It’s that time of year again for me to reflect on my trading performance and review the past year. Examining my trading involves considering a wide range of factors, and focusing solely on returns would be incomplete. This performance review assesses my trading activity since I resumed trading in April this year.

From a returns perspective, it has been a successful year. As of December 18, 2023, my returns are up 17% for the year. The majority of this return can be attributed to a long position on the S&P 500. This is approximately in line with the S&P 500 index and slightly ahead of the JSE Top 40 index, against which I benchmark my performance.

Taking everything into account, I made successful trades by adhering to my fundamental principle of risk management and seizing market opportunities. Nevertheless, I didn’t trade as effectively as I had hoped.

Where did I go wrong?

Initially, I made too many adjustments to my trading strategy without adequately documenting them. I even executed trades while these changes were still just ideas in my mind. Looking back, I realize that I was driven by FOMO when I saw opportunities for these new ideas while they were still in development, leading to poor trade management. I found myself second-guessing trades and my own abilities, often exiting before reaching the target or stop loss. As a result, I lost confidence in my trading for a short period. The changes also involved incorporating more short-term trades, which I referred to as “cash register trades.” Finally, I wasn’t journaling as consistently as I used to.

What did I do right?

After a short period of feeling uncertain, I decided to halt all changes until I could reconsider them thoroughly and document them. Even more importantly, I didn’t ignore the issue. First, I discussed it with my mentor, which was extremely helpful, and I kept trading, keeping my bat on ball. I reverted to my original approach, sticking to the basics until my confidence had returned.

What I could do differently

I shouldn’t rush trading new ideas until I’ve fully documented and thought them through. I need to have the patience to allow my mind and body to adjust to changes while journaling. 

My Goals for 2024

Over the holidays I will rethink my approach and redefine my “perfect trade”. So my goal for 2024 is to have a 100% perfect trade streak. And actually count and journal them. It’s basically back to basics. 

With that said, I wish you all a great festive season and the best of luck for the new 2024. Stay blessed.

Traders share a peculiar characteristic: they’re fiercely competitive, but only with themselves. In practice this means that they see every outcome as an opportunity to learn, and they’re brutally honest about both their failures and successes. This also means that they’re hungry for knowledge. They don’t sleep easy with unanswered questions. And they’re seldom satisfied with just one answer.

Njabulo Nsibande is a founder of Village Trader, and Sakha Ingcebo investment club. His interest in trading began in 2016, alongside a rash of Instagram ‘fx traders’…

Find him on Twitter: @njabulo_goje.