I spent much of late November and early December wondering whether I should trim a holding that had tripled since March. The answer, with perfect hindsight and from a short-termist’s view, turned out to be yes – I should have trimmed. The stock has fallen by more than 25% since I started writing.

I am not so sure though. Yes, I sensed that a correction was likely. And yes, my portfolio has fallen back due to my inactivity. But trying to be smart about how a security might move in the near future is best left to those seeking short-term wins over a benchmark.

I seek no such victory. I just want to own assets that I am comfortable holding for the long-term and that I think will help me achieve my goals.

When I started writing that article, my two TPL shares were worth US $3138. Had I trimmed, I would have one share and cash worth $2700 in total. My two shares are now worth almost $500 less than that, but I am content. They are evidence of a long-term investing muscle that I didn’t have this time last year.

Speaking of things I didn’t have last year, I still don’t have a Spotify subscription. I remain an Apple Music leper. So while everybody else spent early December looking at their Spotify Wrapped, I spent it looking at Spotify’s moat. You can see what I (with the help of our Spotify analyst) found here.

Spotify shares have tripled since the company went public in 2018, but they have a long way to go before emulating the success of another green machine: Monster Beverage.

Over the past twenty years or so, it has delivered one of the biggest total returns in stock market history. In the hope of finding a similar winner in the future, I searched for lessons from its rise. I also looked at two ASX-listed companies with some similar qualities.

 

The second half of December was light on the work front. This was mainly because I spent most of it preparing for and celebrating the act of turning 30. I headed to Melbourne for one last round of twenties golf and then drove along the south coast to Adelaide with my partner and her parents.

Highlights from our trip included McLaren Vale and Sellicks Beach, the stretch of road from Lorne to Apollo Bay, and seeing a wild koala up close for the first time. Seeing another side to Australia was the perfect way to wrap up the year and yet another reminder of how lucky we are to live here.

I’m also incredibly lucky to have found the team I have here at Morningstar. Mark, Shani, Sim and I all have different backgrounds, are at different stages of our financial journey, and have all taken different routes there. We also took different financial lessons from 2024. You can see what each of us learned here.

Looking ahead to 2025, I hope to share more field notes from my investing journey and how I work through the various events and questions that pop up on the way. If there is anything in particular you'd like me to cover, please get in touch.

You can also expect more unique insights from our equity research team thanks to our Ask The Analyst feature. If you haven’t submitted your question about ASX stocks and industries under our coverage yet, please send it along to [email protected].

Thank you again for being here. Here’s to a restful Christmas holiday period and an abundant new year for all of us.