A tradition unlike any other...
2020 was the best year of my twenty-two year investing career. My portfolio outperformed the S&P 500 by +104.8%, gaining 122.5% vs. 18.4%. These returns pushed my net worth to all-time highs, and also expanded my portfolio's annualized returns outperformance vs. the S&P 500 from +0.15% at the end of 2019 (3.42% vs. 3.27%) to +3.35% at the end of 2020 (8.62% vs. 5.27%).
These gains were largely due to the stocks listed below, sold as part of my rotation out of stocks and into dividend income investments started in June. It is remarkable that I began the year (as every year previous) with 100% stocks and ended the year with a 57/43 stock/income split.
Some of these stocks have been owned for over a decade. I could not have achieved my financial goals without them, and they will be missed.
Here's a look at all the stocks I've sold in the past year, from best to worst - based solely on 2020's performance, while mostly ignoring any intra-year volatility:
Tesla (TSLA)
Year-opening price: $83.67
Bought more: Apr @ $101.74
Sold: Sep @ $401.37 (380%)
Year-closing price: $705.67 (743%)
First bought in 2011, and 21 times total. An unbelievable, portfolio-altering year.
NVIDIA (NVDA)
Year-opening price: $235.30
Bought more: May @ $284.19
Sold: Sep @ $468.47 (99%)
Year-closing price: $522.20 (122%)
Position initiated in 2016; bought 24 times total (all-time leader). Very difficult to sell.
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
Year-opening price: $45.86
Sold: Sep @ $75.42 (64%)
Year-closing price: $91.71 (100%)
Intel's pain is AMD's gain.
Apple (AAPL)
Year-opening price: $73.41
Sold: Sep @ $111.40 (52%)
Year-closing price: $132.69 (81%)
First bought in 2007. 13 buys and 2 stock splits. The best company in the world, bar none.
Nike (NKE)
Year-opening price: $101.31
Sold: May @ $84.47 (-17%)
Year-closing price: $141.47 (40%)
Bounced back in a big way following early-year swoon.
Salesforce (CRM)
Year-opening price: $162.64
Sold: Dec @ $225.06 (39%)
Year-closing price: $222.58 (37%)
Actually traded this one properly.
Kansas City Southern (KSU)
Year-opening price: $153.16
Sold: May @ $131.85 (-14%)
Year-closing price: $204.13 (33%)
Hauling heavy things will always be useful, part one.
CSX (CSX)
Year-opening price: $72.36
Sold: Apr @ $66.17 (-9%)
Year-closing price: $90.75 (25%)
Hauling heavy things will always be useful, part two.
American Water Works (AWK)
Year-opening price: $122.85
Sold: May @ $116.99 (-5%)
Year-closing price: $153.47 (25%)
Water is the new (old?) oil.
Norfolk Southern (NSC)
Year-opening price: $194.13
Sold: May @ $165.39 (-15%)
Year-closing price: $237.61 (22%)
Hauling heavy things will always be useful, part three.
Starbucks (SBUX)
Year-opening price: $87.92
Sold: May @ $74.54 (-15%)
Year-closing price: $106.98 (22%)
Work-at-home affects morning routines.
Canadian National Railway (CNI)
Year-opening price: $90.45
Sold: May @ $81.18 (-10%)
Year-closing price: $109.85 (21%)
Hauling heavy things will always be useful, part four.
Comcast (CMCSA)
Year-opening price: $44.97
Sold: Mar @ $33.97 (-24%)
Year-closing price: $52.40 (17%)
First sale of the year opened the floodgates.
Union Pacific (UNP)
Year-opening price: $180.79
Sold: May @ $152.94 (-15%)
Year-closing price: $208.22 (15%)
Hauling heavy things will always be useful, part five.
Waste Management (WM)
Year-opening price: $113.96
Sold: May @ $98.33 (-14%)
Year-closing price: $117.93 (3%)
Forever hot trash.
Intel (INTC)
Year-opening price: $59.85
Sold: Jul @ $52.00 (-13%)
Year-closing price: $49.82 (-17%)
The easiest sale of the year. A second-rate chip manufacturer and third-rate chip designer.
