The shouting, wounds, and blood were in plain view, the cause was hidden: fortune ruled the rest

Tacitus, Annals, Bk.I

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

Portfolio goal

My objective is to maintain a portfolio of at least $2,620,000 through 2022. This should be capable of producing an annual income from total portfolio returns of about $91,600 (in 2022 dollars).

This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.5 per cent.

A secondary focus through 2022 will be achieving the minimum equity target of $2,100,000.

Portfolio summary

Asset allocation

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

Comments

This month twin winds hit the portfolio, leading to an overall loss of $115,000, or 4 per cent.

As a result, over half of the gains of the previous month were erased.

The portfolio is currently within sight, though a bit above, its total value twelve months ago. The past year has been a relatively volatile period in absolute terms, reinforced by the growth in the overall size of the portfolio, and its exposure to Bitcoin.

The value of the portfolio continues to be above the revised portfolio goal of $2.62 million, as it has since late July last year.

This month Bitcoin declined significantly, falling around 13 per cent, representing the largest part of the overall decline. By contrast, gold enjoyed a positive capital return of around 4 per cent over the month.

International share holdings also fell by 2.8 per cent amidst strong signs of monetary tightenings to come in developed economies. Australian shares produced a negative return of around 0.5 per cent, once distributions were accounted for.

Continuing the negative picture, bond holdings fell by 2.6 per cent. This means in dollar terms the bond portfolio holdings are at their lowest value since late 2015, and are also close to their lowest level ever as a proportion of the portfolio.

Time forks perpetually towards innumerable futures

Jorge Luis Borges, The Garden of Forking Paths

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

Portfolio goal

My objective is to maintain a portfolio of at least $2,620,000 through 2022. This should be capable of producing an annual income from total portfolio returns of about $91,600 (in 2022 dollars).

This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.5 per cent.

A secondary focus through 2022 will be achieving the minimum equity target of $2,100,000.

Portfolio summary

Asset allocation

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

Comments

This month the portfolio has increased by around $191,000, or around 7.1 per cent, which is the strongest performance in the past five months. This breaks the run of two relatively flat monthly outcomes since the beginning of the year.

Stepping back, this growth means that the portfolio now sits at approximately double the level reached three years ago, even though it has only just recovered to the level reach at the end of last August.

The portfolio continues to be above the revised portfolio goal of $2.62 million.

A major reversal in the price of Bitcoin occurred over the past month, with its value rising around 19 per cent. This has delivered over half of the total portfolio gains made since last month.

The other significant source of growth was a 7.0 per cent advance in the value of Australian shares. Despite a poor start to the month, international equity investments gained around 2.2 per cent. This brought the value of total equity holdings to above $1.8 million, returning equities overall to close to their highest ever level.

By contrast, the value of gold assets held fell by 3.5 per cent, and bond holdings also suffered significant capital losses – of 2.5 per cent – as yields rise. This continues to leave the overall bond portfolio at the lowest levels last experienced in 2016.

The air is cut away before

And closes from behind

Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 424-425

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

Portfolio goal

My objective is to maintain a portfolio of at least $2,620,000 through 2022. This should be capable of producing an annual income from total portfolio returns of about $91,600 (in 2022 dollars).

This portfolio objective is based on an assumed safe withdrawal rate of 3.5 per cent.

A secondary focus through 2022 will be achieving the minimum equity target of $2,100,000.

Portfolio summary

Asset allocation

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

Comments

Global events, and the outbreak of the tragic war in Ukraine, have dominated the news and financial markets this month.

Within this context, movements in the portfolio seem – and indeed are – largely irrelevant.

The principal financial impact of these events has of course been increased volatility across asset prices. Despite this, however, the overall financial independence portfolio remains approximately where it started the month.

The portfolio has increased around $4,000, or 0.1 per cent, breaking the two months of falls since December last year. Once again the portfolio just – however narrowly – sits above the revised portfolio goal of $2.62 million.

The most significant trends within the portfolio were the sharp and continued falls in global equities, with losses of around 5.5 per cent.

These falls were matched, however, with an offsetting rise in the value of Australian shares (2.1 per cent) and gold holdings (4.4 per cent).

Through the month bonds and fixed interest holdings continued their decline, with further losses of nearly 2.0 per cent. This leaves the overall bond portfolio at its lowest dollar level since January 2016, and around 20 per cent below – in nominal dollar terms – the level reached in early 2018.