CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge: Now in Top 2500

Taking more risk has paid off – so far. As of last night, I am now sitting at #2410 in the CNBC Million Dollar Portfolio Challenge, up 6.2% so far this week and 37% for the duration of the contest. This puts me in the top 0.5% of all contestants and is making it more difficult for me to ignore the contest in this space.

If I make it into the top 1000, I think I will share more about specific strategies and stock selections. For now, let’s just say that energy and biotech continue to fuel my performance. I continue to seek out more volatility, not because I want to put my gains at risk, but because I am still over $500,000 behind the top 20 portfolios and am concerned that I am not closing the gap quickly enough.

Now for the fun part: when I mention the CNBC contest, not only do I get to trumpet myself a little, but I get to shine a little light on other great trumpet players. The lead photo for this article is of Lee Morgan, who, in many respects inherited the mantle of “the next great jazz trumpeter” from Clifford Brown following Brown’s death. Morgan played extensively with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in the late 1950s and early 1960s and is best know for “The Sidewinder,” his 1963 album as a leader that still to this day shows up on most lists of the greatest jazz albums ever recorded.