2026 H1 Portfolio Update: Big Lag Behind Big Tech in 2026

The first half of 2026 is hardly inspiring for my portfolio.

While the index continue to make new highs as the AI narrative continues to dominate the market, my portfolio has taken a little setback.

By the end of H1, it is -3.19%. This might not sound so bad. But when you compare it against the index which has a return of +10% by the end of H1, a negative return on your portfolio doesn't seem so small anymore.

In the first half of 2026, my portfolio is trailing 13% behind the index.

Here is an overview of the performance.

2026 Performance YTD

My Portfolio: -3.19%

Vanguard 500 Index: 10.09%

Performance since inception (Jan 2021)

My Portfolio: 80.1%

Vanguard 500 Index: 113.9%

(Based on an arbitrary starting amount of $10,000)

My portfolio has now trailed behind the index for the last 8 months.

Much of this laggy performance is due to the dismal returns of BRK.B and Bitcoin. For most of the first six months of 2026, BRK.B was underwater. Needless to say, the situation for Bitcoin was even worse with a >30% decline in the same period. With BRK.B and Bitcoin forming more than 40% of my portfolio, they certainly have a drag effect on my portfolio.

China tech market was also in shatters with the iShares Core MSCI China ETF having a -15% decline. This came as no surprise as two of their biggest holdings, Tencent and Alibaba, have a decline of -30% and -36% respectively. As I have already begun to trim my stakes in China tech equities over the past few years, this decline has minimal impact to my portfolio. I will also probably further trim down the stake in the coming years.

I still remain an advocate of the Bitcoin despite the higher than usual volatility (mostly downwards) in the recent months. It should give my portfolio a positive lift in the next few years, and I will probably be inclined to also trim my stake in Bitcoin then.

For an overview of the YTD performance of the constituents in my portfolio, refer to the below table.

(Source: https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio#analysisResults) 

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