Solid though not spectacular 2010 for me

2010 draws to a close as I write this. There are only 2 trading days left so my current portfolio value is most likely close to what it will be when the trading year finally closes. 2011, here we come. But before that, let me close this year with a quick report and a snapshot of my performance on my Master Plan matrix.

Some highlights I would like to point out:

I had a record-breaking September where I gained P50,156 on the back of an 18.84% month growth. The biggest gains during this period came from my holdings in EDC, FPH, FGEN, AP and AEV. Of note is that all stocks I mentioned are essentially power plays.

I lost almost 10% in November, the month the market corrected. What made it painful was that I watched it all happen helplessly. What happened was exactly on the days the market started correcting, I was travelling from Kentucky back to the Philippines, returning from a business trip. That meant 36 hours of total travel time the way my schedule worked out if I counted the hours I spent at airports. Anyway, I could not trade on the exact hours the Philippine markets were open because I was flying. Plus, when I finally arrived in Cebu, I had to spend the remainder of my week in an off-site company activity which required total disconnection from the grid. Tracing the market action during the off-market hours, I watched helplessly as my stocks tumbled for five days. I could only start cutting my losses on the Monday of the following week. By then, a lot of the damage had been done.

Overall though, for the year, I am happy with my performance. Although a 2.65% monthly gain is below my informal target of 6%, my growth actually isn’t bad. Not spectacular, but still solid. I’ll take what I can for the year and just try to outdo myself in 2011.

Good luck to all of you as well and happy new trading year.