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
PublicCompanies
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
Who is afraid of a recession?
These days, there is a steady drumbeat in the financial media about an imminent economic recession in the country. I don’t have a position on whether one is inevitable. I try to only invest in quality businesses that can survive (and even thrive) in a recession. Like Chris Davis … [Read more...] about Who is afraid of a recession?
Mid-year dry powder update
As the S&P 500 swooned to a new low in late May, down 20% from its peak, I bought more shares. I have now nearly one-third of my dry powder cash invested in stocks. What did I buy? Here’s a list of all my stock purchases since this drawdown began late last year: In my … [Read more...] about Mid-year dry powder update
Long live Berkshire!
As I sat down this week to research for a new blog post, I read several news headlines on how Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) has outperformed the stock market this year so far. This motivated me to take a look at my own investing history with Berkshire. Berkshire and I go … [Read more...] about Long live Berkshire!
From Buffett’s letter
Warren Buffett’s annual shareholder letter came out last month. As usual, it was widely covered by the mainstream media and numerous financial analysts. There is not much I can add to what was already written about it in the press. Though there is this one minor angle on … [Read more...] about From Buffett’s letter
Ready for a 50% drop?
In May 2020 annual shareholder meeting, Warren Buffett said this: “You’ve got to be prepared when you buy a stock to have it go down 50% or more and be comfortable with it, as long as you’re comfortable with the holding.” He went on by pointing out that Berkshire Hathaway’s … [Read more...] about Ready for a 50% drop?
Keeping it simple, unlike Mr. Ackman
Bill Ackman is a well-known and widely followed hedge fund manager. During the Covid market selloff in early 2020, he made several billion dollars by timely moving in and out of the markets. First, he bought credit default swaps to hedge against panic in the bond market. That … [Read more...] about Keeping it simple, unlike Mr. Ackman
How my stocks did in 2021?
As promised in my last blog post, here’s a recap of my stock holdings’ performance in 2021. In this post, I will let the charts do most of the talking. For context, see this post for my year-end 2020 performance. For my one-year performance, see below chart. I underperformed … [Read more...] about How my stocks did in 2021?
My portfolio ten years ago
This post is a trip down the memory lane. Ten years ago (December 29, 2011, to be specific), I had a smaller investment portfolio that also looked much different. It sported more cash. It had more stock mutual funds than individual stocks. I still had some employer-granted stock … [Read more...] about My portfolio ten years ago