The Great Lockdown Recession - yes we're here

ā€œIt’s about to rain gold…and all you’ll have to do is walk outsideā€

That pretty much sums it up in a nutshell as to why he’s hoarding cash, my question would be because of that does anyone see Berkshire Hathaway as a long?

I don’t think hoarding cash is exactly the right term for what Buffet is doing. There’s an element of press sensationalism in the phrase.

It’s what 10-15% of total Berkshire portfolio in cash. Buffet also counts short term bonds as cash (anything under 90 days) so imo that’s not just cash…

To be fair 180 billion from a normal punter like me is ā€œhoarding cashā€ :joy:

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It’s all relative though isn’t it?

I think hoarding cash paints a picture of Walt and Skylar at the lock up, when realistically it’s a proportion of his vast portfolio that has always been held as cash or cash equivalents.

Just checked it’s between 20-25% so I suppose it’s more then usual but not dramatically.

JFK’s father and the Shoeshine Boy (Stock Market Bubbles)

Saw this article today and whilst it’s a little old, it is a pretty interesting read!

Got me thinking about the signals, have you spotted any recently?

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If the presenter on the evening news is telling you about how the stockmarket is soaring - it’s probably time to think about selling up :grimacing:

Once the same presenter starts telling you we are in a stock market armageddon - get your cash ready :sunglasses:

If we do start to have some wobbles, it’s worth remembering the impact of losses on your portfolio. A 50% loss needs a 100% subsequent gain to recover to breakeven as shown below:
drawdown recovery

Google sheet here to download, and blog waffle here

Nearly there…

I am sure Trump will not allow any signs of markets turning around in the months comming to his re-election. Something tells me he would be prepared to go an extra mile for S&P to keep going up.

My crystal ball tells me things will come down crashing in the second half of his second term :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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I’ve said this before. Missing the best days in the market will have a negative impact on returns. There will be a downturn, but when is difficult to know. Pundits have been predicting it wrongly for years.

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100% agree here! Time in the market beats Timing the market.

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I haven’t sold anything in over 2 years. Would much rather make sure I’m invested in good companies in the first place. Then I can just put my feet up with a cuppa :coffee:

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Why should the 2 things be exclusive. You can ā€œbe in the marketā€ and time it as well. I will definitely rebalance the geographical distribution of my passive ETF’s in the near future. I’m 90% USA at the moment and I will ā€œtimeā€ it to make it more geographically diversified in the months comming. I won’t sell anything I’ll just invest more into eu/uk/japan.

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I have begun to deleverage. Coronavirus a possible recession-causing event, coupled with US election year and wider socioeconomic concerns.

I’ll have about 60% in bonds for the rest of the year and make many small bets mainly in biotech - 10-15% of portfolio - with hope a few hit. Barbell strategy.

Interesting read if you’re more of a bear:

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Another sell off happening, PMI miss for America, JP Morgan putting a sell rating on the S&P and Bonds hitting low yields. This could really get interesting going into next week, wonder if it could bounce again.

I sold off a lot of things at highs a couple days ago - now got 75% cash in my portfolio, hopefully was the correct decision!

Bob, I did the opposite by purchasing while at all time highs… At the moment, feels like you made the right choice

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I’m still buying, but only what I see as fair valued companies which are few and far between just now. I’m hoping for a sell off to come, plenty stocks on my watchlist I’d be all over if they were to come down 5-10%

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@crockettandtubbs What’s your thinking behind EU and Japan? Any particular sectors or companies? I like the UK too.

@Bob7 How long do you think might stay 75% in cash? E.g. will you just wait until a recession appears?

I did the same :frowning:

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