It looks like I am going to be about flat to down in my portfolios this year. As of today, I am down 1%. Even though I sat out most of the Energy disaster, the few forays that I did hurt my portfolio performance. I did bet in media rebound (DISCK, SNI, LMCA) and that did not turn out well either (I did take some profits in LMCA).
Some of my real estate sector investments worked out OK (LAACZ , QUCT and MNPP, all OTC stocks), financials did OK (but I don't own many) and industrials got clobbered.
The market has become narrower , which means that fewer stocks carry the market, while more stocks wither away and underperform. This is usually not considered a healthy market, but it does provide opportunities for to buy value stocks (or value trap stocks).
Towards the end of the year, I did put a significant amount of funds into pipeline stocks (MLPs and taxable companies) and it looks like I started to buy too early. I do think that this sector presents a good opportunity. I also think that the junk bond market presents some opportunity; mindless selling typically provides opportunities for the cool headed, but then again there is a risk for the cool headed to be run over buy a mindless cattle stampede.
Frohe Weihnachten for everyone and a hopefully prosperous new year! |
