My 2022 Recap: Did Nothing!?

I was expecting a decline in my overall portfolio value (cash and cash equivalents excluding fixed assets) when I was tabulating the constituents of my investments using cash, CPF and SRS funds on equities, unit trusts and fixed income securities. As I have to extract information from various sources, I would only undertake the compilation at the beginning of every year to review my performance in the previous year.

Lo and behold! I’m pleasantly astonished that my portfolio value actually increased from a year ago when I had expected a reduction. I re-checked my Excel spreadsheet just to ensure that I had not summed erroneously. Nope, I had not mistaken a subtraction for an addition sign.

Even though my portfolio had grown by merely a single digit percentage, I’m still glad that it has prevailed over the market turbulence last year and managed to stay afloat in a falling tide.

I reckon that I must have done something right last year. However, I struggled to find what striking investment(s) I had made that hit the gold mine. Nothing!?

By staying invested on blue chips with strong fundamentals and sustainable dividends and making little changes to my portfolio, rather than falling prey to herd mentality, I managed to survive the market turmoil doing nothing much.

I’m a strong proponent of time in the market rather than timing the market, as I believe that the former will generate higher returns over time as the broad market emerges stronger after a crisis.

Our banking trio $DBS GROUP HOLDINGS LTD(D05.SI)$ , $OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORP(O39.SI)$ and $UNITED OVERSEAS BANK LIMITED(U11.SI)$ which collectively accounted for almost half my equity investments have been a saving grace, as their earnings improved with widening net interest margins on the back of rate hikes by central bankers around the globe to rein in surging inflation.

Cash is king and at times doing nothing may be the optimal strategy, especially in times of high market volatility. In fact, investments in risk-free assets now constitutes the highest proportion of my portfolio, as I hunt for the best bank deposit interest rates every month and increase my exposure on T-bills, building and preserving my war chest for the eventual bloodbaths in the stock market.

On a lighter note, I’m happy to have made a number of new Tiger friends on this platform last year, friends whom I could count on to advise me on issues with the app usage, like my posts and comments, and cheer for me (thank you for your cheers in the Tiger Football Season: Perfect Goals)!

Let’s look forward to pink of health, happiness and prosperity in 2023!

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