Long-time Sloper Spartacus left this insightful comment (the tints are my own):
How true that is! Simply stated, 2022 has been an AWESOME year for bears, and my returns have been – – shall we say, to be kind – – “uneven“:
With perfect hindsight, I’d be literally a billionaire right now (although, to my credit, I’m a trillionaire in the virtual trading account). Spartacus describes well the nightmarish relationship bears have with their own (all too rare) bear markets. The things that have harmed me this year are:
- Short term, an obsession with energy stocks (I haven’t lost faith!);
- Tremendous give-back-your-profits experiences during counter-trend rallies, the most horrendous of which was June 15-August 15, which PUT ME INTO A LOSS FOR THE YEAR (!!!!!!!!!!);
- As Spartacus states, basically “shorting low and covering high”
I mean, look, I’m not bitching too much, because my much-smaller-than-they-should-be returns this year (I’m looking at you, IYR) probably still has me in the 99th percentile among investors for 2022. But, still, markets like this are so rare, I feel a sense of shame and regret every single day.
