This is not a panic post. I don’t know when the next market downturn would happen. I don’t care to know either. My investing is not based on predicting future events. As Howard Marks wrote once, "taking bold actions based on forecasts of things that are uncertain isn’t just … [Read more...] about Are you prepared for stock market winter?
Complete List of Blog Posts
Why does the stock market mock us?
Sometimes it feels like the stock market is mocking us—intentionally doing the unexpected. When we invest new money, the stock market promptly falls as if it's punishing us. Other times, it jumps up after we had sold some shares. If you are an investor, you will encounter this … [Read more...] about Why does the stock market mock us?
What if I had invested near the stock market peak?
Last week, I shared results of my 10-year investing experience with a broad market index fund: My 10-year odyssey with a Schwab index fund. This post follows up on that theme by simulating several related scenarios. None of them I experienced myself but they’re still useful to … [Read more...] about What if I had invested near the stock market peak?
My 10-year odyssey with a Schwab index fund
Investing can be quite boring – especially if one is following a long-term plan. From my experience, people who do it best are those who put their investing on an auto-pilot. And let their money compound over time. For 10, 20, even 30 years or more. Successful investing doesn’t … [Read more...] about My 10-year odyssey with a Schwab index fund
Don’t take investing advice from people you don’t know!
It was some time in 2011 if I remember correctly. I had tuned to my local NPR station at lunch time. A financial advisor couple was getting interviewed. They had just released a new book on financial planning. It was a pleasant discussion. They seemed genuine. They also appeared … [Read more...] about Don’t take investing advice from people you don’t know!
When do I exit stock positions?
In July 1999, Warren Buffett gave a speech to business leaders in Sun Valley, Idaho. Back then, the U.S. stock market had been on a tear. Understandably, many attendees were very optimistic about their businesses’ prospects. Undaunted though, Buffett went on to make the argument … [Read more...] about When do I exit stock positions?
Mid-year portfolio update 2018
Since my last quarterly update, there haven’t been many changes in my portfolio. Stocks have been on the rise since April this year -- making up for the losses in the first quarter. Looking further back, if I compare today’s asset allocation with what I had last year, there have … [Read more...] about Mid-year portfolio update 2018
Be mechanical about your investing approach
As I have written multiple times in prior posts, our gut instincts, friends’ views, media reports, and most expert opinions are really not that useful when it comes to investing. We, investors, consistently underperform even the ordinary index funds by as much as one-third due to … [Read more...] about Be mechanical about your investing approach
Revisiting my dry powder strategy
As I explained in my previous post on dry powder, I have cash that only gets deployed when stocks go down by a certain amount. How much cash to deploy and when? From the same post, you can see the rulebook I follow. If stocks follow historical averages, I may be able to deploy … [Read more...] about Revisiting my dry powder strategy
Benchmarking my portfolio against Yale’s endowment
I realize that this sounds silly. Individual investors and university endowments don’t play in the same league! Still there is no harm in studying other investors’ portfolios. Even those that are managed professionally. For perspective, current market value of Yale University’s … [Read more...] about Benchmarking my portfolio against Yale’s endowment