Portfolio Returns: 99.3%
STI: 29.2%
Tracker: 25.6%
S&P 500: 13.35%
I believe returns should be correct this time round since Evan of Stock Cafe has taken care of the issue (thank you). My XIRR over ten years stands at 25.8% as of now, but I doubt this will carry on, long term.
Notable Transactions:
Complete disposal of Aoxin Q&M (again).
I had about 90,000 shares in Aoxin and applied for 300,000 in excess rights. I got 211,000, and sold all my shares at around 0.085. The rights were priced at 0.03. So it was a lot of money earned in a short while, nothing short of fool's gold.
As the prices of silver climb, I am disposing my holdings in Clifford Modern Living in a gentle fashion.
I initiated positions in Crocs and H&R Block. Unfortunately Crocs went up a bit too quickly and I have mixed feelings about buying more at this point of time.
***
I started investing at 36 years old. It didn't start off pretty. I was a natural saver, and I work very hard in my office. I took a lot of pride in my work ethic, and I believe that as a leader, one must lead by example, in every aspect.
In 2016, that belief all but came crashing down as I am denied promotion. I thought I deserved it, but no.I told myself that I need to get some control over my life. My investing journey begin.
It took another three years after that before I finally got it. I refuse to believe it until a colleague called me and said that the letter was on my table. After that phone call, I walked into the toilet and cried for a good 5 minutes.
It took my 12-13 years to finally get a promotion. I continued to work hard after that, believing that I need to give my best to express my gratitude to this section.
It didn't work out. In exactly 10 years, I am back at the same spot. I watched as someone else way less deserving (and motivated) is given the chance to fight for promotion. It is something that I will never understand. Why do I always have to fight tooth and nail for something I deserved all along, while others are gifted, their ways are paved, even when they expressed reluctance?
I am glad that overall my portfolio has done well... far better than my main work.
***
2025 has been a bitter sweet year. Despite OKP returning a good 300% this year, I sold most of my shares when my returns from it was at the 200-300% mark (my average price was 0.19$, had I held on, I would gain 600%). I don't just manage money for myself-- I also do it for my parents. I was afraid that the gains would be lost if I don't sell soon. How can I face my parents if I didn't sell them in time?
The years prior were not great. I couldn't believe such good fortune was happening to me.
If I had not sold, I probably could retire in a handful of years, confirm. Again, guilty conscience consumes me.
I also saw gains in stocks that I sold way too early, but I had reasons to do so then. My Central China positions burnt my appetite for holding companies that has too much. My experience with TTJ colored my perception about companies who are known to be OPMI-unfriendly (that was why I sold Centurion)
I always console myself: Hey, life could always be worse.
***
Mum's leg is finally turning for the better after her surgery, and her wounds has mostly heal. For that I am grateful.
***
Every time someone remarked that value investing is dead, earning multiples doesn't matter, it rang the alarm bells in my head. I looked at cash outflow in my portfolio and they are at the highest ever. Looking back in history, I observe that my cash inflow (i.e. I am buying stocks more than I sold) is highest when markets aren't doing so well.
Trust me, I am not a macro investor... I have always been bottom up in my approach.
Value investing ALWAYS works. You just have the wrong expectations. Periods where company valuations that are sky high and kept defying gravity, combined with heavy insider selling, will never last. Only in the stock market would people buy frantically when knowledgeable owners sell. Sanity is not a feature of the market, and I am glad for it. Otherwise, there would never be opportunities to buy cheap.
I find it mentally exhausting to buy those stocks in vogue... community chats revolved around topics defending the valuation, poking holes at bear thesis and bad news. They are on the constant look out for dark clouds in the sky.
I am not fond of investing this way-- I like downtrodden companies-- simply because of Walter Schloss's 3 strings to a bow idea.
Something good could happen to me.
A company that is too cheap could be privatized, or offered to taken private. A company sieged with problems could somehow resolved it (this is where my judgement is needed). Years of withholding dividends? Management could change policy. General market optimism (this year is a bit like that) could make investors look harder for bargains, and reprice these bargains accordingly.
I don't have to constantly look for good news. There are many good possibilities. I just need to be a realist about it.
In investing, it doesn't help to be a pessimist or an optimist. The realist buys from the pessimists and sells to the optimists..... like what The Intelligent Investor says.
I think the trick to investing is to stay consistent to a certain style, regardless what the flavor of the month (or year) is. As long as the valuation is reasonable, the right process will eventually lead to results, although results might not be immediate, which is the frustrating thing about investing.
