June saw my net worth fall by 0.6%, with a sharp drop in the value of my pensions and investments more than offsetting savings for the month. This has been my worst month on record, and the first down month for over 4 years.
The investment portfolio was down 5% with sharp falls in the emerging markets and fixed income components in particular. Gold & Silver continued their decline. I added positions in a global high dividend ETF and an asia pacific high dividend ETF, along with a small HK iBond subscription.
My pension fund unit values fell by over 6% with global equities falling, but emerging markets in particular.
My property remained occupied with no out of plan expenses.
Cash balances fell with the new investments. Income was strong but the savings rate was lower than average, with a couple of out of plan expenses associated with renewing my tenancy agreement.
Year to date net worth growth: 26.7%
Year to date savings rate: 77%
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Monday, 24 June 2013
HK iBond Purchased
I've been allocated 2 lots (HKD20,000) in the latest HK iBond launch. This is down from the 3 lots i was allocated last year, but is better than nothing given the inevitable 3%+ day one gain as it is valued & traded on the secondary market.
Last year i sold the 3 lots fairly quickly to realise the day 1 gain & reinvest the funds. I'm tempted to do the same again this year, with the equities pull back looking to offer some good buying opportunities.
As the amounts are small i'm not too concerned either way.
Last year i sold the 3 lots fairly quickly to realise the day 1 gain & reinvest the funds. I'm tempted to do the same again this year, with the equities pull back looking to offer some good buying opportunities.
As the amounts are small i'm not too concerned either way.
Thursday, 20 June 2013
VHYL.L Purchased
Having seen all my investment portfolio gains wiped out in the last 2 weeks and then some, i've decided to treat the sharp market pull back as a buying opportunity.
Vanguard UK has recently launched a new low cost global high dividend ETF, a perfect fit for my investment portfolio and almost certainly something i will add to over time.
It ticks many boxes on my shopping list, including:
Low cost - at 0.29% this is well below comparative ETFs provided by the likes of iShares
Exposure to the US - with around a 33% weighting to the US, this plugs the most obvious geographic gap in my portfolio
High diversification - according to the factsheet, this ETF has just over 1000 stocks, the most i've seen in this sort of product
High yield - at around 4%, this is a good yield for a globally diverse fund. The PE (around 13) is reasonable too.
My entry price was just over GBP30, close to the lows since this was launched in May.
Vanguard UK has recently launched a new low cost global high dividend ETF, a perfect fit for my investment portfolio and almost certainly something i will add to over time.
It ticks many boxes on my shopping list, including:
Low cost - at 0.29% this is well below comparative ETFs provided by the likes of iShares
Exposure to the US - with around a 33% weighting to the US, this plugs the most obvious geographic gap in my portfolio
High diversification - according to the factsheet, this ETF has just over 1000 stocks, the most i've seen in this sort of product
High yield - at around 4%, this is a good yield for a globally diverse fund. The PE (around 13) is reasonable too.
My entry price was just over GBP30, close to the lows since this was launched in May.
Monday, 17 June 2013
Not a great start to the month!
A quick mid month refresh of my finances suggests i might be on course for my first monthly decline in net worth for over 4 years.
The main contributing factors are:
1) Around a 5% decline in the value of my investment portfolio, with emerging markets equities & currencies suffering materially in the first 2 weeks of the month. I've also noticed quite rapid declines in the value of the fixed income components of my portfolio (high yield bonds/pref shares). I took advantage of the declines to add the iShares Asia Pacific high dividend ETF to my portfolio. I have identified some other potential purchases aligned to my core strategy but will hold off committing too much to the markets at this moment.
2) Around a 4% decline in the value of my pension funds, which are heavily invested in global equities, and have broadly tracked the markets down.
3) I've also had a couple of one off expenses associated with renewing my tenancy, resulting in a below average (albeit still positive) savings rate.
I'm trying not to see this as a negative. The investment declines are market wide and if anything a pull back in the recent rally is healthy and provides a buying opportunity. Income and savings are still strong, and cash, property & investment yields are all healthy.
The main contributing factors are:
1) Around a 5% decline in the value of my investment portfolio, with emerging markets equities & currencies suffering materially in the first 2 weeks of the month. I've also noticed quite rapid declines in the value of the fixed income components of my portfolio (high yield bonds/pref shares). I took advantage of the declines to add the iShares Asia Pacific high dividend ETF to my portfolio. I have identified some other potential purchases aligned to my core strategy but will hold off committing too much to the markets at this moment.
2) Around a 4% decline in the value of my pension funds, which are heavily invested in global equities, and have broadly tracked the markets down.
3) I've also had a couple of one off expenses associated with renewing my tenancy, resulting in a below average (albeit still positive) savings rate.
I'm trying not to see this as a negative. The investment declines are market wide and if anything a pull back in the recent rally is healthy and provides a buying opportunity. Income and savings are still strong, and cash, property & investment yields are all healthy.
Sunday, 9 June 2013
Unplanned costs of moving / not moving home
Having recently renewed my tenancy agreement, i've been hit with a couple of costs that i should have budgeted for, but didn't.
These included agency handling fees & stamp duty for the contract renewal, a top up to the rental deposit due to the increase in rent, and the purchase of some new furniture items that i'd been holding back on given the uncertainty of whether or not i would be moving.
However, it did make me realise that this was a clear hole in my budget & longer term cash flow plans, as costs would arise every couple of years regardless of whether i move or not. For instance, by not moving, the costs above would still recur to a greater or lesser extent every couple of years. If i did move, the costs would probably include all the above (but higher), and in addition the costs associated with physically moving.
I'll therefore add an estimate for this item to my long term cashflow forecasts and annual budgets. Whilst it didn't make a material dent in my current year plans, the costs would add up over a long time horizon.
These included agency handling fees & stamp duty for the contract renewal, a top up to the rental deposit due to the increase in rent, and the purchase of some new furniture items that i'd been holding back on given the uncertainty of whether or not i would be moving.
However, it did make me realise that this was a clear hole in my budget & longer term cash flow plans, as costs would arise every couple of years regardless of whether i move or not. For instance, by not moving, the costs above would still recur to a greater or lesser extent every couple of years. If i did move, the costs would probably include all the above (but higher), and in addition the costs associated with physically moving.
I'll therefore add an estimate for this item to my long term cashflow forecasts and annual budgets. Whilst it didn't make a material dent in my current year plans, the costs would add up over a long time horizon.
IAPD.L Purchased
My investment portfolio has seen a fairly sharp decline in the past 2 weeks, as emerging market & asia pacific equities & currencies have suffered more than most following the FOMC's hints at reigning back their loose monetary policies.
I've seen this as a buying opportunity for an ETF i've been looking to buy for a long time, the iShares Asia Pacific Select Dividend ETF. It has a high weighting to Australia & New Zealand Financials,, Telecoms, Consumer Services & Industrials, and is currently yielding around 5%. Whilst the Australian currency has had a sharp pull back against the USD, i still believe the long term prospects for this region to be strong.
I bought at 2135p, which is around a 13% pull back from its recent high. Whilst i'm by no means certain the pull back is complete, it has unwound almost all its year to date gains and thus felt like a good buying opportunity to add some solid high yielding names to the portfolio.
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