A multitude of negative factors set U.S. stocks up for a difficult start to 2022, with the S&P 500 recording its worst January since 2009 and officially hitting correction territory in February, which led to the worst Q1 in more than three years. Growth-oriented stocks were at the epicenter of the pain amid fears of rising rates and a slowing economy. According to Bloomberg Analytics, at the end of Q1, the percentage of NASDAQ stocks down 50% or more hit a new record—more than 60% of the index, a record not seen since the 2000 Tech bubble.

The U.S. inflation rate was already approaching 8%, and then came war between Russia and Ukraine—two countries that generate a large share of agricultural commodities and energy that are consumed throughout the world.

At the close of 2021 I completed a task I have done each year for the past 25+ years, reviewing what went right and where things went off course. The practice, handed down to me from my earliest mentor in the business, allows me to examine in detail the investing decisions of the past year—not just those that did well, but those that provide an opportunity to learn from mistakes. The latter often is most illuminating.