…it is sweet to see the sea from the land when you don’t have to sail any longer
Archippus
This is my fifty-eighth 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 | $807,844 |
Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth Fund | $43,486 |
Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced Fund | $78,870 |
Vanguard Diversified Bonds Fund | $99,943 |
Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS) | $363,435 |
Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS) | $233,181 |
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200) | $291,171 |
Telstra shares (TLS) | $2,094 |
Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG) | $6,233 |
NIB Holdings shares (NHF) | $8,364 |
Gold ETF (GOLD.ASX) | $108,834 |
Secured physical gold | $17,413 |
Plenti (P2P lending) | $1,145 |
Bitcoin | $669,910 |
Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio) | $20,705 |
Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio) | $3,442 |
BrickX (P2P rental real estate) | $5,033 |
Total portfolio value | $2,760,803 (-$84,855) |
Asset allocation
Australian shares | 36.6% |
Global shares | 22.2% |
Emerging market shares | 1.6% |
International small companies | 2.0% |
Total international shares | 25.8% |
Total shares | 62.4% (-12.6%) |
Total property securities | 0.2% (+0.2%) |
Australian bonds | 2.6% |
International bonds | 5.9% |
Total bonds | 8.5% (-6.5%) |
Gold | 4.6% |
Bitcoin | 24.3% |
Gold and alternatives | 28.8% (+18.8%) |
Presented visually, the chart below is a high-level view of the current asset allocation of the portfolio.
Comments
The portfolio fell in value by around $85,000 this month, declining by just over 3.0 per cent.
Despite this, the portfolio remains for the moment above the formal portfolio goal, as it has since May. Taking a slightly longer view, the portfolio is still over 50 per cent larger today, than a year ago.
The declines this month were broad-based and across almost all of the portfolio.
The value of Bitcoin fell by around 9 per cent, while remaining firmly higher than at the start of the year.
Australian equities have fallen around 2 per cent, and international equities also fell by 1.8 per cent. Partly as a result, the overall equity portfolio has declined by nearly $20,000. This leaves the equity portfolio at around 89 per cent of the amount targeted in the plan.
Amidst some evidence of rising long-term bond rates, the value of gold holdings also fell by 3.3 per cent.
Finally, adding to the negative picture, the value of fixed interest holdings in the Vanguard Diversified Bonds fund fell by 1.3 per cent. Consequently they are now at their lowest dollar level since the last major investments in that fund were made in 2014.
Continue reading “Monthly Portfolio Update – September 2021”