Day 105: Day 100?

The Mother's Little Helper portfolio was down today (-0.28%) for a loss of -$1,908.48. Overall gain to date: +$95,622.68 (+16.38%). According to CNN Money the S&P 500 is up +5.29% Year To Date.

A lot of talk is made about the first 100 days, usually referring to the first 100 days of a presidency, commenting on the time frame when a president has the greatest influence. Did you know that the phrase was first coined by Franklin D. Roosevelt in a radio address discussing the first 100 days of the 73rd Congress? Some of you may notice that I'm writing about the first 100 days on Day 105, itself a comment on what I think about arbitrary numbers that appear a lot in the world of investing. I didn't really think day 100 was a milestone other than a reflection of my own endurance.

So what can I reflect on for the first 100 days of this portfolio? Outperforming the S&P 500 has been achieved faster than many of you thought possible; wish you'd discuss this stuff in the blog instead of emailing me, but that's okay too. Outperforming the S&P 500 by 3X came faster than I thought possible. I haven't quit this project yet and I keep finding something to say about the stock market and investing. All of you have been amazingly kind to this writer for over 100 days. That's about it. The first 100 days of anything is meaningless, it's just more noise that I choose to ignore.

Don't measure companies, the markets or your own portfolio with arbitrary time frames. 100 days, one quarter, 12 months, none of these time frames means anything to your investments.

Remember Clay's Rules for investing, "Ignore the noise and don't be a trader. Bull markets have no expiration, but Bear markets do. Corrections come about once every year, rally's come several times a year. The market always goes higher because it's an organic organism that expands and grows as populations and businesses grow. Companies may have to report quarterly but you can invest for a lifetime."

Stay Invested,

Clay Baker

Disclosure: I am personally invested long in these stocks that appear in the MLH portfolio and may purchase or sell share withing the next 72 hours. I am also invested in other stocks that do not appear in the MLH portfolio: BA, BRK.B, CELG, CSCO, CTXS, CVX, DOW, DVAX, FB, IBM, NTES, NVDA, OMER, PFE, PG, RDHL, SCHW, THO, TWX, VEEV, VZ, XLNX, XOM

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

This article is not intended to offer investing advice, guarantee 100% accurate predictions, or to be interpreted as providing a personal recommendation.