Where have I been?

For the most part, over the past few months, I have been working on improving our investment process. Investing is a bit like the perfect golf swing. No matter how much you practice, you can always do better.

During this period, I also injured myself (it turns out exercise can almost kill you), so I was out of action for a few weeks. Not life threatening, but it hurt like hell.

My doctor said “Raj, take it easy”, but I heard “Raj, watch as much Netflix as you want, guilt free”. So I did. (By the way, my doctor subscribed to ROA, so welcome Dr Mike.)

While I was busy with improving the investment “swing”, etc, the market did its thing. Down, then up and recently down again. I don’t watch the prices, but a professional told me it had been volatile. So let’s see what happened to the portfolio.

Portfolio update

Happy birthday! Our little baby portfolio is officially 5 years old.

We reached that milestone in July. Over those five years, we earned a return of 18.02% per annum versus a world index, which earned 11.46%.

That means the Extraordinary Companies portfolio has more than doubled (2.3x) in value, while the index has just less than doubled (1.7x).

I’d say we kicked butt.

Conclusion

Next month, I am “re-launching” this newsletter.

No, that doesn’t mean new colours. It means a fresh start with new formats and thinking, and lots of nerding-out. (I can tell you’re excited.)

The relaunched first edition (which is actually edition 112) will start at the beginning by explaining the Extraordinary Investing equation which guides our investment process.

See you soon.

Disclaimer: These are my personal views about my own portfolio, for educational purposes only. Nothing here is financial advice or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security. I may own shares in the companies discussed. Do your own research and consult a qualified financial adviser before making investment decisions.