I hadn’t been researching or writing about investing for quite a while, as shown by the complete lack of posts for the past half-year on this blog. A sudden intensification of project activity at work, the poor investing climate in general, and the trauma of watching my biggest position disintegrate in particular, have all conspired to keep me from writing. However, things have taken a turn for the better recently. The crunch at work has abated (somewhat), the pain of my investing misadventure has (almost) faded, and it now appears that there is a decent chance that the recession will be mild. Most importantly, I have decided that the solution to my investing problems is not to bury my head in the sand, but rather to work harder, and correct past mistakes.
The past few months have shown me the value of diversification. While my financial companies have crumbled, stocks which have increasing international exposure (WMT and DELL) or are linked to commodities (e.g TX and MEOH) have done better. I had previously tried to limit my portfolio to only 10 positions, believing that 10 well-researched positions are better than a more diversified portfolio. However, it is apparent that I am perhaps not good enough to run such a concentrated portfolio just yet. In the near future, I expect to step up on stock research and expand my portfolio to 20-25 stocks. I will also begin to blog more frequently, including even stocks that I take a pass on, and reviews of investing books I like, as well as my general thoughts on investment.
Writing helps me think better. Hopefully, writing will help me invest better too.
