I wrote about my principal-protected investments in a February blog post (Market neutral investing). Those are only a tiny fraction of my portfolio. I only use them for my liquid capital—money that I might need in short order and therefore can’t be tied up in ordinary … [Read more...] about Careful with defined outcome investing
Cash
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
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
Benchmarking my portfolio against Yale’s endowment
I realize that this sounds silly. Individual investors and university endowments don’t play in the same league! Still there is no harm in studying other investors’ portfolios. Even those that are managed professionally. For perspective, current market value of Yale University’s … [Read more...] about Benchmarking my portfolio against Yale’s endowment
Get more out of your cash
Most of my capital is invested in stocks. You can see my portfolio here. I keep some cash as rainy-day fund and also for my dry-powder strategy. In today’s low-rate environment, cash does not return much. Short-duration CDs yield 1% to 1.5%. One-year treasury bonds return … [Read more...] about Get more out of your cash
I use cash as dry powder
Long-term investors face inevitable bear markets. Stocks may go down 20%, 30%, or occasionally even 40% - 50% before recovering. Bear markets last from six months to two years but it takes longer for stocks to recover to their previous peak prices. As an investor, I have gone … [Read more...] about I use cash as dry powder
What my portfolio contains today?
As you can see from the pie chart, about two-third of my portfolio is invested in stocks. Mostly in either individual stocks or stock index funds. I have some real-estate investments but they are about one-sixth of the portfolio. I keep some cash for my near-term needs and the … [Read more...] about What my portfolio contains today?