position sizing, and a disciplined options overlay enabled Viotus not only to weather periods of heightened volatility but also to participate fully in sustained rallies. Nowhere was this more evident than in the technology sector. Although many investors in 2024 fretted that tech valuations were stretched, Viotus members had already identified select companies whose fundamentals justified premium multiples. Within technology, three sub‑sectors in particular drove the bulk of gains: cloud infrastructure and enterprise software, semiconductor equipment, and digital payments.
Concentration in Technology
Cloud infrastructure stocks continued their secular growth trend as enterprises accelerated cloud migrations, driven by machine‑learning workloads, remote‑work solutions, and digital transformation initiatives. By favoring businesses with recurring subscription revenue, gross margins north of 80 percent, and strong operating leverage, Viotus captured outsized appreciation. In the semiconductor realm, the rapid expansion of artificial‑intelligence training clusters, coupled with ongoing demand for 5G base stations and next‑generation data centers, buoyed the revenue outlook for equipment suppliers focused on the most advanced process‑technology nodes. Finally, within digital payments, networks that processed over a trillion transactions annually benefited from the enduring shift away from cash, rising e‑commerce penetration, and stable corporate and consumer cross‑border flows. In each case, Viotus members insisted on balancing top‑line growth with a laser focus on free‑cash‑flow margins and prudent capital allocation—avoiding names that burned cash without a clear path to profitability.
As these technology holdings rallied throughout 2024—some more than doubling from their 2023 troughs—the covered calls written by Viotus ensured that a portion of those gains was monetized through option premiums. Likewise, cash‑secured puts allowed the group to accumulate additional shares in names that briefly retraced during periods of sector‑wide profit taking. The net effect was that, even when certain large‑cap technology names experienced swift 10 percent to 15 percent pullbacks in response to Federal Reserve commentary or macroeconomic data, Viotus members were able to add to positions at more attractive levels, collect premiums, and thus emerge with lower average cost bases.
A Culture of Shared Learning
Beyond the numbers themselves, Viotus’s success in 2024 and its +87 percent track record since 2019 stem from an underlying ethos: an insistence on continuous learning and collaboration. Although Viotus operates as a private group rather than an institutional fund, its members recognized early on that sharing research, debating divergent viewpoints, and providing rigorous feedback would yield a higher caliber of analysis than any individual could generate alone. To formalize that knowledge sharing, Viotus decided to produce a suite of educational and training materials. The goal is to document not only the core tenets of finance—such as reading financial statements, building discounted‑cash‑flow models, and understanding valuation multiples—but also the advanced techniques that distinguish sophisticated practitioners from casual hobbyists.
These resources are structured as a progressive narrative, guiding a reader from first‑principles concepts to the nuanced judgment calls that Viotus employs when markets are turbulent. Readers can expect comprehensive discussions on how to define a moat, measure return on invested capital (ROIC), conduct scenario‑based stress tests on financial projections, and calibrate options strategies under varying volatility regimes. Case studies draw from real markets, illustrating how a technology company’s quarterly earnings miss led to a 12 percent correction and subsequently presented a buying opportunity for long‑term investors with the patience to wait for fundamentals to reassert themselves. Although these resources are available exclusively to Viotus members, they underscore the group’s conviction that the best way to maintain discipline and avoid emotional missteps is through a shared, transparent process.
Looking Ahead
It is that collective mindset that ultimately underpinned Viotus’s extraordinary 54 percent gain in 2024. Facing a year marked by resurgent inflationary concerns in the first quarter, pockets of short‑lived retail investor exuberance in memestocks, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, Viotus members adhered to their value framework. While some market participants chased the highest‑flying names regardless of valuation, Viotus only opened new positions when share prices deviated meaningfully below their own estimates of intrinsic worth. Whenever valuations reached levels that encroached on Viotus’s sell thresholds, members engaged in spirited debates—sometimes resulting in partial trims to lock in profits. Throughout this process, the options overlay added resilience: premiums from covered calls softened the blow during interim pullbacks, and proceeds from put sales lowered the effective cost basis on new purchases. By year‑end 2024, those combined efforts resulted in one of the most impressive annual returns any private investor group has achieved in recent memory.
Looking ahead into 2025, Viotus’s membership remains vigilant. The broader macroeconomic backdrop—slowing growth in China, a potentially more dovish Federal Reserve stance, and debates about whether artificial‑intelligence investments have peaked—presents both challenges and opportunities. But thanks to six years of cumulative learning and a track record of +87 percent since 2019, Viotus members feel confident in their process. They will continue to focus on the same core principles: seek out the highest‑quality businesses, insist on attractive margins of safety, and employ options judiciously to enhance returns while controlling risk. Just as importantly, they will keep expanding and refining their shared educational materials, ensuring that every member can access the same depth of knowledge that made 2024’s 54 percent return possible.
In the final analysis, Viotus’s achievement is a testament not only to the efficacy of disciplined value investing and a prudent options overlay but also to the power of collaboration among informed, dedicated individuals. Although the group will remain private and its internal deliberations confidential, its remarkable performance—54 percent in a single year and 87 percent over five years—offers compelling evidence that, with the right philosophy and the courage to act upon it, individual investors can rival or even outpace many institutional players. More than anything, Viotus demonstrates that success does not require elaborate organizational structures; it demands clarity of thought, consistency of process, and a willingness to continually learn from both triumphs and setbacks.