2018 - The Year In Review

So 2018 is finally coming to an end, and it has been a pretty trying and eventful year filled with ups and downs for Mr. Market as well as myself.

Personal

• Getting (legally) married - Have not done my customary marriage yet
• Attending a couple of workshops to learn more on trading/investing 
• Drew down on half of my portfolio
• Bought my own home, moved in and then renting common rooms out for income
• Recently my wife had been hospitalised on Christmas Eve, and then discharged on Boxing Day. Thank goodness for having a hospitalisation plan and OCBC Cashflo card.
• And of course, the birth of this blog.

Market
On the broader market, stocks all around the world has been getting trashed and volatility is still high. The drops recently presented once again another opportunity to pick up stocks at a bargain and I hope our fellow investing community has picked up some.

Portfolio
As with many out there, my portfolio value overall was not spared either, although I am still in the green based on the price of the position I have taken up.

(1) I added 10,000 units in Alliance Mineral Assets Limited in 1Q2018, which unfortunately was not bought at a better price.

(2) I drew down on my portfolio, selling Cache Logistics, CapitaMall Trust, Fraser Logistics and Industrial Trust in 1H2018 mainly to fund my home, which also helped me to lock in a small amount of realised profit from capital gain. (I also briefly bought and then sold APTT in 1Q2018 after having second thoughts about its prospect - thank goodness).

(3) I then ended the year by subscribing to Cromwell European REIT's rights issue, managing to snatch up 2000 units to treble my position. I am expecting to earn between $190 - $210 in distribution for the full year of 2019 depending on the performance of the REIT and the exchange rate.

If I include this drawdown towards my home, my portfolio has dropped ~58% in value from  4Q2017 to 4Q2018. Take the drawdown out of the picture, IMO I have weathered the storm to my expectation (-15% YOY) - it could have easily been much worse (see APTT for instance). This does not include the dividends collected.

Oh, and by the way, I recently registered myself on StocksCafe so you can reach out to me over there too. Pretty useful portfolio management tool.

Moving forward
I have reasons to believe Year 2019 will be a better year ahead for investors - Corrections are healthy to keep valuations more in checks you know. At the very least, I believe 2019 will be a better year for myself, mainly due to optimism towards Alliance Mineral Assets Limited, especially now that the merger with Tawana is completed and the new management team has taken over (in ASX, the merged entity is trading with stock ticket A40).

A useful source to follow up on news or sentiments by other retail investors of Alliance Minerals is here.

Additionally, one of the sector I am keeping a close eye on is the Semiconductor Sector, which is known to be a cyclical sector. I believe they will probably continue to face headwind and bottom out in 2019 and already I have some stocks on my target board.

Other than that, I foresee difficulty in entering the market (save the rare moments like rights issuance) as 2019 will probably weigh heavily again on my finance as my wife and I will continue to return borrowings and trying to plan the customary marriage towards start of 4Q2019.

Plans for Self-improvement
I have been reading up on technical analysis during this year. Not much progress has been made as I am still trying to catch balls at how to use it. The biggest reason for me to pick TA up would be to compliment my ability to adding positions of stocks at better price.

I also hope and plan to earn some extra money from trading and some side gigs as the income

And last but not least, I hope to contribute more useful reads to the community when I am not just documenting my progress as an investor.

Here's to wishing everyone a Happy New Year and fruitful 2019 in advance!