In case you missed it, a portfolio-shrinking, return-challenged "Departed" recap can be found here.
For the fifth time in the past six years, my portfolio underperformed the S&P 500, losing -0.5% vs. gaining 12.0%. It is my worst year vs. the S&P 500 since 2001.
And yet, I achieved some major goals this year: reducing my number of stocks held to 27; achieving a savings return of 20%; and increasing my net worth to an all-time high. (Finance is more than just picking stocks, no?) We're going to keep 2017 as boring as possible, and keep hammering away at limited number of winning investments.
And now, let's look at all the stocks I've held going into this year, from worst to best - based solely on 2016's performance, while mostly ignoring any intra-year volatility:
ExOne (XONE)
Bought: Oct @ $15.75
Year-closing price: $9.34 (-40%)
Lost an impressive amount of money in a short amount of time.
Stratasys (SSYS)
Year-opening price: $23.48
Bought more: Jan @ $24.82, Jun @ $22.42
Year-closing price: $16.54 (-30%)
Lost an impressive amount of money over a long amount of time.
Twitter (TWTR)
Year-opening price: $23.14
Bought more: Jan @ $22.78, Feb @ $17.18, May @ $14.20, Jun @ $15.08, Oct @ $23.69
Year-closing price: $16.30 (-30%)
Was convinced someone would buy their great product; nobody wants their lousy company.
Under Armour (UAA)
Year-opening price: $40.31
Bought more: Apr @ $42.58
Year-closing price: $29.05 (-28%)
A terrible year for athletic companies, part one.
Nike (NKE)
Year-opening price: $62.50
Bought more: Sep @ $58.60
Year-closing price: $50.83 (-19%)
A terrible year for athletic companies, part two.
Salesforce.com (CRM)
Year-opening price: $78.40
Bought more: Aug @ $80.76
Year-closing price: $68.46 (-13%)
The market disagrees, but...they really need to buy Twitter.
Tesla Motors (TSLA)
Year-opening price: $240.01
Bought more: Mar @ $194.25, Jul @ $209.75, Nov @ $189.75
Year-closing price: $213.69 (-11%)
Elon Musk believes his will be the first trillion-dollar company. Don't doubt him.
Starbucks (SBUX)
Year-opening price: $60.03
Bought more: Sep @ $56.57
Year-closing price: $55.52 (-8%)
Breather year, after a great 2015.
Costco Wholesale (COST)
Year-opening price: $161.50
Bought more: Sep @ $156.80
Year-closing price: $160.11 (-1%)
The finest (brick and mortar) retailer in the world.
UnitedHealth Group (UNH)
Bought: Dec @ $160.91
Year-closing price: $160.04 (-1%)
Monster revenues, cash flows, dividend.
Aqua America (WTR)
Year-opening price: $29.80
Year-closing price: $30.04 (1%)
Not sure how they continue to underperform American Water Works so badly.
Alphabet (GOOGL)
Year-opening price: $778.01
Bought more: Aug @ $797.33, Nov @ $801.42
Year-closing price: $792.45 (2%)
The best proxy for tech money can buy. Automated driving will become a(nother) cash cow.
Intel (INTC)
Year-opening price: $34.45
Year-closing price: $36.27 (5%)
Has been surpassed by NVIDIA, but will still make lots of money.
Apple (AAPL)
Year-opening price: $105.26
Bought more: Apr @ $110.41, Sep @ $107.67
Year-closing price: $115.82 (10%)
In the strange position of being underappreciated.
Amazon (AMZN)
Year-opening price: $675.89
Bought more: Mar @ $556.73, May @ $677.36, Jul @ $722.80, Nov @ $782.50
Year-closing price: $749.87 (11%)
Having wrecked traditional retail, incredibly well positioned to dominate the next decade.
BlackRock (BLK)
Year-opening price: $340.52
Year-closing price: $380.54 (12%)
Will be owned as long as it continues years like this.
Facebook (FB)
Bought: Jan @ $102.87, Apr @ $114.10, May @ $117.55, Jun @ $118.45, Jul @ $113.90, Nov @ $130.04
Year-closing price: $115.05 (12%)
Along with Google, monetizes the internet better than anyone else.
Adobe Systems (ADBE)
Bought: Jan @ $92.01, Aug @ $97.38
Year-closing price: $102.95 (12%)
A premium software company.
Microsoft (MSFT)
Year-opening price: $55.48
Year-closing price: $62.14 (12%)
The post-Ballmer winning streak continues.
Ace Limited (ACE)
Year-opening price: $116.85
Year-closing price: $132.12 (13%)
My longest-held stock (since 2004); in a word, consistent.
Intuitive Surgical (ISRG)
Year-opening price: $546.16
Bought more: Aug @ $694.87
Year-closing price: $634.17 (16%)
Up and down year, ended up. A company without peers.
Canadian National Railway (CNI)
Year-opening price: $55.88
Year-closing price: $67.40 (21%)
Hauling heavy things will always be useful.
American Water Works (AWK)
Year-opening price: $59.75
Year-closing price: $72.36 (21%)
Not sure how they continue to outperform Aqua America so badly.
Autodesk (ADSK)
Bought: Jan @ $60.39
Year-closing price: $74.01 (23%)
The software side of 3D printing had a great year.
NVIDIA (NVDA)
Bought: Dec @ $86.10
Year-closing price: $106.74 (24%)
The best chipmaker in the world. A triple-threat of deep learning, automated driving, and virtual reality.
Waste Management (WM)
Bought: Feb @ $52.72
Year-closing price: $70.91 (35%)
Hot garbage.
3D Systems (DDD)
Year-opening price: $8.69
Bought more: Jan @ $9.83, Feb @ $7.57, Apr @ $15.07, Oct @ $17.92
Year-closing price: $13.29 (53%)
Should have bought more at the early-year lows. Long-term investment beginning to pay off.
