Beauty and the Beast: My Core Lessons in 2025

🌟🌟🌟As part of my annual review for 2025, I wanted to share some raw, emotive and slightly humorous lessons from a year in the market that felt less like a sophisticated waltz and more like a high stakes game of whack a mole.  It was a roller coaster of gratitude and a few, ahem  "educational opportunities".

My 2025 Market Diary: The Core Lessons Learnt

I am genuinely grateful for a very successful 2025 overall, thanks largely to a few patient, reliable workhorses that reminded me that slow and steady can in fact win the race and prevent a heart attack. 

The Beauty: The Art of Being Boring

My biggest gratitude goes to my core index ETFs: $SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF(SPYM)$  $STI ETF(ES3.SI)$  and $Vanguard Total World Stock ETF(VT)$ 

These ETFs taught me the invaluable lesson of doing nothing.  While I was busy stress testing my blood pressure with individual stocks, my index funds were quietly compounding wealth in the background, like the reliable friend who organises the party while I was busy chasing squirrels.  They are the financial equivalent of a warm hug and a cup of tea.  They are my safety blanket and I am eternally grateful for their boring, consistent performance that anchored my entire portfolio. 

Thank you, my diversified ETFs for existing.

The Beast: The Thrill and Peril of Crypto Plays

Ah, the shiny objects!  This is where humour (and the pain) comes in.  My crypto stock journey was a tale of 2 tickers, a perfect encapsulation of "feast and famine".

The Feast: IREN

I got in $IREN Ltd(IREN)$  early and boy, did it deliver! The feeling of watching that chart go parabolic was pure dopamine.  It felt like I was a genius, a market oracle, the Wolf of Wall Street.  It taught me that sometimes the market gives you a gift.  I am grateful for those sweet gains and the ego boost.

The Famine :  MARA

Enter $MARA Holdings(MARA)$  This stock taught me a different more humbling lesson.  If IREN was a gentle stream of champagne, MARA was a cold bucket of water to the face.  The downs hit harder than a Monday morning alarm clock.

MARA taught me the lesson of humility.   It taught me FOMO or Fear of Missing Out and FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) in real time.  The MARA chart looked less like a steady ascent and more like my toddler's drawing of an earthquake.  It is an expensive reminder that not every crypto miner is created equal and chasing past performance is a fool's errand.  

I am grateful for the character development, if not the P&L statement.

Concluding Thoughts 

2025 was a year of contrasts.  It taught me that while calculated risks can pay off handsomely, true peace of mind and long term wealth lies in the simplicity of broad market investing. 

I am stepping into 2026, a little wiser, a lot more humble and incredibly grateful for the hard lessons and the sweet successes.  

This Christmas I am leaning into a different kind of compounding interest: the time spent with my loved ones, the warmth of a shared meal and that unmistakable magic of Christmas that turns even the most cynical investor back into a wide eyed believer.

On this very special day of Christmas, it reminds us that while we trade for a better future, we live for the present. 

So here's to a portfolio that grew, a heart that learned and a season that reminds us that we are already incredibly wealthy in all the ways that truly count.

Merry Christmas to Everyone in Our Wonderful Tiger Community:  from the Hardworking Staff at Tiger Brokers to all my Dear Tiger Friends -

May Your Hearts Be Full, Your Spirits Bright and Your New Year Be Amazing! 🥰🥰🥰🎅🎅🎅🌈🌈🌈💰💰💰💐💐💐

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