Feeling Great, Good and Bad about Investment Performance

"It's hard to make predictions, especially about the future." ~ Yogi Berra

Feeling Great

In 2019, I began trimming our equity investments due to the yield curve inversion, which historically has preceded a recession and bear market.   Admittedly, I missed out on some 2019 gains and early 2020 gains, but I experienced much less pain when the market crashed in March 2020.

As a result, I did not sell any stock holding during the bear market decline of March 2020.   We held every share down to the bottom.

Feeling Good

We bought some additional shares in late February and early March.  We did most of our buying up to March 23, 2020.     Some shares bottomed later in April and we bought those companies until then.

I sold many of the shares purchased near March 23 on the rebound,  after 15-25% gains, sometimes in less than a few days. 

Feeling Bad

I was expecting the decline to go further and the recovery to take longer.   Thus, I didn't buy large quantities.    I also didn't hold the shares long enough, missing out on 50, 100, and even 200% gains.

In addition, I avoided buying growth stocks that had fallen significantly, e.g. Shopify, Tesla , which I had owned before and sold.   Those stocks are now significantly higher than their pre-COVID hights.

In Conclusion

Overall, we did OK.   Our total investments are slightly above the beginning of the year, and are close to the all time high in February, 2020.   However, I still feel bad I missed out on the opportunity to buy more stocks that ended up doubling, tripling or even quadrupling their March 2020 low.

For more on  Reflections and Musings, check back Saturdays for a new segment.

This is not financial nor investment advice. Please consult a professional advisor.

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