While the obvious benefit of an investment journal is having a record of past decisions, a less recognised, and perhaps more fascinating, advantage is how those written words might act as seeds, planted in our subconscious and subtly guiding our actions.
Three months ago, when I reviewed my portfolio, I ended the post with this sentence.
“However, if the rally continues and yields another 8-10% return, I might take some money off the table closer to the year-end.”
I had completely forgotten I had written that until I was checking my portfolio’s 9-month returns this morning.
It was intriguing to find that I had taken profit by selling some of my US counters last night and Singapore bank counters just hours earlier, before rediscovering my old note — almost as if my subconscious had remembered the plan.
This highlights the importance of being mindful of the messages we’re sending ourselves, even when we think we’ve forgotten them.
The fact that my US portfolio more than doubled in return over the past quarter compared to the first nine months strongly suggests market froth, even without formal valuation.
In such volatile market conditions, having a simple guide like selling when the portfolio hits a certain value helps me to be less influenced by my emotions.
The combined strong performance of my US holdings and the three Singapore banks — DBS Group (SGX: D05), OCBC Ltd (SGX: O39), and United Overseas Bank Ltd (SGX: U11) — has boosted my portfolio’s value by 10% since the last drawdown.
This gain was sufficient for me to take some profits. Here are the details of what I sold.
I divested approximately 10% of each of these holdings, representing less than 5% of my overall portfolio. Importantly, even after these sales, my portfolio value remains higher than at the end of last year, indicating I maintain a substantial market position.
I haven’t yet determined a specific use for the proceeds. Potential options include funding family holidays over the next few years, contributing to a 5-year COE extension in the future, or simply allocating them to general expenses.
Who knows, I may even redeploy a portion if the market retraces in the coming months.
It’s important to emphasise that this is not investment advice. My actions are based on my specific financial situation, risk tolerance, and investment goals. I’m not a financial advisor, and I encourage everyone to do their own independent research and seek professional advice (if needed) before making any investment decisions.
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