The year 2025 is in the books. As I’ve done in the past years, this is my annual review post for the year. How did my stock portfolio do in 2025? And more importantly, how it affected my ten-year performance, which is where I tend to focus. Note that the following analysis … [Read more...] about Portfolio Performance 2025
My Investment Portfolio
What's in my portfolio and why
Ignore your cost bases
As the stock market rose to a new high this month, it was time to divest what I had invested during the brief April downturn. I raise cash when stocks are reaching new highs and invest in them when they go down (my dry powder investing). As I considered what to sell, I noticed … [Read more...] about Ignore your cost bases
My portfolio performance 2024
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
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
On my portfolio concentration
The S&P 500 is a popular index among US investors who prefer hands-off dollar cost averaging way to invest in stocks. It is a market cap weighted index which is perhaps the most suitable form of an index for passive investing. Why? Because it does not require any rebalancing … [Read more...] about On my portfolio concentration
Where is the market headed next?
The S&P 500 index reached its peak in January 2022 and then proceeded to fall through most of the remaining year. By June 2022, it had dropped 20% below its peak and thus officially entered a bear market. From there it went on to further decline, eventually reaching a bottom … [Read more...] about Where is the market headed next?
Year-end 2022 portfolio performance
I am back with my first post of 2023. In case you were wondering, no I didn’t abandon my stock investments on account of a disappointing 2022. If anything, I was buying more shares throughout last year as stocks went downhill. Here’s a recap of how my stocks performed in … [Read more...] about Year-end 2022 portfolio performance
Near-term returns versus long-term
I admit that my stock portfolio is not doing well this year. Nearly all my major holdings are down by double digits. More than half are down by a third or more. Five are down by 50%. My top 25 holdings make up vast majority of my stock portfolio – about 88% of it. Here is the … [Read more...] about Near-term returns versus long-term
Better to be too early than too late
Stocks went down again in September, this time dropping below the June lows. Year to date, the S&P 500 index is down by about -24%. It is a veritable bear market indeed. In response to the S&P 500 touching new lows, I invested more of my dry powder cash at bargain … [Read more...] about Better to be too early than too late
More stock buys in June
Ken Fisher (founder/CEO of Fisher Investments) recently asked this on Twitter: Is the amount of ink and time spent on [this] “Bear Market” relative to the total time down below -20%—bullish or bearish? He was referring to that short period of time in June-July (about a … [Read more...] about More stock buys in June