Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 12:24 PM   #1
Moderator Emeritus
laurence's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 5,267
How are your portfolios YTD?

So I rebalanced my 401k and my wife's 401k to capture the whole market with a bias towards equities since we are young (sort of a bastardized coffee house). Did this at the end of December, and since then the markets, as near as I can tell (S&P 500, Wilshire 5000 etc.) when averaged are pretty much flat. I'm up a whopping .1%. So I guess I succeeded in my desired goal

How are others doing this year? Has this been a good start to '05 or do you wish you could forget it?
laurence is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 12:39 PM   #2
Full time employment: Posting here.
Patrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Northern, Florida
Posts: 925
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Well, according to the calculator on my investment account website, I'm down 1.41%. I was 100% in a small cap value fund. I'm not ERd yet, so I can afford a little risk and volatility. I was up 24.84% YTD at the end of last year, so I'm not complaining.
__________________
Retired in 2006 at age 49.

"Who among us is smart enough to learn from the mistakes of others?" - Voltaire
Patrick is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 01:18 PM   #3
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Spanky's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Minneapolis
Posts: 4,455
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

I was up 2% last week. I am not so sure now since my REIT funds (10% of the portfolio) has taken a big hit lately.

I normally update my return on a weekly basis.

Spanky
__________________
May we live in peace and harmony and be free from all human sufferings.
Spanky is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 01:28 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Up about 1.2%; I'll be seeing about $7k in dividends at the end of the month to spruce that up a little bit.
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 02:12 PM   #5
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 174
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

I'm up roughly 19%, or $30,000... TH I get almost $150 per quarter in dividends! Does anyone else get addicted to dividends? They're just so real and tangible, I love em'.
Berkshire_Bull is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 02:23 PM   #6
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Posts: 75
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

3.24% for me,and 3.03% for mums.Once again the near passive account(moms,1to 2 trades/yr and decently balanced with an income bias)easily trots along in a tight second place to the more aggressive account,more work,more monitoring(that would be me).
If my figures are correct,approx 2/3's of moms yearly disbursement comes from income/divvy's.

Enjoy the year,dont sweat the small stuff-ak
__________________
real men dont use dryer sheets
ak4195 is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 03:38 PM   #7
Moderator Emeritus
laurence's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 5,267
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Wow, congrats BB! What went so right for you? TH, your post makes me feel like a minnow swimming with great whites! Your dividends are 10% of my portfolio! I enrolled in my first DRIP this year, I too find dividends rather addicting.
laurence is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 04:02 PM   #8
Moderator Emeritus
Nords's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,856
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Quote:
Does anyone else get addicted to dividends? *They're just so real and tangible, I love em'.
Although they're a small part of our portfolio, I like the part where they're deposited to our Fidelity account a week before it pays the credit-card bill.

Berkshire Hathaway had zero pop on the annual report. This holding is looking more like bear insurance than a hot growth prospect. Maybe it'll drop 10-20% so that we can buy more.

Tweedy, Browne Global Value (TBGVX) is up over 5% in 2+ months. Unsustainable but quite encouraging. Apparently Europe, small-cap, & value's demises are all prematurely predicted.

Stopped out of Las Vegas Sands (LVS) at a small profit but wish I'd stayed in. Maybe there'll be a buying opportunity again soon.

Build-a-Bear Workshops (BBW) is imploding quite nicely, and Greenfield Online (SRVY) is also headed for disaster.

We had a Peter Lynch moment this year-- spouse saw a TV ad for "Splenda", an artificial sweetener that maintains its flavor at high temps (baking or hot drinks). Did some research, found out that we were late to the party but not too late for dessert, and bought ADRs on 16 Dec 04 @ $36.50. Up over 4% today to $41.35. I sure hope this isn't a play on a declining dollar.

I'm intrigued by Dolby Labs (DLB), Given Imaging (GIVN), & Genzyme Corp (GENZ). And does anyone believe that Herbalife (HLF) has a future?!?

Now if the market would only acknowledge my prescience with Nortel & Sun...
__________________
*

Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."

I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
Nords is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 04:04 PM   #9
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Quote:
TH, your post makes me feel like a minnow swimming with great whites! Your dividends are 10% of my portfolio!
I like to think of myself as more of a basking shark.

I need those dividends, they're what I had to live on before I nabbed a Nurse With A Purse!
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 05:18 PM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

I'm up 9%. Everything has been going up- my US stocks, my *foreign stocks, my energy, my gold.

Keeping my fingers crossed- I don't remember ever having this much good luck before.

Mikey
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 05:35 PM   #11
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
REWahoo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Texas: No Country for Old Men
Posts: 50,004
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Quote:
I'm up 9%. Everything has been going up- my US stocks, my foreign stocks, my energy...
Wow, Mikey. If my portfolio grew 9% my energy would be up too! Congratulations.

REW
__________________
Numbers is hard
REWahoo is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 06:03 PM   #12
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 1,318
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Slicer's Dream portfolio is up 2.25% YTD as of tonight.
__________________
ER for 10 years; living off 4.3% of savings (and a few book royalties ;-)
ESRBob is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-10-2005, 08:48 PM   #13
Moderator Emeritus
Nords's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Oahu
Posts: 26,856
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Quote:
I don't remember ever having this much good luck before. Mikey
Not luck, Mikey. Thorough research, a well-thought-out plan, and lots of investor discipline.

Luck would be Vegas!
__________________
*

Co-author (with my daughter) of “Raising Your Money-Savvy Family For Next Generation Financial Independence.”
Author of the book written on E-R.org: "The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement."

I don't spend much time here— please send a PM.
Nords is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 03:02 AM   #14
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3,875
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Hello TH. "Nurse with a purse". I like that. I had a
similar experience, except at my age I was lucky to find a
nurse with a pulse

JG
MRGALT2U is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 04:08 AM   #15
Recycles dryer sheets
Rich's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 245
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

When I first started my 457 plan (1992) all I saw was negative numbers for a couple of years. I was buying "Growth" shares, which, at that time, were going for around $7 bucks a share. Kept at it. Low and behold, the shares (not the only shares or sectors I hold, just an example) went slowly up, to $40 bucks a share. Then the crash, down to $19, now up to around $27. The point? Investing is a long term proposition. When prices are down, you're buying low (a good thing). Don't despair.
Rich is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 05:22 AM   #16
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
BigMoneyJim's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Nomadic in the Rockies
Posts: 2,720
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Looks like I'm up 1.92% including new contributions. I'm close to flat on earnings. Vanguard doesn't seem to break out just YTD earnings for me so I'm guestimating.
BigMoneyJim is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 05:36 AM   #17
Recycles dryer sheets
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 283
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

I track our portfolio at the end of each week so this is as of March 4th. Our total portfolio is up 1.76% since Dec 31 - All other Friday closings in 2005 were in negative territory with a minimum on Jan 21 (-2.13%) and a slow improvement since with a big bounce last week: the portfolio was up 1.78% the week ending March 4th.

Gas is up a lot today - TH will do well on energy this week but I think we're in for some more turmoil.

JohnP

__________________
Dad's Dream; to have enough money someday to live the kind of life my wife and kids do...
Life is what happens while you are making other plans... John Lennon...
the more you look, the more you see...
JohnP is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 06:35 AM   #18
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
cute fuzzy bunny's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Losing my whump
Posts: 22,708
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Well we're right at the cusp of the nine-month economic slide ECRI's leading economic indicators predicts. If they're right, and so far their indicator has been a good one, we've got some fairly lousy times ahead, at least until november

http://www.businesscycle.com/

(Scroll to the bottom to see the chart)
__________________
Be fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful. Just another form of "buy low, sell high" for those who have trouble with things. This rule is not universal. Do not buy a 1973 Pinto because everyone else is afraid of it.
cute fuzzy bunny is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 07:34 AM   #19
Moderator Emeritus
laurence's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: San Diego
Posts: 5,267
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Interesting Chart, I guess I should be glad I'm in the accumulation phase, the market is having a sale! Seriously, that's probably one of the most important things I've learned at this site, the difference in portolio dynamics as I go from accumulator to retiree/withdrawer.
laurence is offline   Reply With Quote
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?
Old 03-11-2005, 09:11 AM   #20
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
haha's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Hooverville
Posts: 22,983
Re: How are your portfolios YTD?

Quote:
Well we're right at the cusp of the nine-month economic slide ECRI's leading economic indicators predicts.
There must be some leads or lags that I don't know about. At the top right of the page you linked I found this press release:

Reuters

Weekly Leading Index Rises
03/11/2005
NEW YORK, March 11 (Reuters) - A leading index of the U.S. economy rose in the latest week, with an increase in the growth component pointing to a general recovery in the U.S. economy, a report showed on Friday.

The Economic Cycle Research Institute, an independent forecasting group, said its weekly leading index rose to 135.2 in the week ended March 4 compared with 134.9 in the previous week.

The index's annualized growth rate, which smooths out weekly fluctuations, rose to 3.0 percent from 2.6 percent in the prior week, the highest in nine months.

"The steady improvement in the weekly leading index growth rate points to a slowly brightening economic outlook and based on that recovery it is clear that the U.S. economy will continue to support global growth," said Anirvan Banerji, director of research at ECRI.


It sounds like they are predicting growth to me, unless they don't disclose their lead times.

Mikey
__________________
"As a general rule, the more dangerous or inappropriate a conversation, the more interesting it is."-Scott Adams
haha is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
YTD 2006 investment Sam FIRE and Money 84 12-04-2006 12:39 PM
Standard Portfolios and Options excellent Young Dreamers 13 11-07-2006 05:14 PM
How's your YTD Spanky FIRE and Money 153 01-29-2006 04:35 PM
Starting small with 2035 portfolios One4g Young Dreamers 3 01-18-2005 04:47 AM
Model Portfolios ats5g FIRE and Money 7 08-24-2004 09:03 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 06:53 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.