It's the time of the year when the streets in Singapore get really quiet as everyone starts their CNY celebrations at home.
The past few weeks have been hectic and I finally have the time to sit down today to gather some thoughts I have on investing and what has happened in this space of late.
For anyone who has followed my blog for long, you might have understood that I rarely make changes to my portfolio choices. I spent a considerable amount of time thinking about what my portfolio mix should be like in 2020, and have rarely had any changes ever since. I only rebalance on an annual basis, and let my portfolio run on its own.
If there is anything I learnt about investing in these few days, it will be that you really only need to do 2 things well for your investment to succeed.
One, you have to determine what is your risk level, what is your expected returns, and build a portfolio of uncorrelated assets that matches your profile. This should be the most time-intensive exercise in your investment journey. Building a whole portfolio consisting of just stocks in a single sector or territory is certainly no sound advice. It is gambling.
Two, you have to be patient and let your portfolio show its performance over time. From 2020 to 2022, my portfolio hardly makes any gains. It is only 2023 when my portfolio starts to show really good results. Had I given up in 2022, I could have been better off putting my money in government bonds.
And I think this is the part where most people really have difficulties with. Most people are always excited to find the next shining thing, and tweak their portfolio all too often. There isn't the patience to wait to see the results. There is a famous saying that goes "Investing should be more like watching paint dry or watching grass grow". I cannot concur more with that. In fact, I am begining to really feel it now.
Aside from the daily financial readings that I do, I hardly focus on buying or selling any stocks. I probably only do so maybe once a year. The rest of the time, I just let my portfolio do its magic. I now feel like I have a lot more time to do other things and focus on the important aspects of my life. Instead of looking at price charts, I spend more time exercising and staying healthy. I could really feel the quality of my life improving just by spending less time working on my investments.
Come to think of it. If our investments require us to spend a considerable amount of time, we are better off getting a second job. The whole point of investing is to let money work for you, and not the other way around.
Nowadays, I'm more concerned about the mega trends which are happening in the market. So far, I think the recent happenings have not changed my views about investing. Despite the China government signalling support for their stock market, I am still not convinced that China stocks are sound investment tools. And I am more convinced than ever that Bitcoin will be probably the best investment tool in the next 5 years given the recent developments in this space with the ETFs being approved.
Anyway, it's just a really random post on the eve of CNY. Let's appreciate the time spent with our family this holiday.
And maybe share my blog with your friends and relatives if you think it's useful for them :)
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