With interest rates coming down I am starting to work on my "Exit Plan" from residential real estate (especially since I own properties in Seattle) at 66 years old I'm just getting tired of fixing plumbing issues. I plan on putting a little "Lipstick on the Pig" freshening up of my properties over the next 6 month's , get them ready for sale and move into triple Net (NNN) properties, I'm thinking QSR's , Fast Food properties , get a check each month and my only chore is to go to the bank every month and do some accounting. A good Wendy's/Jack in the box/Burger King will throw off about $135K per year (NET) , 3 or 4 of those would make for a decent retirement portfolio. That, plus my investments in the market, should make for a stress free retirement. Well , off to argue with a shower faucet ............ Market looks good this morning , CRAP !!! and just that quick I am going red , who's in charge of the market today ? I have a complaint !!!! OW AND GO SEAHAWKS !!
I've read somewhere that Trading 212 is actually using IBKR platform as their back-end. But definitely T212 has a better front-end and UX.
I'm looking at a modest gain today , of .39% , but that is beating every index I follow by a healthy margin !! During last April and again this fall during some pullbacks I increase the amount of individual stocks that I own , Buying : SMCI IONQ More Micron (MU) as well as : SMH MGK and QQQM It seams to be paying off as I am usually beating the indexes , except NASDAQ , consistently. And today even beat the nasdaq and the russell 2000 YTD S&P500 1.65% YTD Nasdaq 1.85% YTD DOW Jones 2.9% YTD Russell 2000 5.6% ME UP YTD 3.91%
I had a big....small loss today. Three stocks green....COST, MSFT, and AMZN. I also lost out to the SP500 today by.....0.48%. BUMMER.
Ow, and one other small position in an ETF , SPMO, it's the Invesco 500 Momentum stocks, those that have a high momentum score, I zero'ed in on this stock NOT because it has a habit of beating the S&P500 by 2% to 3% annually, NO, I zero 'ed in on it it because during the 2022 downturn (where I was down 24%? annually, I don't even want to remember) SPMO was only down 5% , I found that very interesting. The kind of a portfolio that is growth oriented and some would say AGRESSIVE, and hence it is subject to bad downturns in bad times. So I'm going to watch it and see how it does . Here is a link to the Invesco webpage it's on https://www.invesco.com/us/en/financial-products/etfs/invesco-sp-500-momentum-etf.html GO HAWKS !!!
The week that was. This week for my entire portfolio year to date I am at....+0.26%. Last week for my entire portfolio I was at year to date.....+0.73%. Eleven market days into 2026.
Of course.....China is screwing with us and the world. We need to exit that country in every way as soon as possible. It is RIDICULOUS that we have allowed ourselves to be dependent on them for resources and business. ANY and all companies need to get out of there ASAP.....or you will become a political pawn.....not to mention having all your tech and processes stolen and in the end...you are creating competition for your business when China uses your tech and processes to put their own business in place and undercut you. Nvidia H200 chip parts suppliers halt output after China blocks shipments, FT reports https://finance.yahoo.com/news/nvid...NjkhKeeD921JNsfT7Iwaj_I5aN1VhcSltGk41SkL6KN6I
I agree with this little article. A nice list of the many ways that putting thoughts in writing helps to focus thinking. I do it all the time.....on here. My PRIMARY life tool......the power of visualization. I have used this technique to focus on GOALS for my entire life. An amazing tool....that works. 4 Small Ways Writing Make You Wealthy https://dariusforoux.com/24-small-ways-writing-make-you-wealthy/ BUT....as a writer you might want to make sure to EDIT your headline for proper grammar......the word should be "MAKES".
The markets appear to be experiencing a crisis of confidence. The constant.....24/7....negativity in the media and the growing political content on financial sites is keeping much of the market behavior in turmoil. There is a distinct lack of confidence that is severely impacting positive momentum. The constant focus is on the...negative. The slightest positive event or story is immediately met with doubt and media distrust. EVERYTHING is disputed, disrespected, and ignored.....in favor of distortion and rampant......often uninformed, BS......media opinion. FACTS and REALITY do not matter anymore. Days and weeks that should....by all accounts....be positive are a struggle to remain simply flat....and often flip negative. This is a HUGE problem now that the entire non-government worker pension system in the USA....is based on individual stock investments. (the 401K and IRA) The bottom line with this trend.....market confusion. YES....lately over the past years returns have been good. BUT....the "feelings" and mental health of investors......are not so good. UNFORTUNATELY.....there is no cure for this and it will simply continue. I am not big on "NEW NORMALS" in investing....but this is one that I see as real. The soon to happen advent of 24/7 markets and trading...will turn out to be a HUGE mistake and yet another development that will hurt the markets and investors. There will no REST for the human brain when it comes to investing. The market turmoil will be constant and unrelenting. There will never be a time for contemplation or thinking. Everything will be....reactive, reactive, reactive,.....all the time. It will be the perfect market for AI program trading of news, headlines and events. The MACHINES......do not need to rest.
A good example is this article....that is on the main page of a mainstream......INVESTING SITE. WTF....does this have to do with money, investing, or finance? Probably half to two thirds of the content on this primary investing and business site are now politics and/or political opinion masquerading as news or financial content. DANGER......Will Robinson....DANGER. Labor Department accused of echoing Nazi slogan in social media post https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/16/trump-labor-nazi-slogan-social-media.html
On a lighter note....this is also what passes for financial content in the world of today.....blatant PR fluff pieces. Costco launches tasty new treat at bakery locations nationwide: 'Can't wait to try these!' New 24-count packages join current lineup including blueberry muffins, butter croissants and chocolate chunk cookies https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/...kery-locations-nationwide-cant-wait-try-these
From the article above, that is quite hilarious. An article professing writing and then face planting the title with a mistake.
Some interesting and valid observations in the above post. I think folks are generally dismissive of risks over the past few years. Not that they haven't been before, but it seems more so lately. I think a few posts back there was an article about the multitude of trading apps, betting sites, and prediction markets. There are also many social sites that include TikTok, YouTube, etc. etc. Everyone is a master at the market and the platforms available to spout whatever it is they are doing. When you look around at some of this, everyone is claiming some magic insight. Of course, everyone is proclaiming the easy way and the only way to make all sorts of money. You don't have to prove anything, just post it and let it run. There are so many different types of funds to get into. Like, there are a bazillion things out there that encourage all different types of leverages, factors, sectors, and so on. Then there are funds that counteract those funds. It is almost endless. In addition, we can find companies/stocks going for almost 400 times earnings. For some reason, people cannot extrapolate that out to determine what it really means. They simply don't care, don't know, or have no idea about risk. I hate to even mention it, because it would affect me too. We probably need a good old-fashioned flush out. No, I am not referring to a little decline in normal fashion. I am referring to a 3 to 5 year grind you down in the dirt deal. One that just wrings the dumbness out and tests people's real mettle. I think there are quite a few that don't consider this or even think about it being possible at some point. Now, I certainly am not hoping for such a thing, but the market has a way of lulling people to sleep on such things. Our memory can be short. We will be reminded of it at some point. As most know, I am not much into predictions on either side. I'm not saying we are on the verge of this or anything else. Your plan has to survive both sides of it and endure the long haul.....and all that comes with it.
Sorry for the late reply Strathmore. Not much time lately to come here as much as I love to be. After you log in you have one tab called "dashboard", It has a small graph where you can choose value OR performance. Absolute value will be shown on top left in your basis currency, my case €, regardless where your open positions are from. It sums total cash plus open positions.
I like IB platform. Mostly I like their fees, a fraction of what I normally have to pay in other accounts. When, some years ago, I was doing heavy trading I did dig a bit more in IB platform details, but after covid years I stopped with that "exhausting sport" and now I just use it for investing purposes, so just regular buys/sells. Recently I had to withdraw some cash from there and had to learn the procedure for that, and is also very simple.
