Mon 3 Mar 2008
February was not quite the month that January was. Still all three three major indices (NASDAQ, S&P 500, and Dow Jones Industrial Average) finished lower at the end February than they started. They still finished above the lows hit in the middle of January, but only slightly so. My portfolio performance though negative has managed to retain most of it’s value, declining a modest 1% versus the 3.2% decline of the S&P 500.

This month I add another detail to my investment performance, a chart tracking the historical performance of my primary brokerage account.

One of the problems with these type of charts is that they can be dominated by strong performance in the beginning of the period being tracked. That hasn’t really been the case in my own portfolio where I’ve generally lagged the indices by a few percentage points until recently. Most of lag can be attributed to the fact that I have not always been fully invested. My recent mediocre performance contrasts well with dismal performance of the overall market.
I’m looking to add my other accounts to this chart, but my brokerage account is the only account I’ve accurately maintained records. With some work I should be able to do the same with my 401K, and other retirement accounts as I track down the exact timing and amount of my contributions.
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March 3rd, 2008 at 4:37 pm
Impressive Dong! How did you manage to avoid the drop in February that killed the S and P (and money a portfolio, like mine)
You were tracking the nasdaq (and S and P) pretty closely in that chart until then.. what do you attribute that to?
March 4th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Options. I purchased puts on the NASDAQ in October and December. Those have worked out well. In addition, many of my individuals stock holdings have fared pretty well in the recent downturn. Most notably AA, YHOO, and AMAT.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
off topic, but how did you make your pretty charts?
March 11th, 2008 at 10:43 am
[...] week in my February Investment Update I had a chart similar to many a chart found in Mutual Fund advertising. Unlike charts referred to [...]