Investing in 2026

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Soul-searching

The end of the year is the perfect moment for a bit of “soul-searching.” This year, due to other life goals, I’ve decided to limit dynamic capital allocation. However, before I get to what lies ahead, I need to settle my accounts with 2025.

And it was an exceptionally good year. The market was on my side—stocks of both Polish and foreign companies grew, and precious metals didn’t lag behind either. Ultimately, I managed to close this period with a solid profit, though not without an emotional rollercoaster.

What worked, and what hurt? In investing, things are rarely perfect. My biggest success this past year was timing. I managed to enter and exit Intel and AMD stocks almost perfectly. These were the moments when I felt I really “read the market.”

Unfortunately, not every decision was golden. The portfolio’s performance was slightly chipped away by Novo Nordisk and Mercado Libre. Companies that were supposed to be “sure bets” turned out to be disappointments and shaved off valuable percentages from the final result.

However, the biggest lesson came from my own backyard. I spent a lot of time on the “careful selection” of individual Polish companies, only to realize that… they yielded a lower return than the broad index of these stocks. It was a painful lesson in humility: this is how listening to recommendations without deeper, personal analysis ends. Sometimes, it’s just not worth trying to outsmart the market.

Below, I’m sharing the current breakdown of my stocks and ETFs along with their changes. The Polish companies show year-over-year changes. Mine weren’t quite as impressive.

In the coming year, I am shifting my priorities. Most of my free funds will be redirected to paying off my loan/mortgage. It is a guaranteed return that no market can take away from me. Consequently, my investment portfolio will evolve towards a Core-Satellite strategy.

What’s the deal?

  • CORE: This needs to be stable and broad. The foundation will be All-World ETFs. They are supposed to do the “heavy lifting” without me constantly checking the charts.
  • SATELLITE: I will allow myself a slight overweighting of emerging markets where I see potential: South America, China, and Poland.
  • Aggressive Part: I’m leaving a small margin for speculation, but with ironclad discipline. Maximum 2–3 companies. I will place a contrarian bet on CCC (against the crowd) and pick at most two other firms to go with it.

In 2026, I’m betting on the thesis that beauty lies in simplicity. Less noise, less “obsessing” over individual companies, and more peace of mind while achieving life goals.

All the best in the New Year! May your portfolios shine green, and may your decisions be spot-on (and independent!).

See you in 2026!