Over Half of Investors’ Portfolios Underperformed in First Half of 2020

This week’s Sentiment Survey special question asked AAII members how their portfolio has performed during the first half of 2020 relative to their expectations at the start of the year. More than half of respondents (56%) say that their portfolio performed worse than expected. This compares to 13% of respondents who say that their portfolio performed better than expected. Additionally, 31% of respondents say that their portfolio performance for the first half of 2020 was more or less as expected.

Here is a sampling of the responses:

• “Considerably worse overall than expected due to sectors negatively impacted by the coronavirus travel restrictions and business closures. Some select businesses in e-commerce and technology have done well, but not enough to overcome the losses in industrial, consumer cyclical and energy stocks.”
• “Expected to perform in line with major indexes. I have exceeded that expectation by starting the year with a 25% cash position and adding to equities during the March sell-off. Accumulating cash again now through income and dividends. Always watching for more investment bargains. Personal travel and entertainment expenses have dropped to zero. Taxes continue to increase.”
• “It has performed satisfactorily, pretty much currently close to its value at the start of the year. It has followed the market—down in March like everything else and recovered in line with the market. Personally, I wish it had stayed down longer so I would have had a chance to invest in bargain prices.”
• “Slightly lower than the start. However, I picked up some value stocks at great prices recently, so I expect good performance going forward as the economy comes out of this artificial recession.”

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