How I Fared in 2008

The 2008 trading year has come to a close. Overall, it was an awful year for stocks. The S&P 500 lost 38.49%, making it the worst year for stocks in 71 years. The Crossing Wall Street Buy List lost 33.60% which, once again, beat the market.

Including dividends, the S&P 500 lost 37.00% while the Crossing Wall Street Buy List lost 33.01%.

For the year, 19 of our 20 stocks lost money. The only winner was a small 3.99% gain in WR Berkeley (WRB). The biggest loser was Nicholas Financial (NICK) which dropped 67.5%, although I’m sticking with it in 2009. The second-biggest loser was Harley-Davidson (HOG) which dropped 63.67%.

The Crossing Wall Street Buy List again had less risk than the rest of the market. The daily volatility was 2.45% less than the S&P 500.

Here's a spreadsheet detailing how the Buy List did in 2008. For tracking purposes, I assume it's a $1 million portfolio and all the stocks are equally weighted at the beginning of the year. The rules state that once the Buy List is set, I can't touch it for the entire year. Here's how the Buy List did throughout the year.

Comments

[momomiester:]

down 38percent? Really with all that is going on if one didn't make money on this then they are either a buy hold firm or they have no business being in the market. There were tons of opportunities to make money short.
And also make a ton when things were washed out.

Plus bragging about losing less than the market when down 30plus percent is like bragging your ship didn't sink as fast as someone else's.

Jan 02 02:15 PM