10th year blogging anniversary

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April 2020 marks my 10th year anniversary of starting this blog. How time flies.


It felt amazing how I have survived the market and continued my blogging to date - it's no doubt a journey of ups and downs. A sincere thanks to all my readers who have accompanied me throughout the years, and fellow bloggers who have shared pearls of wisdom with me by commenting on my blog.


It isn't flattering to celebrate my 10th year of investing with a bloody red stock portfolio (due to the black swan event that unfolded too quickly for us to react). I was hoping I could boast some multi-baggers or a first bag of gold, but often, reality differs. That's life! Now I have learnt to take things in stride. Hind sight wisdom again, I might have also missed the boat of mega dip-buying in March as I was kind of expecting a dead-cat bounce. My current portfolio sits on a -6% (based on capital spent, excluding div yields), thankfully for the green marshal Mapletree Logistics Trust which gained 40%.


My biggest takeaway in my investment journey is learning how to deal with UNCERTAINTIES.
I have learn that

1)  winners would not stay as winners forever


10 years ago, the monopoly business Genting SP hit an all-time-high for its share price but who would have guessed that 10 years down the road it's trading at only 78c? If I am a 'koala' that just 'feed on 1 or 2 trees', what would happen? 

2) the highs can go higher and the lows can go lower


Look at Amazon, Google - their valuation and PE are outrageously high.

Look at Hutchison Port Holding Trust and Eagle Hospitality Trust - still can go lower, no?


3) the tide can turn (importance of foresight, be prepared for Black Swans)


In the presence of these uncertainties, we must learn to manage risks and let go of losers. 

We must diversify and harvest while the sun shines. We must be prepared for the time when the tide turns against us. We must know what factors are within our control and what are not.

On the other hand, we must also recognize that "growing too many trees in a small plot of land" could cause a performance drag / downfall (from execution lag) when crisis strikes. You risk getting your trees burnt together when there's a fire.


Another lesson is that one cannot learn what is investing really about without doing active investing. 

If I have been a buy-and-hold investor or a passive index investor (eg. just buy STI), I would not have as much fun nor discover as many shores as I did. It would have been darn boring to read a blog that simply repeats the same ideas and parroting the same concepts from some renown investors like Buffett or Lynch.

Sometimes I wished I know people in real life who share the same investing passion as me. No, there's not a single one that I know of. 

Nevertheless, it's been fun doing all these and getting to know other anon investment bloggers here.


What would I have advised my 10-year-younger self about investing if I could start over again?

Nothing. Cos I could have advised this whole blog's worth but my younger self will probably not listen.

It's the journey that matters. No matter what decisions made, we gotta keep learning, keep trying, keep failing and keep growing. 


There is no short-cut in life. We live for the process, not the end point.


No one can soar without putting in efforts


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An update on my US portfolio, P/L ytd:


There's much hopes around pushing up the prices, but volatility's not over.

In 2018, I have learnt what is taking losses in a bad way. In 2020, I am resolved not to repeat the same mistakes I have made in 2018 when the market zig-zags.

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Brain food:

The money printing machine is at work again.

This is foresight.

When I am done with my current readings, I will read the book.



"By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest."
― Confucius

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Comments

  1. Singapore Man of Leisure02/05/2020, 10:21

    Rainbow girl,

    Happy 10 year anniversary!

    Time pass pretty fast once we've left school...


    It's fun learning about ourselves and the markets, isn't it?

    Especially when your 10 years of experience is not 1st year experience times 10 ;)

    LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Rainbow03/05/2020, 23:01

      Hi SMOL,

      Thanks! I recalled we started blogging around the same time so 10th year anniversary to you too. :)

      Yup, hope for the next 10 years if I am still blogging it won't be 10 yrs experience x2 LOL. Don't know what kind of black swan might happen then.

      Delete

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