Our Pandemic Investment Portfolio Grew By Nearly 100%. Here's Our Tips

The Neighborhood Finance Guy writes about financial literacy topics, investment strategies, market performance, signs of inflated growth and investment buying opportunities. The goal is to help you make effective decisions and set S.M.A.R.T+ER goals with your money. The information is free but the struggle is not sold separately.

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**Graphic #1** – Investing Performance and Pandemic Lows since 3.20.20-3.20.22

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Pandemic Lows and Investment Performance

With over 6 million death globally and over 468 million confirmed cases, no one could have anticipated this pandemic. While airlines shut down and prices surged, the biggest changes came in the form of lifestyle and the stock market.

As of February 19, 2020, the stock market peaked and investment performance started to waiver. By March 20, 2020, we hit rock bottom. However, quick federal fiscal reaction, multiple stimuli and voila, equities (stocks) soared.

To my surprise, my household’s pandemic investment performance hit 98.50% from March 20, 2020 to March 20, 2022.

The world might have stopped but opportunity rages on. The market is taking hits in 2022 and down over 6% in the first quarter; the TNFG portfolio is beating the averages.

What gives and what did we learn along the way that helps us beat the median portfolio of 68%?

The Buy and Sell Pandemic Paradox of Performance

William Feather, American Author brilliantly stated, “One of the funniest things about the stock market is that every time one person buys, another sells, and both think they are astute.” Suffice to say, that most of these investment portfolio performances can be attributed to mere luck.

Being at the right place, at the right time and holding the right allocation of investments.

If you held unto your stocks and continued as normal, you would have netted north of 50%. Retail investment influencers were popping up all over the place. Consequently, everyone taught they had the secret formula since most stocks kept going up. While Boomers were retiring and taking their money out, middle class and wealthy Americans invested in droves.

Teri Ijeoma, teacher turned day trader to online course teach sold over $40 million in online courses just teaching people how to day trade. Even though, it is widely estimated that as much as 95% of day traders lose money. The same percentage of unprofitable day traders continues despite losing money.

Why? Because people are desperate to win over the Buy and Sell Paradox. Unfortunately, by the time, you heard the news; you end up buying high and selling low. The opposite of winning.

Caution around the Investment Performance Slow Down

**Graphic #2** – TNFG’s 2021 Invst. Strategy in M1 Finance

What goes up must come down. It’s just gravity.

After a crazy 2020, we started seeing the signs that the market couldn’t keep up. While the market made it through 2021, it’s likely that 2022 will be the last year in the Bull Run.

Although it’s less sexy than growth investments of +40%, a well-diversified portfolio is still critical.

Your investment goals should align with your risk tolerance and risk capacity.

In other words, you need to develop a flexible and resistant portfolio based on systemic strategies, economic and business cycles, as well as your own needs.

For example, I included my own 2021 strategy (see graphic #2)

This investment strategy addresses short run growth while minimizing taxes, and even compound using a DRIP.

Setting a vision for our investments and staging your household budget,
Determining your asset allocation,
Creating and Styling your portfolio strategy and desired outcome,
Reassessing and re-balancing your portfolio weightings, and
Profit recapture over long term holding where needed.

Financial Experts Warned Against Pandemic Investment Performances

**Graphic #3** over $337k in 731 days, using Personal Capital

They (Financial experts) were right. I should have pull back from international in 2020 and pulled back from tech at the end of 2021. Personal Capital offers free investment performance advice.

The Russian-Ukraine war is still raging on even if the talk of the town is the Will Smith vs Chris Rock. Even though, we are all waiting for a resolution, market prices are violently high or low at a whim.

Sorry to say this, it’s a whole mess.

The only good news is that solutions that applied 5 years ago as still valid today and tomorrow. Here is a guide on how to go from broke to wealthy even during this inflationary period. As a bonus, I highly recommend that you hold money in reserve when possible to buy corrections.

See video #1 on how to Build Wealth (Effectively)

Late Stage Investment Strategies and Keeping it ETF Easy for the Gram

This late stage in the business cycle is characterized as moderate growth, credit tightening, earnings under pressure, policy contractions, and new inventory growth and sales growth trailing.

In this phase, unemployment will drop while prices go up and wages stay down. If you are over leveraged in the tech sector, it might be time to get with Consumer Staples, Health care, Energy and Utilities.

While you will see snaps in the market, just remember to play the game and take the winnings off the table with S.M.A.R.T.E.R. re-balancing strategies.

Reallocate and keep the dry gunpowder handy for buying opportunities.

For my household, we are shifting toward Consumer Staples, Energy (for dividends) and health care. It’s just as easy to continue to invest in $VOO or $VTI ETFs. After all the maneuvers, I would have been just as fine if I invested in those Vanguard ETFs. They both netted over 90% during the same time period.

Hint Hint: Click on the photo to see this M1 Finance TNFG Pie created by yours truly.

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by the Neighborhood Finance Guy. We highlight financial literacy information, resources, and more on your way to money management goals and personal wealth. Our goal is to help you make S.M.A.R.T decisions with our money. We do not give investment advice or encourage you to adopt a certain investment strategy. Your personal finance is up to you. If you take action based on one of our recommendations, we don’t earn a dime as of 3.2022. We operate independently.

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