So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
This is my fifty-third monthly portfolio update. I complete this regular update to check progress against my goal.
Portfolio goal
My objective is to reach a portfolio of $2,585,000 by 31 July 2022. This would produce a real annual income of about $90,500 (in 2021 dollars).
This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.5 per cent.
Portfolio summary
| Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth Fund | $829,649 |
| Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth Fund | $45,135 |
| Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced Fund | $81,870 |
| Vanguard Diversified Bonds Fund | $100,139 |
| Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS) | $307,826 |
| Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS) | $158,831 |
| Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200) | $275,311 |
| Telstra shares (TLS) | $1,801 |
| Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG) | $6,208 |
| NIB Holdings shares (NHF) | $7,392 |
| Gold ETF (GOLD.ASX) | $103,197 |
| Secured physical gold | $16,581 |
| Plenti (P2P lending) | $4,411 |
| Bitcoin | $776,690 |
| Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio) | $20,326 |
| Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio) | $3,267 |
| BrickX (P2P rental real estate) | $4,540 |
| Total portfolio value | $2,743,174 (+$2,449) |
Asset allocation
| Australian shares | 34.5% |
| Global shares | 20.0% |
| Emerging market shares | 1.7% |
| International small companies | 2.1% |
| Total international shares | 23.8% |
| Total shares | 58.3% (-16.7%) |
| Total property securities | 0.2% (+0.2%) |
| Australian bonds | 2.8% |
| International bonds | 6.1% |
| Total bonds | 8.9% (-6.1%) |
| Gold | 4.4% |
| Bitcoin | 28.3% |
| Gold and alternatives | 32.7% (+22.7%) |
Presented visually, the chart below is a high-level view of the current asset allocation of the portfolio.
Comments
After the most sustained, as well as the largest, expansion in its history the portfolio has recorded a small increase over the last month.
The muted final outcome was the result of a significant correction in the price of Bitcoin, which has fallen substantially since the middle of the month, after it briefly reached all time heights.
Overall the portfolio advanced just over $2,000, despite a fall of around $70,000 in the value of Bitcoin holdings. Just as last month where the contingent nature of the achievement was discussed, this leaves the total portfolio slightly above the portfolio goal.
The slight growth in the portfolio was largely due to other portfolio assets moving in the other direction, off-setting the substantial Bitcoin reductions.
Australian equities grew by around 2.0 per cent, and the value of international shares also advanced around 2.7 per cent over the month. Gold reversed its three consecutive months of decline with around a 2.8 per cent gain.
Continue reading “Monthly Portfolio Update – April 2021”