Last month, the S&P 500 Price index reached its previous high, making up for all the losses incurred in this bear market. That was my automatic trigger to sell some stocks and recoup dry powder cash. It turned out to be an unusually quick turn-around for a decline as steep as … [Read more...] about Three years of dry powder deployments
DryPowder
Risk-return analysis of my hedged stock positions
I have written about my dry powder investing several times before. I am not going to rehash all that stuff here. [You can check out all my previous Dry Powder related posts here.] Instead, in this post I will just focus on performance of my hedged stock positions where I keep … [Read more...] about Risk-return analysis of my hedged stock positions
Seeking wisdom in trying times
In my last post, I wrote that I have been buying stocks. Well, since then I continued buying stocks as the market dropped even further. At the time, I reported I had invested 60% of my dry powder cash. Today, I am 70% deployed. As the stock market fell 35% below its peak, I … [Read more...] about Seeking wisdom in trying times
Another weekend of worry
Barron’s magazine had its annual roundtable issue last week. This is where it gathers several high-profile investors and money managers around a table to discuss new year’s prospects for the economy and the stock market. There was much consternation about the next twelve … [Read more...] about Another weekend of worry
My gun is reloaded
In his 2010 shareholder letter, Warren Buffett wrote that his elephant gun had been reloaded, and his trigger finger was itchy. He was referring to Berkshire’s dry powder cash that was intended for major acquisitions. Extending the same metaphor, today I could say that my BB gun … [Read more...] about My gun is reloaded
A very short bear market?
I came across an interview that CNN’s Poppy Harlow did with Warren Buffett in September 2018. She said investors were worried about cracks showing in the U.S. economy after a long nine-year run. And then she asked if Buffett was worried about an imminent recession (4:50). To … [Read more...] about A very short bear market?
Market neutral investing
Last week, John Rekenthaler of Morningstar wrote an article on worst alternative investments of the decade. Market-neutral funds were among his top-five worst investments. Average annual return from the funds in this category was 0%. He wrote this, tongue in cheek: … … [Read more...] about Market neutral investing
Investing amid volatility: My 4Q update
What a quarter that was! The US stock market first reached a new high in October and then dropped 10%. It bounced around for a while. And then in late December, it dropped again—this time more than 15% off its peak. By some measures, it actually dropped 20% briefly (intra-day) … [Read more...] about Investing amid volatility: My 4Q update
Volatility is good for my investments
People fear double-digit stock market declines. I see them as opportunities. The US stock market has been more volatile lately. And my portfolio is better off because of this volatility. I just finished reading Nassim Taleb’s book Antifragile. He has got me thinking about my … [Read more...] about Volatility is good for my investments
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