FIRE Portfolio Income

A report on the FIRE portfolio income on the investing journey to financial independence

Portfolio Income Update – Half Year to June 30, 2021

Posted on by The FI Explorer

Because things are the way they are, they will not stay the way they are.

Berthold Brecht

Twice a year I prepare a summary of total income from my portfolio. This is my tenth portfolio income update since starting this record. As part of the transparency and accountability of this journey, I regularly report this income.

My goal is to build up a portfolio capable of providing a passive income of around $90,500 by July 2022 (Portfolio Goal).

Portfolio income summary

InvestmentAmount
Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth (retail fund)$66,713
Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth (retail fund)$3,627
Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced (retail fund)$5,758
Vanguard Diversified Bonds (retail fund)$5,909
Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS)$4,645
Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS)$2,024
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200)$3,394
Telstra shares (TLS.ASX)$43
Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG.ASX)$89
NIB Holding shares (NHF.ASX)$120
Plenti/Ratesetter (P2P lending) (estimated)$150
Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio)$210
Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio)$0
BrickX (P2P rental real estate)$42
Total Portfolio Income – Half-Year to June 30, 2021$92,724

The chart below sets out the income or distributions received on a half-yearly basis from the financial independence portfolio over the past five and a half years.

*Half Yearly Portfolio Income
Continue reading “Portfolio Income Update – Half Year to June 30, 2021”

Portfolio Income Update – Half Year to December 31, 2020

Posted on by The FI Explorer

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,

And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.

John Masefield, Sea Fever

Twice a year I prepare a summary of total income from my portfolio. This is my ninth portfolio income update since starting this record. As part of the transparency and accountability of this journey, I regularly report this income.

My goal is to build up a portfolio capable of providing a passive income of around $90 500 by July 2022 (Portfolio Goal).

Portfolio income summary

InvestmentAmount
Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth (retail fund)$26,278
Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth (retail fund)$1,799
Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced (retail fund)$3,217
Vanguard Diversified Bonds (retail fund)$4,469
Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS)$3,071
Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS)$793
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200)$3,037
Telstra shares (TLS.ASX)$43
Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG.ASX)$0
NIB Holding shares (NHF.ASX)$48
Plenti/Ratesetter (P2P lending)$343
Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio)$77
Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio)$0
BrickX (P2P rental real estate)$37
Total Portfolio Income – Half-Year to December 31, 2020$43,212

The chart below sets out the income or distributions received on a half-yearly basis from the financial independence portfolio over the past five years.

Continue reading “Portfolio Income Update – Half Year to December 31, 2020”

Outward Bound – Trends in Taxable Investment Income

Posted on by The FI Explorer

But who wants to be foretold the weather? It is bad enough when it comes, without our having the misery of knowing about it beforehand.

Jerome K Jerome, Three Men in a Boat (1889)

Tracking taxable investment income produced by the financial independence portfolio provides a useful external benchmark of progress on the journey.

So far, reviewing past dividends and distributions has been the primary way of tracking progress in portfolio income towards the financial independence goal.

Yet having this additional externally validated estimate of what my taxable income would be if I stopped working tomorrow is valuable. It helps illustrate the underlying income generating potential of the portfolio and also allows for broader trends over time to be observed.

Taxable investment income remains stable for now

Taxable investment income for financial year 2019-20 totalled around $42,500. This is a level which is close to the record of the past four years.

Figure 1 below sets out the fuller record over the past decade. It is based on the total of taxable income from the tax assessment categories of partnerships and trusts, foreign source income, franking credits and ‘other income’. That is, it takes in the totals of Items 13, 20 and 24 on the 2020 tax return, whilst not including capital gains.

Continue reading “Outward Bound – Trends in Taxable Investment Income”

Portfolio Income Update – Half Year to June 30, 2020

Posted on by The FI Explorer

Screenshot_20200703-230904_Photos

Here, where the world is quiet;
Here, where all trouble seems
Dead winds’ and spent waves’ riot
In doubtful dreams of dreams;
I watch the green field growing

Swinburne, The Garden of Proserpine

Twice a year I prepare a summary of total income from my portfolio. This is my eighth portfolio income update since starting this record. As part of the transparency and accountability of this journey, I regularly report this income.

My portfolio goal is to build up a portfolio capable of providing a passive income of around $87 000 by July 2021 (Portfolio Objective).

Portfolio income summary

  • Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth – $33 314
  • Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth – $2 074
  • Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced – $2 621
  • Vanguard Diversified Bonds – $1 077
  • Vanguard ETF Australian Shares ETF (VAS) – $2 109
  • Vanguard ETF International Shares ETF (VGS) – $511
  • Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200) – $2 325
  • Telstra shares – $43
  • Insurance Australia Group shares – $127
  • NIB shares – $120
  • Ratesetter (P2P lending) – $724
  • Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio) – $83
  • Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio) – $0
  • BrickX (P2P rental real estate) – $35

Total portfolio income in half-year to June 30, 2020: $45 162

The chart below sets out the distributions or income received on a half-yearly basis from the portfolio over the past four years.

HY Port Dist2 - Jul 20

The following pie chart is a breakdown of the percentage contribution of each investment in the portfolio to the total half-yearly income.

Pie HY Dist Jul 20

Comments

The total of half-year distributions from the portfolio was $45 162, or the equivalent of around $7 500 per month over the past six months.

This result is the third highest half-year distribution on record, breaking a two year downtrend of lower June figures. These half-year portfolio distributions are substantially larger than June last year, and around double that of June distributions of four years ago.

Continue reading “Portfolio Income Update – Half Year to June 30, 2020”