Investing General Discussion

The_Black_Log Foler

PalsCo CEO - Stock Pals | Pantheon Pals
<Gold Donor>
46,393
42,167
We havent checked in ARKK lately. It's only down about 25% ytd. Kathie killing it.
My advisor fully exited my ARKK position at last months rebalance.

lil life update on my advisor managed portfolio for yall. Was a green exit but mediocre at best.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
6,857
35,816
I love that you always put big picture and the macro of it all in perspective. It also connects perfectly with how you trade and view the market.

just a few questions:

1.) if you don’t mind sharing what is your annual return compared to S&P or just in general? Do you shoot for dollars or percent or is it just a hobby? Basically what are your goals
2.) I may not be reading the chart or colors correctly but you marked X% over 200D but the chart puts the marker way above X% of the 200D. What am I missing?
1. I shoot for dollars as I still have never found a merchant who will let me buy things for percents. I have made living full time doing this since 2015. I started trading in 1999

2. The chart is weekly chart not daily
 
  • 3Like
Reactions: 2 users

Rangoth

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,691
1,835
Thanks for the response and both answer make sense. It’s a good perspective to consider.

I would absolutely quit my job if I could make what I make now(plus health insurance, a contribution to 401k, etc) but I am not there yet. You raise a good point though, if I magically had 5 million in my account my brain doesn’t think spend. It thinks roll SPY for 200k a year and never worry again.

for others, I posted about this in the retard investing thread but it was my biggest emotional/mental hurdle to get over. I am fairly conservative with risk so my problem was that I’d be up 10% which is awesome, but on a 10-20k bet that’s 1-2k which is less than a single paycheck(not bragging but stating for reference).
So my brain tells me, don’t settle for that, you’ll make it next week!

it took me a lot of training and time to realize that 10% was great. Take it and move on.
 

Cad

scientia potentia est
<Bronze Donator>
25,005
47,074
1. I shoot for dollars as I still have never found a merchant who will let me buy things for percents. I have made living full time doing this since 2015. I started trading in 1999

2. The chart is weekly chart not daily
The answer to 1 is a bit evasive though. Who cares what your dollars are because you could be making $10/trade or $10M/trade.

What percent of your trading portfolio did you make in 2023, for example? VTI made 26.05% in 2023, for example. What'd you make?

None of us will know if you're lying so you don't need to worry.
 

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
6,857
35,816
The answer to 1 is a bit evasive though. Who cares what your dollars are because you could be making $10/trade or $10M/trade.

What percent of your trading portfolio did you make in 2023, for example? VTI made 26.05% in 2023, for example. What'd you make?

None of us will know if you're lying so you don't need to worry.
I am not at your beck and call, am I defending some boastful claim?
If you are genuinely asking then try it without being an asshole.
 
  • 1Worf
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 users

The_Black_Log Foler

PalsCo CEO - Stock Pals | Pantheon Pals
<Gold Donor>
46,393
42,167
The answer to 1 is a bit evasive though. Who cares what your dollars are because you could be making $10/trade or $10M/trade.

What percent of your trading portfolio did you make in 2023, for example? VTI made 26.05% in 2023, for example. What'd you make?

None of us will know if you're lying so you don't need to worry.
Find some chill or head elsewhere..
 

Zzen

Potato del Grande
2,830
3,438
Basically Cad rn:



I guess it's true what they say about money not being able to buy class lol
 
  • 2Worf
Reactions: 1 users

Rod-138

Trakanon Raider
1,170
942
I don’t know if I disagree with Blazin’s chart analysis, but the stats on black swan events say we’ve been fucked harder than most average generations. (Maybe we deserve it bc we’ve also had great growth.) my point is that you don’t get there without some fairly serious shit going down and while those things historically always happen, they have not been as common until recently. (2000-current)

2001 was a tech bust / 911 combo. 2008 collapse was a total loss in confidence in the entire financial system more or less, so that’s a tier 3 black swan along with Covid, the fear of the entire world potentially being out of business.

Obviously, these things happen and will happen again and again, because humans naturally push the boundaries with financial opportunity and ultimately fuck it up, but it’s also possible we learn a little something and avoid the full blown event.

Tier 2 is probably a war or natural disaster while T1 is a normal fear of market conditions.

The US has lots of issues and you can make up all kinds of scenarios that these things go down, so the point is valid on the loss potential because it’s definitely real, but if you stretch it out far enough, then you get a few less ‘black swans’ and hopefully that’s closer to the truth than the last 20 years.

While I type this I think of all the ways we could lose total confidence in the financial system again and I lose the little gusto I had
 

Loser Araysar

Chief Russia Correspondent / Stock Pals CEO
<Gold Donor>
78,864
156,722
Basically Cad rn:



I guess it's true what they say about money not being able to buy class lol


I bought him about 2500 Tucobucks worth of class along with a book recommendation
 
  • 1Solidarity
Reactions: 1 user

Gravel

Mr. Poopybutthole
38,350
124,192
I don’t know if I disagree with Blazin’s chart analysis, but the stats on black swan events say we’ve been fucked harder than most average generations. (Maybe we deserve it bc we’ve also had great growth.) my point is that you don’t get there without some fairly serious shit going down and while those things historically always happen, they have not been as common until recently. (2000-current)

2001 was a tech bust / 911 combo. 2008 collapse was a total loss in confidence in the entire financial system more or less, so that’s a tier 3 black swan along with Covid, the fear of the entire world potentially being out of business.

Obviously, these things happen and will happen again and again, because humans naturally push the boundaries with financial opportunity and ultimately fuck it up, but it’s also possible we learn a little something and avoid the full blown event.

Tier 2 is probably a war or natural disaster while T1 is a normal fear of market conditions.

The US has lots of issues and you can make up all kinds of scenarios that these things go down, so the point is valid on the loss potential because it’s definitely real, but if you stretch it out far enough, then you get a few less ‘black swans’ and hopefully that’s closer to the truth than the last 20 years.

While I type this I think of all the ways we could lose total confidence in the financial system again and I lose the little gusto I had
The data doesn't actually support this. Maybe it just feels abnormal, but we're basically within the average range.

This is one of my favorite financial websites:


Pick any date range as your start from the 90's through 00's and we're either below average or slightly above.
 
  • 2Like
Reactions: 1 users

Jysin

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,411
4,283
As someone who has been LT investing since ~2000, I can confirm I have seen my share of scares, but simple DCA into those positions has also allowed me to take advantage of the rips back to highs. I don't feel hard done by whatsoever. I think those that are most vocal about it have either sat on the sidelines or avoided investing altogether and markets have ripped right on by. There is always money to be made.

Gravel Gravel situation (retiring amidst some market volatility) definitely has room for caution. For the rest of us with longer time horizons, you would be best to just keep plugging away at DCA and forget you have the IRA / 401k.
 
  • 3Like
Reactions: 2 users

Jysin

Ahn'Qiraj Raider
6,411
4,283
Futures jumping on this report but I don't see it as "great". Continuing claims not falling.
I look at it in context of days and days worth of bad news and relentless emotional selling. Any little reprieve of "not as bad as expected" news (jobless #s) can give the market a chance to breathe and reassess. Is it "the bottom"? Who knows? But we are overextended to the downside on the daily and right into some big support. This is why I was buying more near the close last night (After Monday's low buys).

Gotta keep an eye on the situation though. I wont let this turn against me. If we want to break overnight lows, I'd imagine a wave more panic to get us to Monday lows.
 
  • 1Like
Reactions: 1 user

Blazin

Creative Title
<Nazi Janitors>
6,857
35,816
The answer to 1 is a bit evasive though. Who cares what your dollars are because you could be making $10/trade or $10M/trade.

What percent of your trading portfolio did you make in 2023, for example? VTI made 26.05% in 2023, for example. What'd you make?

None of us will know if you're lying so you don't need to worry.

I don't think in percent I don't track them, I don't care. That's the truth of it do what you will. That is not something I've seen in full time traders I've spoken with ( Jysin Jysin do you set your goals by percent?) People who make their living using other people's money, now those people talk about it all the time because they are competing with your other options. So if I've given you wrong impression, I'm not interested in managing your money Cad :D.

Now it's a legitimate question to say "Why don't you think in percent" , for me its an idea that sounds good in theory but doesn't hold up the nuance of RL at least for me. All I can speak to is what I do, I don't really spend my time thinking about what others should be doing. Every year I set a dollar goal that meets my families needs and wants within the bounds of our risk tolerance. Let's say I have a good spring then take the entire summer off how would you have me handle that?

Priority #1 protect capital
Priority #2 Seek a good return for the risk taken

How do you determine the denominator? If I choose to not invest cash is that being calculated or not, you don't measure your VTI performance by including your net worth not in it. For the period I am in the market I'm pretty confident that I'm well ahead of it.

I did calculate % the best I could and posted to this forum my percent return for almost 20 years of returns, its in the thread but again that will include periods where I simply wasn't putting capital in harms way.

If I assume you aren't just being an asshole I'd guess your angle is "Why not just invest in the market and be done?" I think I'd have that perspective with a salary (Current Wage Income) and to me that makes sense. I have achieved some of my major life goals, I have the home the land I want, my wife is happy. I don't want for much else. I make the amount of money I need and I do it as efficiently as I can. The beta of the market is not something I'm willing to expose my entire livelihood to. I manage risk, I've made a few million, is it some super impressive % return compared to the market, I don't know I doubt it, the market has put up some pretty impressive numbers over the period. I have made it by just consistently grinding it out. I have very rarely been red. That's my win.

And I don't think I have ever given any other advice to others besides dollar cost avg into a broad index. I'm pretty confident in my ability to make a good beta adjusted return and that's what I'll continue to focus on.

My assets are far messier than you looking at a 401k which is usually rather straightforward. I use capital to buy SPY I use it to buy a tractor, sometimes I'm saving it to buy land etc (and thus obviously won't expose it to a potential 50% decline) It would be like asking why don't you include your Au pair cost against your VTI performance.

I made $154,592.46 last year, should I include dividends/interest? I don't know you didn't lay out the rules of this contest I'm in. If I include passive gain I made $191,275. I had and used capital varying from $800k to $1100 to do that, I had two red months ($20,251.76) Sept and ($7,811.91) Oct. My best month was Nov $51,269.76. Now how much did I use to make that Nov gain, surprisingly little and to me that's the managing risk part. Probably 10% return on invested capital that month. Waiting for a play and taking it.

We have had this discussion so many times I'm starting to really feel like an old man repeating myself. You're probably wealthier than me and if you still have a healthy income it makes more sense to not fear the impact of a significant drawdown and the loss of time for it to recover but that does not work for me at this time. What could I do if I was a horse out of the barn? I honestly don't know, I do wonder at times and would enjoy the challenge of that but it's not my reality. Building my homestead sucked about a million of my liquid capital if I can get back to a safe buffer I may get to enjoy a period down the line where I can more cleanly just invest a sum of money for pure performance with less capital preservation concerns.
 
  • 7Like
Reactions: 6 users