No job, what did I rely on to make money this year?

This year, I once again opted for a “no-job” mode, but to my delight, my personal assets actually saw a net increase.

So, where did this income come from? It wasn’t from my strong technical field. The two new projects I attempted this year both fell short of expectations and didn’t bring the anticipated breakthroughs. What truly made a difference was the investment logic of “money making money.”

This was somewhat unexpected, especially given the overall sluggish economy. Yet, the stock market, like fish swimming upstream, displayed unusual activity and enthusiasm. The market trend was consistently positive, as if “riding the tide.” And I, as someone not directly involved in creating social value, also benefited from it.

My fund holdings from five years ago have been “lying flat” ever since. While they haven’t fully recovered their initial value, their performance has easily surpassed the CSI 300 index, which undoubtedly affirms the active fund managers’ ability to seize market opportunities. Meanwhile, the new investments added at the end of last year have now entered a considerable profit range.

After five years of navigating bull and bear markets, I’ve seen significant growth in both my investment knowledge and mindset. Recently, I conducted a thorough review of my asset allocation and identified some areas for optimization: the proportion of underlying defensive assets is too high, while risk-averse assets like gold and overseas assets are relatively under-allocated.

I am now implementing a “barbell strategy,” aiming to balance both defense and offense. The specific plan is to increase holdings in fixed-income+ products, industry ETFs, and Nasdaq index funds, and to opportunistically allocate to gold and dividend-paying assets. In simple terms, this means moderately reducing wealth management products and increasing allocations to funds and bonds. When gold prices experience a reasonable pullback, I will consider a small additional allocation. However, since some funds have not yet matured, the current adjustments will continue for some time. I believe that after this optimization, my investment portfolio is expected to achieve its target annualized return.

Since investments can now bring considerable returns, I’ve decided to devote more energy to them. My leisure time will be spent reading entrepreneurship-related books, watching YC’s startup sharing videos, browsing platforms like Reddit and V2EX, and continuously updating my blog and Wechat official accounts. I hope to gradually shift from a technical expert’s mindset to a more holistic entrepreneur’s perspective. Of course, I will maintain my focus on cutting-edge technology and trend sensitivity, while also gaining deeper insights into market demand and potential opportunities.

My current state is somewhat akin to “Financial Independence, Retire Early” (FIRE), but I still yearn to achieve something significant. The lifestyle I envision is: a passionate career as the main thread, supplemented by stable investments as a side thread. Just as “a blessing in disguise,” my current smooth sailing might just be a result of aligning with the times. However, strictly adhering to investment discipline and overcoming inherent human weaknesses remains a formidable challenge. Therefore, I will continue to hold a respectful attitude towards the market and approach every investment decision with prudence.