RENN Fund, Inc.
Semi-Annual Report
June 30, 2023
RENN FUND, INC.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
JUNE 30, 2023
Shareholder Letter � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 1 |
Consolidated Financial Statements: | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 2 |
Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 5 |
Consolidated Statement of Operations � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 6 |
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Net Assets � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 7 |
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 8 |
Consolidated Financial Highlights � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 9 |
Consolidated Notes to Financial Statements � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 10 |
Other Information � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 20 |
Service Providers � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � � | 21 |
RENN FUND, INC.
SHAREHOLDER LETTER
JUNE 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED)
Dear Shareholders,
We are pleased to present the Renn Fund Inc. ("Fund") Semi-Annual Report for the six-month period ending June 30, 2023. The portfolio remains concentrated in companies which we believe represent attractive investment opportunities that are not overly dependent upon the performance of the broader equity market. Though the broader equity markets generated strong returns in the first half of the year, we believe that the investment landscape remains challenging and that the current valuation of major index constituents implies both lower interest rates and robust earnings growth. Given that the Federal Reserve continues to target lower inflation and higher unemployment via its policies, it is extremely difficult to envision a scenario with both robust corporate profit growth and lower interest rates. As a result, we believe that strong equity returns will need to come from idiosyncratic sources.
The top three holdings in the Fund, Apyx Medical Corp., Texas Pacific Land Corp., and Fitlife Brands Inc., had mixed returns in the first half of the year, with Texas Pacific falling, and Apyx and Fitlife shares rising.
In 2022, Apyx suffered a setback when the FDA issued a "Safety Communication" related to the use of the advanced energy products for non-indicated procedures. On May 10, 2023, FDA posted an update to this communication, providing clearance for Renuvion, its primary commercialized advanced energy product, for these indications, and, in the company's view, addressing the issues set forth in the 2022 Safety Communication. While revenues in the first half of 2023 continued to reflect the disruption related to the Safety Communication, they have begun to recover, and the company revised guidance upward in the Q1 2023 financial results press release. We believe that the shares will re-rate higher as the company approaches positive cash flow generation.
Texas Pacific's shares fell along with energy (oil and gas) prices overall. In addition, a protracted proxy dispute has created an overhang on the stock price. We expect that, when this resolves, the shares will no longer discount the costly legal expenses and operational uncertainty associated with the dispute. Furthermore, we believe that global energy markets are structurally undersupplied, while the market is overly concerned with the weaker energy consumption related to a potential recession, and electrification initiatives. There have been negative surprises in terms of supply resilience this year, notably from sanctioned Russian and Iranian fields, and demand weakness in China. We are confident that these temporary factors obscure structural supply insufficiencies. Once these become apparent to the market, there is an asymmetrical upside potential for energy prices. Texas Pacific has a distinct asset base of mineral and surface land holdings in the most prolific energy field in the western world. We believe that this region of Texas will prove to be a fulcrum in global energy balances for decades to come.
FitLife brands continues to execute on its turnaround strategy, focused on higher margin, sustainable growth. This included an announcement on February 28th of the completion of its acquisition of Mimi's Rock Corp, a health supplements and skin care company based in Ontario, Canada. The company reported expanded revenues in the 2022 year relative to 2021, as it increased its focus on diversifying its sales channels away from reliance on retailers such as GNC and toward online and other direct to consumer channels. The company's Q1 2023 results also showed increased year over year revenues. On June 20, the company announced that it had submitted an application for the listing of its common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. We believe that the company is still in the early stages of its transformation.
The balance of the portfolio is allocated to other unique companies that we believe can drive shareholder returns regardless of the macroeconomic environment. This is based on high-quality, long- lived assets and undemanding valuations. The broader market continues to price in a sanguine scenario of profit growth and lower rates, which translates into high valuations. Conversely, many hard asset companies are similarly priced for this reversion to a 2019 scenario, but with overly discounted assumptions on current profitability. We prefer to gain inexpensive exposure to a new economic environment for a variety of reasons and are comfortable being at odds with consensus positioning. We continue to hold a sizeable cash balance given macroeconomic uncertainty, although we remain eager to allocate capital as capital markets conditions permit.
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RENN FUND, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS AS OF JUNE 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED)
Shares or | |||||||
Principal | |||||||
Amount | Company | Cost | Value | ||||
MONEY MARKET FUNDS - 32.79% | |||||||
87,305 | Fidelity Government Cash | ||||||
Reserves Portfolio - | $ 87,305 | $ 87,305 | |||||
Institutional Class, 4.51% � | |||||||
4,740,354 | Fidelity Investment | ||||||
Money Market Funds | |||||||
Government Portfolio - | 4,740,354 | 4,740,354 | |||||
Institutional Class, 4.72% � | |||||||
Total Money Market Funds ��� | 4,827,659 | 4,827,659 |
CONVERTIBLE BONDS - 0.00%
Oil and Gas - 0.00%
0 PetroHunter Energy Corporation 8.50%
Maturity 12/31/2014(1)(2)(5) ��� | 540,225 | - | |||||
Total Convertible Bonds ��������� | 540,225 | - | |||||
COMMON EQUITIES - 65.66% | |||||||
Accomodations - 0.54% | |||||||
4,050 | Civeo Corp.(2) ������������������������ | 149,418 | 78,894 | ||||
Aerospace & Defense - 0.03% | |||||||
20 | Boeing Co.(2) �������������������������� | 4,267 | 4,223 | ||||
Asset Management - 1.16% | |||||||
973 | Associated Capital Group, | 40,594 | 34,444 | ||||
Inc. - Class A ��������������������� | |||||||
7,098 | Gamco Investors, Inc. ����������� | 189,620 | 135,998 | ||||
230,214 | 170,442 | ||||||
Communication Services - 0.01% | |||||||
100 | Rumble, Inc.(2) ����������������������� | 1,206 | 892 | ||||
Hospitality - 0.74% | |||||||
5,500 | Carnival Corp.(2) ������������������������ | 71,677 | 103,565 | ||||
50 | Royal Caribbean Ltd.(2) ������������� | 2,940 | 5,187 | ||||
74,617 | 108,752 | ||||||
Marine Shipping - 0.08% | |||||||
300 | Clarkson PLC(4) ��������������������� | 16,197 | 11,278 | ||||
Metal Mining - 3.63% | |||||||
580 | Franco-Nevada Corp. ������������ | 83,192 | 82,708 | ||||
18,650 | Mesabi Trust �������������������������� | 513,309 | 380,647 | ||||
1,640 | Wheaton Precious Metals | 68,954 | 70,881 | ||||
Corp. ���������������������������������� | |||||||
665,455 | 534,236 |
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
Shares or | |||||||
Principal | |||||||
Amount | Company | Cost | Value | ||||
COMMON EQUITIES - 65.66% (Continued) | |||||||
Medicinal Chemicals and Botanical Products - 8.39% | |||||||
77,228 | FitLife Brands, Inc.(2) ������������ | $ 9,131,688 | $ 1,235,648 | ||||
Oil and Gas - 22.30% | |||||||
19,315 | Permian Basin Royalty Trust | 299,138 | 481,522 | ||||
808,445 | PetroHunter Energy | 101,056 | - | ||||
Corporation(1)(2)(5) �������������� | |||||||
16,300 | PrairieSky Royalty Ltd.(4) ����� | 206,969 | 284,955 | ||||
100 | Sabine Royalty Trust ������������� | 8,002 | 6,594 | ||||
1,908 | Texas Pacific Land Corp. ������ | 1,079,739 | 2,511,882 | ||||
1,694,904 | 3,284,953 | ||||||
Other Financial Investment Activities - 0.54% | |||||||
1 | Morgan Group Holding | 16 | 1 | ||||
Co.(2) ���������������������������������� | |||||||
26,700 | Urbana Corp.(4) ���������������������� | 83,794 | 79,407 | ||||
83,810 | 79,408 | ||||||
Real Estate - 0.22% | |||||||
1,900 | Tejon Ranch(2) ������������������������ | 35,077 | 32,699 | ||||
Securities and Commodity Exchanges - 1.76% | |||||||
685 | Cboe Global Markets, Inc. ���� | 80,892 | 94,537 | ||||
204 | CME Group, Inc. ������������������� | 46,086 | 37,799 | ||||
240 | Intercontinental Exchange, | 30,806 | 27,139 | ||||
Inc. ������������������������������������� | |||||||
14,000 | Miami International | 105,000 | 99,120 | ||||
Holdings, Inc.(1)(2)(3) ����������� | |||||||
262,784 | 258,595 | ||||||
Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other Financial | |||||||
Investments and Related Activities - 0.94% | |||||||
7,200 | Grayscale Bitcoin Trust(2) ������ | 277,162 | 138,168 | ||||
Live Sports (Spectator Sports) - 1.90% | |||||||
5,091 | Big League | 280,000 | 280,005 | ||||
Advance, LLC.(1)(2)(3) ��������� | |||||||
Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus - 21.00% | |||||||
615,000 | Apyx Medical Corp.(2) ����������� | 1,470,958 | 3,093,450 | ||||
Technology Services - 2.42% | |||||||
1,048 | CACI International, Inc. - | 296,485 | 357,200 | ||||
Class A. (2) ������������������������� | |||||||
Total Common Equities ���������� | 9,668,843 |
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RENN FUND, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (CONTINUED) AS OF JUNE 30, 2023 (UNAUDITED)
Shares or | |||||||||
Principal | |||||||||
Amount | Company | Cost | Value | ||||||
EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS - 0.06% | |||||||||
100 | ProShares Short VIX Short- | ||||||||
Term Futures ETF(2) ���������� $ | 5,807 | $ | 8,468 | ||||||
Total Exchange Traded Funds | 5,807 | 8,468 |
OPEN ENDED MUTUAL FUNDS - 0.10%
0 | Kinetics Spin-Off and | ||||
Corporate Restructuring | 13,167 | 14,947 | |||
Fund(6) �������������������������������� | |||||
Total Open Ended Mutual | |||||
Funds ������������������������������������ | 13,167 | 14,947 | |||
PREFERRED STOCKS - 1.26% | |||||
30,966 | Diamond Standard, | 185,798 | 185,798 | ||
Inc.(1)(2)(3) ���������������������������� | |||||
Total Preferred Stocks ������������ | 185,798 | 185,798 | |||
WARRANTS - 0.02% | |||||
Diamond Standard, Inc., | |||||
Exercise Price: $9.00, | |||||
837 | Expiration Date: | ||||
January 15, 2026(1)(2)(3) �� | - | 13 | |||
Miami International | |||||
Holdings, Inc., | |||||
Exercise Price: $7.50, | |||||
2,132 | Expiration Date: | ||||
March 31, 2026(1)(2)(3) ���� | - | 2,921 | |||
Total Warrants ������������������������� | - | 2,934 | |||
TOTAL INVESTMENTS - 99.89% ��������� | 20,246,898 | 14,708,649 | |||
OTHER ASSETS LESS | |||||
LIABILITIES - 0.11% ����������������������������� | 16,081 | ||||
NET ASSETS - 100.00% ���������������������������� | $14,724,730 | ||||
Shares or | ||
Principal | ||
AmountCompany | Proceeds | Value |
SECURITIES SOLD SHORT - 0.01%
EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS - 0.01%
- Convexity Shares 1X Spikes
Futures ETF(2) �������������������� | $ | (29) | $ | (19) |
- Direxion Daily Gold Miners
Index Bear 2X Shares | (455) | (424) |
ETF ������������������������������������ |
- Direxion Daily Junior Gold
Miners Index Bear 2X | (358) | (354) |
Shares ETF(2) ��������������������� |
- ProShares Ultra VIX Short-
Term Futures ETF(2) ���������� | (1,062) | (92) |
- ProShares VIX Short-Term
Futures ETF(2) �������������������� | (304) | (175) | |||||
(1) | 2X Long VIX Futures ETF(2) | (12) | (4) | ||||
Total Exchange Traded Funds � | (2,218) | (1,069) | |||||
EXCHANGE TRADED | |||||||
NOTES - 0.00% | |||||||
(13) | iPath Series B S&P VIX | ||||||
Short-Term Futures ETN(2) ��� | (554) | (325) | |||||
Total Exchange Traded Funds � | (554) | (325) | |||||
TOTAL SECURITIES | |||||||
SOLD SHORT - 0.01% ������ $ | (2,772) $ | (1,394) |
- See Annual Report Note 5 - Fair Value Measurements.
- Non-IncomeProducing.
- Big League Advance, LLC., Diamond Standard, Inc. and Miami International Holdings, Inc. are each currently a private company. These securities are illiquid and valued at fair value.
- Foreign security denominated in U.S. Dollars.
- The PetroHunter Energy Corporation ("PetroHunter") securities are in bankruptcy. The securities are valued at fair value.
- Affiliated security, given that the security is managed by the same Investment Advisor as the Fund.
See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.
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RENN Fund Inc. published this content on 30 August 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 30 August 2023 15:53:08 UTC.