2011 has been a tough year to trade, especially for trend following strategies. Post August 2011, the market has been volatile with no clear indication of direction. Only Dow Jones closed the year on a slightly positive note while the rest of the European and Asian indices were negative.
Equity Markets
- +4.49% (Dow Jones Industrial Average)
- -1.12% (S&P 500)
- -3.21% (NASDAQ)
- -7.34% (FTSE 100)
- -15.61% (DAX)
- -18.68% (NIKKEI 225)
- -18.22% (STI)
- -19.00% (CAC 40)
- -21.34% (Hang Seng)
The funny thing is that most of the problems are with Europe and US, but Asian markets received the greatest beating. Again, the market showed its irrationality.
Commodities
- +10.14% (Gold ETF)
- -10.14% (Silver ETF)
Trading Results for Dec 11:
Open trades:
Celgene – Bought $63.22 , now $67.59 (+6.9%)
Closed trades:
Olympus – Bought 740.4, sold 1,224.3 (+65.4%)
Devon Energy – Sold $65.53, bought $64.65 (+1.3%)
Hang Seng Index – Sold 18970, bought 19058 (-0.5%)
Rangold – Bought $108.50, sold $103.59 (-4.5%)
Bank of China – Sold $2.74, bought $2.89 (-5.5%)
Agile Property – Sold $6.15, bought $6.61 (-7.5%)
MAKO Surgical – Bought $30.26, sold $27.95 (-7.6%)
Capitaland – Bought $2.60, sold $2.40 (-7.7%)
Investment Results for Dec 11:
Dollar Cost Averaging:
STI ETF – Ave price $2.9773, now $2.74 (-8.0%)
Performance for 2011
The volatility and difficult market in 2011 is something that I have not experienced in my past 3 years of involvement in the stock market. 2008 was a clear down trending market. 2009 was an up trending market. 2010 was not too bad for the bulls too. The first half of 2011 was rocked by Japan’s Earthquake and market remained pretty flat. August 2011 was a panic month as stock markets dropped consecutively for days. To preserve capital, I have decided to cash in all my long positions in my investment portfolio and stay cash. I always believe in staying alive to fight another day. And with the whipsawed market post-August, I suffered many small losses which bled my account. These have led to a draw down in my capital by 21.2%. Of course, there is some pain in losing money. But I am definitely financially well as these are money that I have set aside to invest and trade. Through the process, I learned about my emotions and reactions to the market and money. Going forward, I will continue to get involved in the market and learn more about myself. If you ask me what is the most important lesson that I learned from the markets in 2011, it will be that I need to understand myself better (in relation to the markets), and develop a strategy or approach that suit my personality.
You may also like:
- Investment & Trading Report Card – Nov 11
- Investment Report Card – Aug 2011
- Investment & Trading Report Card – Sep 11
- Investment & Trading Report Card – Apr 11
- Investment & Trading Report Card – Oct 11
- Investment & Trading Report Card – May 11
- Investment Report Card – Feb 11
- Trading Report Card – Jul 2011
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Alvin,
Glad to see your update. And I agree that everyone should develop an investing style that suits their needs.
For me, I prefer dividend investing. I also discovered I prefer telcos and will continue to invest in them.
yap, if the student is ready, the teacher (market) will appear. in fact not just market, everything will be your teacher.
wish you a fruitful learning year ahead.