My portfolio has outperformed all major indices except the S&P 500 to date, in US dollar equivalent, see the table below.

While S&P 500 is showing a “see it to believe it” positive return of 1,2% before fund fees, if one takes out a handful of large cap technology stocks, the US stock market would also show a near 10% decline.

For nearly all family offices, an income stream as well as capital preservation and growth are a requirement. I expect most family office portfolios to have been harder hit given the severe decline in dividend stocks.

For UK, European, Australian and Singaporean funds, the declines have been more severe. Very few investors allocate their entire portfolio to companies outside their own jurisdiction especially for income; so while my performance to date is still not satisfactory for my own high standards, it is proving to be above average as the decline in portfolio value has been mitigated to a more manageable level with a sufficient time horizon to realise the potential of full recovery and return targets.

One has to appreciate that 2020 is witnessing the worst global economic devastation since the second world war.

So yes, in my own eyes, I am above average in managing money but I am still really trying to figure out where I stand in the range from above average to good after 13 years of doing this. Most fund managers have proven to be below average hence why most funds close after 3 years. We all think that we are better than we actually are. It is going against human nature to think otherwise so the key things are how does one manage risk, capital allocation levels and realise mistakes early.