2025 In Review
Looking back
With 2025 now in the books it’s time to look back over the past 12 months and see if anything can be learned. Having read a few of these ‘annual reviews’ over the last couple of days, I’ve tried to keep mine short and to the point. I don’t believe there is value in spending hours dissecting every thought process or comparing myself with others. Better to put things in order, then look ahead.
Returns
For the full year 2025, my portfolio returned 38.2%. This follows a 41% return in 2024, 24% return in 2023 and -25% in 2022. (For reference, the S&P 500 returned 16.3% in 2025).
Most of my gains this year came from a large position in UK company Applied Nutrition. APN spent a reasonably long time doing not much then rallied strongly toward the end of the year. Waiting for the stock to turn was uncomfortable and, at times, painful. But patience is a recurring theme in investing. Many times, I’ve witnessed a stock spend months doing nothing before doubling in just a few days. Being able to withstand painful periods, I believe, is an important attribute to have as an investor.
Learnings
One mistake I made in 2025 was not being bold enough. During the “Liberation Day” sell-off in April, I had my eye on a few names that went on to triple over the remainder of the year. (FIX, was one). I added these names to my research list, but by the time I got around to doing the work, they had already moved. In hindsight, buying a small initial position first, while analysing in parallel, may have been a better approach.
Something else I’ve noticed is that I tend to treat other people’s ideas more critically than my own. TGEN, for example, was a big winner that I saw early on Twitter, before it had moved. I suspect I would have been more open-minded had it been my own original idea. This is a bias that I need to overcome since it caused me to leave money on the table on more than one occasion. When analysing another investor’s idea I should ask the question: ‘How would I feel about this idea if I was the first one to have discovered it?’
Finally, I’ve learned the value of going deeper when good opportunities present themselves. Around May, I deliberately reduced the number of videos I was producing so I could spend more time on fewer, more interesting ideas. While this may slow newsletter growth, I think it has already led to better research and better decisions. Finding off-the-beaten-path ideas and learning new business models is simply more stimulating than rehashing the same consensus trades. I’m excited to find more of these opportunities in 2026.
Bottom line
Overall, I’m happy with my performance in 2025. Yes, I could have done some things better. But progress is rarely a straight line. What matters more to me is not my return but how much I have improved over the past year. Looking back to one year ago, I can see clear progress in how I analyse companies and how I value them as stocks. I am becoming more disciplined towards valuation and have a clearer picture of what I’m looking for in a potential investment. I think that is a crucial distinction and makes me optimistic towards 2026.
As always, thank you for reading.
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