The panic seems to be subsiding, well at least momentarily, after last week, though share prices still seem to be quite volatile. I’m surprised at how sensitive my outlook is to share price volatility, despite my better judgment. Last week felt like it could be the beginning of the end, even though the rational part of me reasoned that there wasn’t much to worry about. A small bounce and I’m already looking forward to a monster Santa Rally. Those emotions are tricksy little blighters. Continue reading →

I was going to start this post with a brief commentary about the general state of the market. This is how I have tended to introduce my posts updating on portfolio trades. Reading back through them, it now seems quite amusing how often my degree of optimism changes week to week. While it is quite interesting to have a record of this emotional rollercoaster, I’m going to stop doing these commentaries. I’m trying to become more relaxed about short term price movements and this feels like one thing I can change (along with checking my portfolio too frequently). Preoccupation with the ups and downs of the market doesn’t help my performance. Unless I have good reason to believe a crash is coming, it’s not worth worrying. It may even be counterproductive. Continue reading →