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As this the last e-mail you will get for me this year, I would like to wish you happy holidays, hopefully a few relaxed days, and a good start 2023.
Your biggest questions about 2023
In the first e-mail next year I want to answer your questions, worries and fears in terms of investing next year.
Please let me know what is on your mind.
2022 was a difficult year
I'm sure I don't need to tell you but 2022 was a difficult year for us all.
At the moment my portfolio is down 5.7% with 29% in cash. I am quite happy considering what has been happening in the markets.
I hope your losses, if any, has been small.
If you look at How the indices have performed over the past year, it doesn't look bad:
- the S&P 500 is down 16.4%
- the European STOXX 600 index is down 17.6%
- and the MSCI World index (in USD) is down 17.6%
But as you know there were wilder movements than that.
Below the 200 day simple moving average
As most markets have moved below their 200 day simple moving average, be careful. Don't put too much capital to work as there's still a chance of high volatility.
What am I doing in my portfolio
I'm not planning on doing much.
I am watching my stop loss levels and may reduce my larger oil and gas investments, to bring the position size down a bit.
I have sold my large loss-making positions to make maximum use off the tax benefit. I hope you've done the same, if not there's still a few days to speak to your tax advisor and get this done.
Expanding my buy list
There are still few companies I'm going to research to expand my buy list.
If you haven't started building your buy list, it is something you may want to do if you have a few days off. As you know markets can turn around quickly and it's always better to have a list of companies you want to buy when they do.
Ideas in the newsletter
We are of course also working hard to get the newsletter ideas finalised to send them to you on the 10th of January. This is a bit later than normal because of the holidays.
I hope the indices move above the 200 day moving average again as there are few really interesting companies we found. Including two really cheap small UK companies as well as two Japanese companies with a market value less than the cash on their balance sheets.
Two mind game ideas
No long mind game part in this e-mail, it is already too long…
But I want to leave you with two interesting ideas to think about.
Idea #1
Every past market decline looks like an opportunity and every future decline looks like a risk.
This is exactly what I'm thinking at the moment.
I am kicking myself about how I didn't get in early after the financial and Corona crises turn around but now, I am worried about how much further the market can fall.
Idea #2
We can afford to NOT be a great investor. But we can’t afford to be a bad investor.
The easiest way to spot a bad investor is somebody without a plan.
- He blindly follows what is working in the market at the moment
- She doesn't know what strategies have worked in the past and will work in future
- He doesn't know there's no such thing as a best strategy
- She doesn't know there's no such thing as a best investment idea
- He doesn't know that a strategy to keep his losses low has nothing to do with returns, but to keep him invested over the long term
- She doesn't know that the best thing she can do is to find a good investment strategy that fits her nature and that she can stick with over the long term - THIS is the most important requirement to becoming a great investor!
Thanks for your time
Thank you for the time you spend reading my emails this year. I truly hope I've given you a few ideas that can really help your investment returns.
If I have, I would love to hear how I helped you – just hit reply.
Your analyst wishing you a few relaxed days after a wild investment year.
PS I know markets are still uncertain BUT have you already started building your buy list? If not, why not sign up today and start right now.
PPS It is so easy to why don’t you sign up right now?
