| This was an amazing year, and this month was an amazing month. We had some big ups and big downs, but overall we came out way ahead.
On the positive side, we had a huge jump in overall net worth this month as a result of (1) the continued post-election melt-up in the stock market, (2) surprisingly high end-of-year (after-tax) distributions from my businesses, and (3) a final adjustment in my 3-month effort to “smooth out” the increased value of my law firm (discussed in prior months). Together, this lifted my net worth by almost $1MM in a single month to over $14MM for the first time.
On the negative side, things would have been even better this month, but we sustained about $150,000 in capital losses in a few alternative investments (half of which was bad luck and half of which was bad judgment). Of course, I don’t expect anyone to cry for me and I feel incredibly fortunate, but I try to learn from my losses.
On that note, I’ve finally moved out of my long-side equity position that consumed so much of my attention this year. Overall, I took a net loss on that investment of about $350,000, which sounds (and is) awful, but at one stage this year it was a staggering $1.8MM loss. Moreover, it felt like the right time to take that loss because 2017 looks dicey. Rates are going up and I’m concerned about a trade war with China--and about Trump continuing to be Trump.
And, even if those were not factors, the market seems to have gotten ahead of itself here. I’ll have to do some thinking on what to do next and when to do it. |