The Castaway’s 2021 Log and 3 Investing Goals for 2022
It’s that exciting time of year after taking stock of 2021. Hopefully, we’re all a little wiser and still motivated to improve and set up new investing goals. Markets-wise, 2021 was probably a better year than 2020 for most. There was no massive drawdown at the beginning of the year, and fiscal and monetary policies were accommodative and in sync through most of the year.
Still, there is room for improvement. I have spent the past couple of weeks reviewing my performance, trades, and journal entries from last year to better understand what went right, where I messed up, and how I can do it better in 2022. Hopefully, sharing this exercise can inspire and motivate you to consider similar practices.
An Update on the Macro Thesis for Investing in Turkey and Two Blue-Chip Stocks to Consider
About six months ago, I introduced the idea of investing in Turkey. Unfortunately, it was not and still is not the ideal home for capital. The perception of politics is foggy, currency depreciation appears to be accelerating, and the sentiment is lackluster at best.
Emerging Markets are an Opportunity Set, Not an Asset Class
I am stepping back to do a quick survey of the broader Emerging Markets (EM) space. The broad EM index has dramatically underperformed as compared to developed markets for the last decade.
Technical Analysis: An Important Tool for Value Investors
Between 2012 and 2014 I had been researching small oil and gas companies throughout Africa, Latin America and the Middle East and had assembled a basket of stocks and bonds issued by low-cost producers in those regions. Oil had started coming off the highs in the earlier part of 2014, but my analysis had shown that even under much lower oil prices, these companies were able to generate sufficient cash flow to pay an attractive return to the bonds or stocks owned. Despite taking unrealized losses on the positions through the year, I had the conviction that they would turn around based on my analysis of the fundamentals.
