With all the Sells that I’ve published this month, some people may get the idea that I am bragging about making money in the stock market. The reason it could come across that way is that in the last month I’ve published 8 Sells and only 5 Buys. I never sell at a loss, so those were all, in-fact, profitable trades. So, why am I doing all this? Why even bother publishing any Buys or Sells?
Good question! The reason is, that before I learned the value of long-term investing, I ran across many gurus in the finance world that would say how great their trading strategies were. But, there was no proof to be seen, unless of course, you pony up some cash to pay for their services or their newsletters. I’m not saying these people were all fraudulent, but it sure would be nice to see a little evidence before plunking down some money for their services. Well, when I got the wild-haired idea to start a blog myself, I determined that I WILL publish every single Buy & Sell and I won’t charge anything for my research, because I’m going to do the research for myself anyways.
I thought to myself, if people are going to take time to read what I have to say about investing, I’d like them to be able to see how I am using this website for my own investments. This entire website is, in-fact, my own due diligence which I decided to share with the world, even if nobody else looks at it. Readers can look at my complete Buy & Sell history and see how it aligns with my daily charts. Additionally, I publish these trades on the day that I make them. This isn’t real-time data, but it is certainly close enough for long-term investing. I believe this is ‘putting my money where my mouth is’, so to speak.
Why I don’t publish number of shares bought & sold or lot sizes:
- I don’t think this is necessary
- I have shared, with those who have inquired, what my lot sizes are in terms of a percentage our portfolios. My typical lot size is 1% of the total value of all 5 of our investment accounts combined.
- I don’t want to discourage investors with smaller accounts from investing in ETFs
- I don’t want to discourage investors with larger accounts from learning from me, if I have anything worth teaching
Having numerous profitable Sells in such a brief time isn’t necessarily a beneficial situation. Keep in mind that my intent is to remain 90 to 100% invested during all market conditions. This represents a challenge to me. I am currently only 87.32% invested. I normally deploy 1% of our portfolio every Monday that I have cash available. This week I am deploying 3% due to this cash pile. Deploying dollars, when nearly every sector and world market is at an all-time-high, is not simple. Fortunately, this week, interest rate sensitive sectors are in or near correction mode; so, we are taking advantage of some opportunities in the Utilities Sector (RYU) and REITs (REZ).
In conclusion, my hope is that my readers will not get the sense that I am bragging about profits. Everybody in this red-hot market should be seeing profits. If you’re not, you may want to ask yourself why. I am not doing anything special. I am simply doing what most shrewd investors have done through the ages. I look for good investments and I try to buy them when they are on sale. That’s it.
Thank you for taking time to read my blog.
Respectfully yours, Micah McDonald, aka The Deep Value ETF Accumulator