Posted on July 2, 2009 - by musicwhiz

June 2009 Portfolio Summary and Review

Musicwhiz Portfolio - June 30, 2009

June 2009 could possibly go down on record as one of the most boring months in terms of corporate activity, as well as stock market activity. There were hardly any updates with regards to the companies I own, the entire economy is still lurching around in a listless, zombie-like state, and the searing heat in Singapore just made everything all seem even more surreal.

Despite the sporadic news on the “green shoots” theory interspersed with news on the various aspects of the Singaporean and USA economy, the general sentiment was one of indifference and sluggishness, if those words could be used to describe reactions to news. I believe the general mood can be more aptly described as “corpulent”, which makes one just feel like wilting in front of the TV or computer amid the incessant and sometimes incoherent babbling from the newscaster as he regurgitates facts and figures in an equally tired voice. It could be argued that the most “sensational” news to come out this month was not on the economy or the stock market, but on Michael Jackson’s sudden death last Thursday; may he Rest In Peace (I was not a fan, but I liked his choreographed dance moves and his slick and well-directed music videos).

As mentioned above, no juicy opportunities presented themselves for me to average down on my holdings, and I am still in the midst of researching companies for potential investments. The rally has paused for a good cause of course, as guarded optimism now replaces the previous (irrational) exuberance. This can be seen as a positive thing because investors who wish to accumulate slowly can do so, despite the low volumes and high bid-ask spreads sometimes observed. However, there is a very slim chance of valuations going back to distressed levels as seen from October 2008 till April 2009, as most would agree that the worst of the economic crisis is now behind us. Right now, the issue is one of the slow and painful recovery from the sharpest recession to hit us since the Great Depression. Most analysts and economists are of the view that the recovery will be long and tedious, and years of excesses will give way to years of de-leveraging before we can work the kinks out of the system.

With most of my time spent analyzing Tat Hong and Boustead this month, I did not devote much time to updating readers on value investing principles or posting other investing-related content. However, I can happily say that I had spent most of June 2009 reading up more on Singapore’s property news and monitoring the property market, as well as brushing up on some aspects of personal finance and money management. Read more…

Related posts:

1. March 2009 Portfolio Summary and Review
2. October 2009 Portfolio Summary and Review
3. August 2009 Portfolio Summary and Review