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.

2 comments:

  1. And the decline got a lot bigger this morning. While it is painful seeing a portfolio fall 10%, 20% or more, I try hard to look on these declines as opportunities to buy shares at better prices.

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  2. today has been brutal!

    but yes, my eyes lit up with the the opportunity to buy and i just made a purchase. I am being cautious not to over commit at this stage though given the volatility.

    Cheers

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