Portfolio update - 11 Nov 2025

The month started off with indices extended, and very quickly, I caught myself making some obvious mistakes. I didn't give up much in the pullback (and have mostly made it back due to core names I am in performing well), but could have given back a lot less.

I went from ~95% long to almost 140% long on 4 November, and then got stopped out of a few positions and trimmed back down to 80% long 2 days later on 6 November.

Some quick notes of my mistakes so that these are not so easily forgotten:

• Not locking in profits
  • Didn't have an alert set for MIN (ASX) around the $50 mark, which was around my trim zone. It then proceeded to pull back. Will ensure bracket orders and/or alerts are set immediately upon entry, and also make it a habit to go through positions to ensure bracket orders are set.
• Impatient entries - multiple times during the pullback
  • Not waiting for trades to actually get to my buy points - e.g. buying when a stock was approaching a significant buy point, but was not actually there yet. This makes it hard to get proper position sizing. If I risk an appropriate $ amount at the stop loss, I end up with a position that does not move the needle. If I want a position that moves the needle, I have to put on a bigger position, and risk more than my rules dictate. In future - go through charts regularly, have alerts all set - and wait for alerts to trigger before doing anything.
• Poor awareness
  • For stocks that already had huge runs (i.e. up 300% in 3 months), pulling back and breaking through the 20ema, I would watch, and then impatiently look for an entry the same day it touched the 50sma. Given the big moves, and the pullback with indices extended and poor market breadth, it likely would have been better to observe how it behaves for a couple more bars and see some buying support before looking for an entry. In future - observe where the price has come from, and also market backdrop.
• Portfolio exposure when bearish signs are there
  • With the SPY extended while fear was high, and breadth low - it was a good time to go through the portfolio and think about whether I would want to be taking my existing positions as new positions. I did this, and even though I found a few that I didn't like - I held on, and took bigger hits to the PnL than I should have. In future - when indices are extended, and other signs indicate high chance of volatility - always just lighten up. Also, it is probably a good habit to just go through positions daily to see if I still want exposure to them.

Summary:

• Patience - wait for price to reach my identified levels (moving averages / key support / resistance).
• Where stocks have made big moves, start with smaller positions at the right levels, and only increase when buying support is established. Be happy with smaller profits on these positions as they may need more time to base.
• Reduce exposure when the market is extended. Look especially to remove positions that I would no longer allocate new capital to.
• Ensure orders / alerts are in place every single session, so that when prices reach my targets, I lock in profits.