2026 Q1 Portfolio Update: Three straight months of negative returns resulting in -5.67% YTD

It has been a really long time since I see three consecutive months of negative returns in my portfolio. Given the turmoil created by the war, I guess it is little surprise that I'm seeing negative returns by the end of Q1

2026 Q1 markets essentially played out in two phases relative to the US–Iran war timeline: a relatively stable start, followed by a sharp geopolitical shock late in the quarter. The conflict began on 28 Feb 2026 with U.S.–Israel strikes , and while equities were initially resilient, the escalation through March triggered an oil spike, rising inflation expectations, and increased volatility across stocks, bonds, and credit . By quarter-end, the S&P 500 had fallen roughly ~5% for Q1, with most of the drawdown concentrated after the war intensified . In short, markets started the quarter pricing rate cuts and AI-driven growth, but ended it repricing for an energy shock and geopolitical risk premium, with the Iran war dominating sentiment in the final weeks.

Here is an overview of my portfolio's performance.

2026 Performance YTD

My Portfolio: -5.67%

Vanguard 500 Index: -4.37%

Performance since inception (Jan 2021)

My Portfolio: 75.5%

Vanguard 500 Index: 85.8%

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

My portfolio now trails the Vanguard 500 Index by ~10% over a 63 months period.

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) 

All constituents of my portfolio have a negative return YTD except for Shell (which is expected with oil prices hitting record), with Bitcoin being the biggest drag in my portfolio this year. As of now, Bitcoin is currently 49% off the ATH and has experienced significant volatility (more downwards) in 2026. This is likely a blip and I do maintain the conviction that we will expect huge upside from this asset when held long term.

BRK.B has also been a little of an underperforming asset over a one year period as the return in this corresponding period is around -8%. The drop from ATH was triggered when Warren Buffett announced his retirement and the stock hasn't been really recovering since. Given that BRK.B has a signficant portion (28% of my portfolio), this is now also a drag. However, I remain convinced that this is a valuable asset to hold and I'm looking to accumulate even more in 2027.

For the rest of the constituents of my portfolio like MCHI, BABA and ARKG, I will begin to look at even further reducing it in 2027 and beyond.

If you are looking for the full breakdown of my portfolio, here it is.

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

As we navigate into Q2, I don't expect that I will make any significant changes. The whole point of investing is to be as passive as possible and I will like to keep my portfolio intact as much as possible and let compounding does its magic.

I will be sharing more content in my Telegram channel. 270+ like-minded investors have already joined this channel. Do join if you are interested.