Investing a little more defensively

Because I plan to return to the US I take quite a US-centric view of my investment portfolio. After all, I expect to spend the bulk of the funds on setting up our new life there. It's done well so far, mostly thanks to a broad range of US equities, but the stock market's had a good run for a long time now and Trump's increasing craziness, especially regarding protectionism, have me wondering when the music stops, even without tension with Iran distracting from domestic troubles. Perhaps all will turn up smelling of roses at the G20; there's no particular likely trigger that worries me, just a general sense of fragility, both in the economy and in Trump's mind, so I finally lost my nerve. If this were a longer-term investment I'd instead just keep it in large caps and ride it out.

As what I fear may yet be a year away or never happen I do want to keep benefiting from growth; I'll stay in equities rather than, say, gold, but just be a bit less greedy. I'll still keep my stock in Cisco, Visa, etc. but I sold some others with a view to moving money to stocks like Kimberly-Clark, Costco and Coca-Cola and whatnot, maybe some Amgen, Merck, etc. too, the kind of thing that I expect might better survive protectionism. Further, if we do get escalating tariffs or other issues then the midst of that could be a good time to pick up stock in companies that are hit worse by events but large enough to last through them. Still, I am somewhere between amused and worried that I am responding to my concern by making my portfolio less diverse, in shying away from what might be more exposed.

It's good to adjust position occasionally anyway because then I can realize intermediate gains for tax purposes to spread them across multiple years of free allowance in both the US and UK tax systems.

I suppose that I ought to add an obligatory disclaimer that I have no investment advising qualifications whatsoever. Do not lend my thinking any credence in making your own decisions.

Appreciating good examples

A few people in my life have inspired me by being reliably open, kind and generous to just about everybody. I behave at a lower standard: for example, I mentioned realigning my invested savings: I did not put much mind to ethically investing despite having previously given it some weight when making choices about my pension plans. Even if I can be selfishly short-sighted, the example set by such good people helps me see that. The more that contrast makes me aware of my failings, the more likely that I may yet somewhat mend those ways.