2025 was a year where the market rewarded discipline, but it also punished overconfidence. For my eToro portfolio, I’m sharing results in relative terms — not absolute amounts — because what matters most to me is whether the process scales and stays repeatable across different market conditions.
The headline numbers (relative terms)
- I finished the year +1.9% ahead of the SPX500.
- I placed 599 trades, and 69% of them were profitable.
- My top-performing position was LULU (+61.3%), with other strong contributors including BIDU (+40.6%), GOOGL (+34.3%), ASML (+33.3%), and NFLX (+32.8%).
This mix also tells you something important: my year wasn’t purely “buy and hold for years.” With nearly 600 trades, some positions were held for shorter periods, and a portion of the activity was tactical — trimming, re-entries, rotations, and opportunistic setups.
So instead of labeling 2025 as “long-term investing” in a strict sense of holding duration, I’d describe it like this:
Long-term mindset. Tactical execution.
That means the goal stays long-term (capital growth and preservation), while the implementation adapts based on price action, fundamentals, and risk.
2025 market context: the tariff-driven fear window
One of the most useful moments of the year came early.
In February, markets were hit with renewed trade-policy uncertainty when President Trump announced new tariffs — including a 25% tariff on steel and aluminum imports — adding fuel to broader trade-war concerns.
Around the same period, U.S. stocks saw sharp down days as investors digested tariff threats alongside weaker macro signals.
I’m not bringing this up to debate politics. I’m bringing it up because these headline shocks often do one thing extremely well:
They create emotionally-driven pricing.
When people are reacting fast, risk gets mispriced. Good assets can be sold down with bad ones. And if you’re prepared (watchlist ready, sizing rules clear, patience intact), those moments can become your best entries.
This is where my “golden rule” comes in — and it’s not mine, it’s a classic:
In Berkshire Hathaway’s 1986 letter, Warren Buffett wrote that they try to be “fearful when others are greedy” and “greedy only when others are fearful.”
That quote is popular for a reason: it’s a simple sentence that describes how you avoid becoming liquidity for other people’s panic.
So during that February fear window, my approach was straightforward:
- Identify what was moving on headlines vs. what was actually breaking fundamentally
- Add exposure in a controlled way (no “all-in” behavior)
- Keep risk defined so a deeper dip doesn’t force bad decisions
What actually worked for me in 2025
1) Process > predictions
I don’t need to predict the next macro headline. I need a portfolio that can survive uncertainty. That means diversification, position sizing, and not letting one thesis dominate my account.
2) A core mindset with a satellite execution
Some holdings are “core” (built for durability). Others are “satellite” (tactical and time-bound). The key is being honest about which is which — because you manage risk differently.
3) Avoiding value traps
A stock can look cheap and still be dangerous: structural decline, weak balance sheet, shrinking margins, or unsustainable dividends can turn “value” into a trap. My filter in 2025 leaned toward durability: fundamentals, cash-flow reality, and avoiding stories that only work if everything goes perfectly.
4) Staying emotionally neutral
This is the hardest one. When volatility spikes, your brain wants action. But in investing, action is only valuable if it’s aligned with rules. “Do nothing” is often the correct move until the setup is clear.
What I’m taking into 2026
I’m not trying to be a hero. I’m trying to be consistent.
- Keep a long-term objective (capital compounding)
- Use tactical trades only when the risk/reward is asymmetric
- Buy selectively during fear spikes — but with strict risk control
- Keep learning from mistakes and tightening the process
Not financial advice. Just sharing my recap and how I think about markets — so the next time fear hits, I’m ready to act calmly instead of reacting emotionally.
