Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update November 2021 – Market Showing Signs Of Stalling

Calvin Lo

The market continued its recovery in November but started stalling and completely fell apart towards the end of the month. Fears of inflation have become increasingly real, with more and more data points coming in reinforcing the view that inflation is likely non-transitory. The Fed is also finally coming around to inflation becoming more persistent, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell finally dropping the ‘transitory’ term.

Investors are definitely spooked. Growth stocks took a big hit towards the end of the month and has continued sliding as I write this. Thankfully, not all stocks have been hit to the same extent. It seems that the hardest hit stocks are those that benefitted the most from the Fed’s easy money policy and were trading at extremely optimistic multiples.

After a multi-year bull run and multiple expansion fuelled by QE, we might be seeing the start of mean reversion and multiple contraction. I suspect that the growth-to-value rotation might accelerate, although there might be some start-stops along the way if we continue to discover new Covid flu variants.

Naturally, our portfolio has taken a hit since we have quite a substantial exposure to growth stocks. I’m seriously considering selling off weaker stocks I have lower conviction in and consolidate my holdings into stronger ones.

See my portfolio holdings and strategy on my Portfolio page.

Family Portfolio

  • November performance: -1.3% vs SPX +0.6% vs NDX +2.9%
  • YTD performance: +7.6% vs SPX +25.4% vs NDX +28.9%
  • All-time performance (since Aug 2016): +12.4% (+15.0% including dividends)
  • November dividends: S$44 (-51% yoy)
  • YTD dividends: $1,003
  • Bought: VT, PYPL, SE, PLTR
  • Sold: IAU

This month, I continued to add to existing positions in PayPal (PYPL), Sea Limited (SE) and Palantir (PLTR). Unfortunately, all 3 disappointed markets in different ways after reporting earnings. However, I still remain bullish on these companies in the long-term even if it means more pain is coming in the short-term.

No change to the number of individual stock holdings at 22. I did sell iShared Gold Trust (IAU) but I classify it as an ETF. With markets getting jittery due to tapering, earlier rate hikes, and how that might trigger a market crash, I need to also accelerate my portfolio rationalisation to fewer stocks.

Personal Portfolio

  • November performance: +1.9%
  • YTD performance: +46.1%
  • All-time performance (since July 2020): +89%
  • November dividends: None
  • Bought: TWTR, PLTR, AAPL (free stock)
  • Sold: TSLA

I trimmed Tesla (TSLA) last month when I felt the price surge was getting euphoric. That said, it seems like TSLA stock has been pretty resilient during the month end sell-off. I’m looking to buy back in during this period of weakness.

I added to Palantir (PLTR) and Twitter (TWTR) as prices fell, partly because I also had to clock in 5 trades to qualify for my free Apple (AAPL) share. Seems like this is no longer required for the current promotion though.

If you have not signed up for moomoo account before and want to get your free AAPL share + SGD 40 Stock Cash Coupon Bundle (T&Cs apply, offer ends 31 December 2021 at 09:59 SGT), you can sign up with my referral link here. Take note that you will need to fund your account with at least SGD2,700 for your first deposit to qualify for the rewards.

Social Portfolio

  • November performance: -2.00%
  • YTD performance: +1.72%
  • Check out my eToro account for trade activity: https://etoro.tw/3rLL9tX

This month, I’ve dedicated more funds to copy-trading, mainly with jaynemesis (Jay Edward Smith) and KoraTrades (Mimi Ho).

If you’re unfamiliar with eToro and its unique copy-trading feature, it basically allows you to automatically copy all trades of a chosen Popular Investor (PI) who are trading with their own money. The platform is very transparent, and you can see all trades and historical performance of all PIs.

I think this feature is really unique because it allows us to participate in the returns of some of the best independent investors who have their own skin in the game. I might write a separate post about my copy-trading results if I have the time.

Jay is one of the most copied PI on eToro, and has a pretty diversified portfolio although he mainly focuses on tech and crypto. Mimi on the other hand is more focused on crypto and trades many different coins.

If you’re interested in opening an eToro account, you can through my referral link here.

What have you been buying or selling in November?

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice. I am not professional financial advisor nor do I work in the finance industry. Anything I write here is purely my personal opinion. Please do your own research and due diligence before investing into anything. All investments come with associated risks. Best to consult a financial advisor if you’re still unsure.

For more investing resources, see my Referrals page.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links and I may get a commission when you click on the links or open an account through the links, at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products or services that I have personally tried and have found useful.