Fascinating read in this thread! Thanks to all those who have contributed.
Thought I'd share my experience in the hopes it may benefit others with a similar mindset to my own.
I've been investing in the stock market here, the US and a little dabbles elsewhere for 16yrs. I have always enjoyed it and still do, but have recently come to the realisation that in spite of this, my results speak for themselves - I allow too much emotion to control my actions to perform well in the long term. Some of the posts from China are downright scary (no offence intended) and are exactly how I have felt and acted over past years.
Despite my enjoyment of the market, and track record in picking a lot of good stocks - I have also made just as many poor decisions which have basically resulted in my portfolio treading water for many years. This realisation in addition to the fact that more important focuses in life have emerged have made me acknowledge this and do something about it.
I have embarked on a new strategy in recent months of selling down my various holdings and investing it in LIC's/'funds' with good track records. In these vehicles I will reinvest all dividends, as well as make additional monthly contributions from cash injection as well as leverage.
My strategy is based on carrying this out until 2031 at which point I will assess the position in relation to my other assets with the intention of an active retirement. Even with below average returns; I feel the time frame as well as the additional monthly contributions (which will increase with each passing year) will add up to a nice amount at the target date.
I plan on holding this small collection of funds (at the moment all ASX listed but this may change) and little to no direct companies anymore. I still hold a few residual stocks which at some future point will probably be sold down to contribute more into the funds.
After looking through the available options and ruling out the vast majority one by one due to my personal beliefs of the investment strategies of the managers, I have whittled it down to two main vehicles to date:
Platinum Capital Ltd (PMC) - average annual return since inception of 13.2%, last 10yrs 9.2%. Invested in similar lines to the Platinum International Fund. I really believe in the approach of Kerr and his team and find them extremely insightful. (for those interested, there's always a lot of great insight on their Journal)
Magellan Global Equities Fund(MFG) - newly listed, but will mirror the existing Magellan Global Fund - average annual return since inception 12.3%
I will continue to evaluate new funds as they appear (definitely a fast developing market at the moment) and I'm aware that past results in no way guarantee future performance. There will be some serious market crashes in my time frame - but riding them out, I feel selecting well themed (imo) investment thesis/managers will result in better returns than the market indices which is why I favour my chosen vehicles over index based funds such as Vanguard.
I am firmly in favour to date of the above international focused funds, I don't think Australia will perform brilliantly over next few years compared to other markets/stories worldwide (though I would love to be proven wrong on this note for my other interests outside the market). I do have smaller holdings in CTN, PIC (also new, but based on Perpetuals good track record) and WAX - but I don't plan on contributing more to these at present. I'll hold and re-invest all dividends as these particular funds for the most part are focused on smaller cap, high growth companies which over the long term should also perform well.
I feel for me this is the right strategy moving forward, and I think that's what each investor needs to work out for themselves. If you don't have the stomach/emotional capability of riding the highs and lows of individual stocks, then don't do it. Be brutally honest with yourself (which is not easy), ignore the temptations (and there are plenty) and find what will work for you.
Thought I'd share my experience in the hopes it may benefit others with a similar mindset to my own.
I've been investing in the stock market here, the US and a little dabbles elsewhere for 16yrs. I have always enjoyed it and still do, but have recently come to the realisation that in spite of this, my results speak for themselves - I allow too much emotion to control my actions to perform well in the long term. Some of the posts from China are downright scary (no offence intended) and are exactly how I have felt and acted over past years.
Despite my enjoyment of the market, and track record in picking a lot of good stocks - I have also made just as many poor decisions which have basically resulted in my portfolio treading water for many years. This realisation in addition to the fact that more important focuses in life have emerged have made me acknowledge this and do something about it.
I have embarked on a new strategy in recent months of selling down my various holdings and investing it in LIC's/'funds' with good track records. In these vehicles I will reinvest all dividends, as well as make additional monthly contributions from cash injection as well as leverage.
My strategy is based on carrying this out until 2031 at which point I will assess the position in relation to my other assets with the intention of an active retirement. Even with below average returns; I feel the time frame as well as the additional monthly contributions (which will increase with each passing year) will add up to a nice amount at the target date.
I plan on holding this small collection of funds (at the moment all ASX listed but this may change) and little to no direct companies anymore. I still hold a few residual stocks which at some future point will probably be sold down to contribute more into the funds.
After looking through the available options and ruling out the vast majority one by one due to my personal beliefs of the investment strategies of the managers, I have whittled it down to two main vehicles to date:
Platinum Capital Ltd (PMC) - average annual return since inception of 13.2%, last 10yrs 9.2%. Invested in similar lines to the Platinum International Fund. I really believe in the approach of Kerr and his team and find them extremely insightful. (for those interested, there's always a lot of great insight on their Journal)
Magellan Global Equities Fund(MFG) - newly listed, but will mirror the existing Magellan Global Fund - average annual return since inception 12.3%
I will continue to evaluate new funds as they appear (definitely a fast developing market at the moment) and I'm aware that past results in no way guarantee future performance. There will be some serious market crashes in my time frame - but riding them out, I feel selecting well themed (imo) investment thesis/managers will result in better returns than the market indices which is why I favour my chosen vehicles over index based funds such as Vanguard.
I am firmly in favour to date of the above international focused funds, I don't think Australia will perform brilliantly over next few years compared to other markets/stories worldwide (though I would love to be proven wrong on this note for my other interests outside the market). I do have smaller holdings in CTN, PIC (also new, but based on Perpetuals good track record) and WAX - but I don't plan on contributing more to these at present. I'll hold and re-invest all dividends as these particular funds for the most part are focused on smaller cap, high growth companies which over the long term should also perform well.
I feel for me this is the right strategy moving forward, and I think that's what each investor needs to work out for themselves. If you don't have the stomach/emotional capability of riding the highs and lows of individual stocks, then don't do it. Be brutally honest with yourself (which is not easy), ignore the temptations (and there are plenty) and find what will work for you.
