Yes, it is that time of the year when I compare my portfolio’s performance with the market indexes. For reference, see 2023’s results here. Usually, I start with my portfolio’s one-year relative performance. But then I also follow it with my oft-repeated refrain that … [Read more...] about My portfolio performance 2024
Complete List of Blog Posts
Why we can do better than professional investors
Stanley Druckenmiller regrets selling his NVIDIA position too soon. He said recently that he wished he had held on to his NVIDIA shares, but admitted he’s no Warren Buffett: “I don’t own things for 10 or 20 years. I wish I was Warren Buffett.” I admire his candid confession but … [Read more...] about Why we can do better than professional investors
If you wait for the robins
Over the last two years, too many people bailed out on stocks because they wanted to avoid a possible recession. Peter Lynch once said: “Far more money has been lost by investors trying to anticipate corrections, than lost in the corrections themselves.” Economic forecasts are … [Read more...] about If you wait for the robins
Should investors prefer dividend paying companies over others?
In a word, no. Why do I say that? In this post, I will share my thoughts on dividends payers. Across the universe of all publicly traded companies, I group them into three distinct buckets: (1) Companies that pay generous dividend today (>4%). Though they tend to have … [Read more...] about Should investors prefer dividend paying companies over others?
A low-cost way to invest in alternative assets
I found this book at a Costco book stand. I am not a Tony Robbins follower but a quick scan of it made me curious. So I borrowed a copy from my local library. This is not meant to be a book review though. For some good online reviews of the book, check these two links: here … [Read more...] about A low-cost way to invest in alternative assets
In defense of Musk’s pay package
Back in 2018, in a blog post here, I wrote this about Tesla CEO’s pay package: While I am not sure if Tesla could ever achieve all the stated performance goals – 10x market cap increase, 21x revenue increase, 15x EBITDA, all within ten years – even if Elon achieves some of … [Read more...] about In defense of Musk’s pay package
My magnificent six stocks
I just finished reading Semper Augustus’ 2023 shareholder letter. Chris Bloomstran, its well-known CIO, writes detailed annual letters. They are full of well-researched data and, while long, always make interesting read. This year’s letter was no different. About a half of it … [Read more...] about My magnificent six stocks
Amazon is now a 50-bagger for me
“Here’s how much you would have made in Amazon if you had invested $1000 ten years ago.” We often see such cheesy headlines in the financial press. So indulge me when I say this: It took 24 years for my first Amazon share purchase to become 50x its original cost. Unlike … [Read more...] about Amazon is now a 50-bagger for me
Year-end 2023 portfolio performance
What a difference a year makes! When I did my portfolio review for 2022, I was down by about a third in just one year, 12% worse performance than the S&P 500 index. Back then, I wrote that I lean toward an improving stock market in the following 12- to 24- months. Here we are … [Read more...] about Year-end 2023 portfolio performance
How can it be a bull market?
As I work on putting together my portfolio’s end-of-year performance review, I thought I’d drop a brief note on the state of the markets today. As of January 24th, the stock market has fully recovered from its 2022-23 drawdown (if we go by the S&P 500 price index). … [Read more...] about How can it be a bull market?