“Stock market bubbles don’t grow out of thin air. They have a solid basis in reality, but reality distorted by a misconception.” – George Soros  I’ve never felt so lost investing these last few weeks. I’ve questioned my skill and I’ve questioned the viability of discretionary, active management as a personal career path. I’ve questioned […]

The novel coronavirus brought on stock market conditions I didn’t think I’d get to see. Along with violent markets came violent emotional responses.  After closing at 3,386.15 on February 19th 2020, the S&P 500 (GSPC) dropped 35% and hit a low of 2,191.86 on February 23rd, 2020.  Since then, the S&P 500 has rallied 35%, […]

I’ve taken a break from blogging throughout this bear market and subsequent bull. Not on purpose, I’m just very busy dealing with clients and my girlfriend moving in. I haven’t taken a break from managing my portfolio; in fact I’ve made a lot of changes I want to reflect on.  The coronavirus pandemic took everyone […]

I want to close out the decade with a brief update on Shaperfunds 2019 performance and predictions for the next decade.  In 2019 Shaperfunds generated a total return of 44.15% versus 33.07% for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (div incl.) and 26.14% for the Total World Stock Index.  My prediction for this next decade […]

I want to publish my financial plan so I can look back and reflect. Did the plan make sense? Did I stick to it? What worked and what didn’t? Maybe it will help my readers too. My objective is simple – To build my wealth efficiently. I’m not saving for anything in particular. My lifestyle […]

I feel immense gratitude. Not regret over the shares I trimmed along the way, or the large sale today. Time and time again, I was in the right place at the right time. The stars aligned. Mr. Market doesn’t owe me a thing, but this time he gave me a ching.

10/25/19 For the first ~3.3 quarters of 2019, Shaperfunds generated a total return of 28.40% versus 20.55% for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index and 16.96% for the Total World Stock Index.  Since the beginning of 2015, Shaperfunds generated a total return of 76.22% versus 61.83% for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index and 42.71% […]

January 9th, 2019 For the fourth quarter of 2018, Shaperfunds generated a total return of -7.32%, versus a -13.97% return for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index. The out-performance in the quarter was, in large part, due to the out-performance of the largest holding, Tesla Inc (TSLA), which was not always the case in 2018. […]

Return Since Inception, 12.31.14: 59.21% Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Div Adj Return Since 12.31.14: 52.38% Return YTD: 6.12% Vanguard S&P 500 ETF Div Adj Return YTD: 10.11% It was been a wonderful couple of years balancing my love for value investing with world changing technology. The style split works out to be about 50/50 of […]

I recently read Scott Galloway’s book, The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google. The book breaks down what it takes to become one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. It’s both fascinating and terrifying. We’ll skip the terrifying aspects for now. According to Professor Galloway’s research, several […]