Easy Gains of 2009 My Arse
It seems every commentator and his dog is now referring to ‘the easy gains of 2009‘. Easy gains my arse! I can’t help but wonder if they were investing in some parallel universe or invested at all. Perhaps their memories are even worse than mine, which would mean non-existence.
Gains in 2009 were not easy. The gains came from gut wrenching buys. It’s lucky I have a rubbish bin beside my desk as I threw up a couple times after buying stocks in late 2008 and early 2009! Buying when everyone was screaming about the great depression 2.0 was not easy. Buying when the fundamentals were deteriorating so quickly and no floor was in sight was not easy. There was nothing easy about this year.
Anyway moving on, I simply wanted to say a big thank you to all readers and especially to the minority of you who have taken the time to leave your thoughts. Thank you all. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a 2010 full of fun, happiness, love and some easy gains.
My hat tip for 2009 goes to Sir John Templeton. His time-tested maxims guided me through the first quarter of 2009. Of Templeton’s 22 maxims, four were of the utmost importance this year.
4. The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy, and the time of maximum optimism is the best time to sell.
5. To put “Maxim 4″ in somewhat different terms, in the stock market the only way to get a bargain is to buy what most investors are selling.
6. To buy when others are despondently selling and to sell when others are greedily buying requires the greatest fortitude, even while offering the greatest reward.
7. Bear markets have always been temporary. Share prices turn upward from one to twelve months before the bottom of the business cycle.
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Dean
Quite agree that Jan/Feb/Mar were tough, but having made the decision to trade rather than sit on your hands, you must have derived some sense of satisfaction on what has happened over the last 9 months. In the early part of the year I saw my SMSF (mainly blue chips)had dropped by about 50%. Although not resorting to the bucket, I took a leap of faith and decided to exit the heavweights and purchase quality small caps that I had always thought were a bit dear, but which had dropped 80-85%. In hindsight, risk was probably high but timing was good. Coming off a low base, these small caps have nearly wrighted the ship. I hope the latter part of the year has done the same for you.
Here’s to a more normal 2010.
Regards
West Wind
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