My most memorable investment in the first quarter would be my purchase of the Singapore bank stocks, DBS, UOB, and OCBC.
At a time when the market was bullish on bank stocks, I opened positions in all 3 banks. Similar to many people, I received the advicethat bank stocks will not lose, and I believedthat in the long term, these investments would lead to gains. So I focused my entire portfolio on these stocks.
However, the early bearishness of these stocks were quickly erased when bank stocks went on a bullish path soon afterwards. Not only did my early gains get wiped out, but I am in the red on bank stocks right now.
From this, I learnt the importance of diversifying my portfolio. Putting everything into any single sector, even presumably strong sectors like finance, may lead to overall gains in the long term. In the mid term, however, there could be losses. When developments occur that affect the whole industry, your entire portfolio might rise, but your entire portfoliomay also fall.
So I come back to the advice that many seasoned investors and professionals give: always diversify your portfolio. This will be my investment plan for the rest of 2022: to partially close some of my bank positions so that I can purchase stocks in other sectors. It might hurt to sell in the red in the short term, but it can be a sound choice in the long term.
Even though I have sustained some losses, I've also learnt, firsthand, a sound investmentprinciple. I hope that others can learn from my experience, too.
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