If you can look into the seeds of time

And say which grain will grow, and which will not

Speak then to me.

Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I, Scene 3

This is my seventy-ninth monthly portfolio update. I complete this regular update to check progress against my goal.

Portfolio goal

My objective is to achieve and maintain a portfolio of at least $2,750,000 by 31 December 2024 or earlier. This should be capable of producing an annual income from total portfolio returns of about $94,800 (in 2023 dollars).

This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.45 per cent.

A secondary focus will be achieving the minimum equity target of $2,200,000.

Portfolio summary

Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth Fund	$769,333
Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth Fund	$40,487
Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced Fund	$72,451
Vanguard Diversified Bonds Fund	$87,427
Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS)	$385,859
Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS)	$579,897
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200)	$280,714
Telstra shares (TLS)	$2,291
Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG)	$7,221
NIB Holdings shares (NHF)	$10,140
Gold ETF (GOLD.ASX)	$129,373
Secured physical gold	$20,519
Bitcoin	$514,175
Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio)	$20,817
Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio)	$3,525
BrickX (P2P rental real estate)	$4,488
Total portfolio value	$2,928,717 (+$87,366)

Asset allocation

Australian shares	34.4%
Global shares	32.1%
Emerging market shares	1.4%
International small companies	1.8%
Total international shares	35.4%
Total shares	69.8% (-10.2%)
Total property securities	0.2% (+0.2%)
Australian bonds	2.2%
International bonds	5.1%
Total bonds	7.3% (+2.3%)
Gold	5.1%
Bitcoin	17.6%
Gold and alternatives	22.7% (+7.7%)

Presented visually, the pie chart below is a high-level view of the current asset allocation of the portfolio.

Comments

The financial independence portfolio advanced materially this month, growing by 3.1 per cent or $87,000.

This takes the portfolio total well beyond the anticipated $2.75 million target, even while some of its most important component parts – such as the equity portfolio – sit below what I am seeking as a condition of moving to any changed work arrangements.

The portfolio as a whole has only experienced three months at value levels beyond the current level, all off the back of then bouyant Bitcoin and equity markets at the end of 2021.

Australian equities showed capital growth of around 1.7 per cent across the month. International equities advanced slightly more, with gains of around 2.5 per cent.

Overall, this has led the total equity portfolio to exceed $2.0 million, with over $1.0 million in both Australian and international shares, a milestone that is significant in both the long journey, and this shorter record, which commenced – in 2017 – at a time when the entire portfolio had yet to exceed a million dollars in value.

Continue reading “Monthly Portfolio Report – June 2023”

For a moment, nothing happened. Then after a second or so, nothing continued to happen.

Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

This is my seventy-eighth monthly portfolio update. I complete this regular update to check progress against my goal.

Portfolio goal

My objective is to achieve and maintain a portfolio of at least $2,750,000 by 31 December 2024 or earlier. This should be capable of producing an annual income from total portfolio returns of about $94,800 (in 2023 dollars).

This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.45 per cent.

A secondary focus will be achieving the minimum equity target of $2,200,000.

Portfolio summary

Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth Fund	$759,139
Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth Fund	$40,104
Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced Fund	$72,039
Vanguard Diversified Bonds Fund	$87,773
Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS)	$369,961
Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS)	$565,690
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200)	$275,870
Telstra shares (TLS)	$2,323
Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG)	$6,563
NIB Holdings shares (NHF)	$10,152
Gold ETF (GOLD.ASX)	$136,225
Secured physical gold	$21,550
Bitcoin	$465,270
Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio)	$20,727
Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio)	$3,481
BrickX (P2P rental real estate)	$4,484
Total portfolio value	$2,841,351 (-$14,754)

Asset allocation

Australian shares	34.6%
Global shares	32.5%
Emerging market shares	1.5%
International small companies	1.8%
Total international shares	35.8%
Total shares	70.4% (-9.6%)
Total property securities	0.2% (+0.2%)
Australian bonds	2.3%
International bonds	5.2%
Total bonds	7.5% (+2.5%)
Gold	5.6%
Bitcoin	16.4%
Gold and alternatives	21.9% (+6.9%)

Presented visually, the pie chart below is a high-level view of the current asset allocation of the portfolio.

Comments

This month the financial independence portfolio saw only a small movement, a slight decline of 0.5 per cent, or around $15,000.

This means the portfolio continues to sit at nearly $100,000 above the target portfolio goal, albeit with a composition which is still significantly different from the final target allocation planned.

Over the month the portfolio has experienced gusts in either direction, with international shares adding to portfolio performance, but with the price of Bitcoin falling slightly, resulting in the muted portfolio headine number.

Over the month international shares experienced growth of around 2.0 per cent, while Australian shares fell in value around 2.6 per cent. The value of Bitcoin holdings fell around 5 per cent.

Continue reading “Monthly Portfolio Report – May 2023”

But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,

We’d jump the life to come.

Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act I, Scene VII

This is my seventy-seventh monthly portfolio update. I complete this regular update to check progress against my goal.

Portfolio goal

My objective is to achieve and maintain a portfolio of at least $2,750,000 by 31 December 2024 or earlier. This should be capable of producing an annual income from total portfolio returns of about $94,800 (in 2023 dollars).

This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.45 per cent.

A secondary focus will be achieving the minimum equity target of $2,200,000.

Portfolio summary

Vanguard Lifestrategy High Growth Fund	$754,730
Vanguard Lifestrategy Growth Fund	$39,986
Vanguard Lifestrategy Balanced Fund	$72,039
Vanguard Diversified Bonds Fund	$88,419
Vanguard Australian Shares ETF (VAS)	$374,607
Vanguard International Shares ETF (VGS)	$549,229
Betashares Australia 200 ETF (A200)	$283,322
Telstra shares (TLS)	$2,329
Insurance Australia Group shares (IAG)	$6,309
NIB Holdings shares (NHF)	$9,264
Gold ETF (GOLD.ASX)	$135,108
Secured physical gold	$21,456
Bitcoin	$490,427
Raiz app (Aggressive portfolio)	$20,965
Spaceship Voyager app (Index portfolio)	$3,433
BrickX (P2P rental real estate)	$4,482
Total portfolio value	$2,856,015 (+$92,724)

Asset allocation

Australian shares	34.8%
Global shares	31.7%
Emerging market shares	1.4%
International small companies	1.8%
Total international shares	34.9%
Total shares	69.7% (-10.3%)
Total property securities	0.2% (+0.2%)
Australian bonds	2.3%
International bonds	5.2%
Total bonds	7.5% (+2.5%)
Gold	5.5%
Bitcoin	17.2%
Gold and alternatives	22.7% (+7.7%)

Presented visually, the chart below is a high-level view of the current asset allocation of the portfolio.

Comments

This month the financial independence portfolio grew by 3.4 per cent, or around $93,000.

This moves the portfolio to over $100,000 ahead of the final goal, which has been reached previously, but only recently regained.

As can be seen below, in a brief period across late 2021, through to March 2022, the portfolio did reach higher levels than currently, buoyed by a higher price for Bitcoin at that time.

The progress this month has arisen from two main sources – an expansion in overall equity values flowing from a greater focus on recorded inflation declining from recent peaks, and a recovering price of Bitcoin.

The equity component of the portfolio grew by around 2.2 per cent over the month, with international shares increasing just over 3 per cent, compared to slightly lower growth of around 2 per cent for Australian equities.

Bitcoin advanced around 5 per cent over the same period.

Continue reading “Monthly Portfolio Report – April 2023”