My Journey at USIC begins here...

This is my third year at the United States Investing Championship. I have finally taken the plunge to documents my journey and thoughts along the way.

Quiet often journeys are about the stories of success; my journey is of the struggle to find the success which has been elusive till now. The hunger remains to be the best as I love the world of stocks.

I post my trades using @the_twigg_ which is my twitter account. I will be keen to connect with like minded people and share their journies along the way. Those travelling to Sydney and participants in USIC or from the world of investing, give me a shout and we can catch-up for a coffee/lunch.

The last two years at USIC has been despondent to say the least while I have definitely made some progress. This has come of the back of a horrible 2021 wherein life taught me a lesson or two. What you see below is the after effect of what happens if you don't preserve your risk capital and mental capital in the process.

My returns in the primary account (in blue) since its inception in June 2020 is still at -99.14%. Wow ! on the back off a great run and plunge into options and futures. We will discuss that story some day later.

I have since entered into the USIC on the back off the promise that I will never give up in life and in investing. I entered USIC In 2024 and 2025 and this is my third year running. My results have been mediocre to say the least. However, there are signs of change for the better as I still grapple to understand what suits my personality best.

I finished 2024 at 2.5% and 2025 at 27.4%. I have entered 3rd year in a row and have been greeted by one of the most difficult periods in recent times.

Since Jan-24 which is the gauge of my success that I am using, I am now sitting at -1.99% in my primary account as against TQQQ returns of -3.93% in the same time period.

At the same my Self Managed Superannuation Account has given me returns of 41% over the intervening time period. This is heartening to see as I use my primary account for a little more risk in terms of hedging and shorts from time to time.

I wanted to state my starting position of my documented journey as I write today. Stay tuned and learn from me as I learn from my own successes and failures.

Journey starts with the first step and continues through the many steps and challenges in between - Santo