How has your portfolio done in 2011?

[W2R]

I guess I may keep working part-time a bit longer.

Fine with me, as long as you are paying into SS and Medicare. I'm enjoying every single lovely minute of retirement, whether the market is up, down, or sideways.

But then, I have no desire to own two houses, an RV, or whatever. We each pursue what it takes for us to be happy. Everyone knows what we girls want...

 

[NW-Bound]

Heck, what's another year of enjoyable work? I may just go until I drop...

And then, the RV is an escape pod, in case things get real, real bad. People without one would be living in their cars.

 

[REWahoo]

Heck, what's another year of enjoyable work?

One less year of enjoyable retirement.

 

[NW-Bound]

ESR : Half-n-half. Best of both worlds.

 

[W2R]

One less year of enjoyable retirement.

ESR : Half-n-half. Best of both worlds.

And while you two quibble about it, I'm having more fun than Cyndi Lauper in that video.... fun is free, for the most part. Time is what costs so much.

 

[steelyman]

One less year of enjoyable retirement.

Definitely.

When we are children, we are conditioned to be told by our parents about what to do and are dependent on them for support.

Then we head off into grade schools and have teachers that determine what will be judged to be success.

Off into college (maybe), and we have professors and advisors to determine what/how we do.

Finally into the working world, and we have employers/bosses who call the shots and we are really dependent on them for income.

The best letter in FIRE is "I", for "independent". By that point, hopefully no one is telling you what to do! If you go halfway... well, you're still only halfway.

 

[NW-Bound]

If you go halfway... well, you're still only halfway.

One may want to be halfway. [-]Life is not binary[/-]. Things in life are not binary.

I also have the choice of work I want to do.

Stocks or bonds? Psst Wellesley...

PS. Mispoke! Life IS binary.

 

[steelyman]

PS. Mispoke! Life IS binary.

Indeed it is. That may be one reason why many want to fully retire early.

 

[LauAnn]

+4.3%

 

[audreyh1]

Ended up 2011 -1.3% before taxes and a very small withdrawal.

Yes, I own foreign equities. I already rebalanced the portfolio to buy more international stocks.

Audrey

 

[Moemg]

Ended up 2011 -1.3% before taxes and a very small withdrawal.

Yes, I own foreign equities. I already rebalanced the portfolio to buy more international stocks.

Audrey

Audrey , I always admire your knowledge so may I ask " Why are you buying international stocks while Europe is so shaky " ? I have been shying away from them due to the instability .

 

[StevenJ]

Up 3.2% overall. (down from 13.9% last year.)

Up 2% on S&P 500 funds
Down 13.7% on International funds
Down 3.9% on Small Caps
Up 7.8% on GNMA funds
Up 7.9% on other Bond funds

Here's to a better 2012!

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey , I always admire your knowledge so may I ask " Why are you buying international stocks while Europe is so shaky " ? I have been shying away from them due to the instability .

Because I always end up buying some of what has gone down the most the year before - that's the spirit of rebalancing. Maintaining a fixed AA forces you to buy low and sell high which inevitably means some money goes to things that look "shaky" in the short term, and money comes out of some assets that look "safe".

I don't really care if Europe is shaky for the next year or so. My portfolio is designed to last for decades, so in the long run it should pay off.

And my international funds don't only invest in Europe, they invest all over the world. Europe is just a part.

Finally, by the time Europe looks "safe" for investors, the fund shares will already have risen to reflect that. At that point, my fixed AA will probably force me to trim a little from that asset class.

I never expect stability in my individual asset classes. That's why I maintain a well diversified AA, because while individual asset classes may be quite volatile, the sum total tends to be much less volatile.

Audrey

 

[scrabbler1]

ESR : Half-n-half. Best of both worlds.

This was okay for some of the 7 years I worked part-time. But eventually, the awful commute outweighed the free midweek time so ESR became ER.

 

[NW-Bound]

While European stocks might be in my international funds, my own picked stocks and ETFs are in other countries, such as Canada and Australia. I like to spread my money around, and last I looked, they have a lower unemployment than that of the US.

...And my international funds don't only invest in Europe, they invest all over the world. Europe is just a part.

Finally, by the time Europe looks "safe" for investors, the fund shares will already have risen to reflect that. At that point, my fixed AA will probably force me to trim a little from that asset class.

I never expect stability in my individual asset classes. That's why I maintain a well diversified AA, because while individual asset classes may be quite volatile, the sum total tends to be much less volatile.

As explained elsewhere, by holding some individual stocks or sectored ETFs, I could see their individual price movements. I thought that was interesting, whether I traded on that info or not. And hopefully, I may be able to [-]buy low sell high[/-] rebalance with the observation and make good money.

This was okay for some of the 7 years I worked part-time. But eventually, the awful commute outweighed the free midweek time so ESR became ER.

I am fortunate that my work is like a hobby, except that they pay me well to do it. The last short-term project I just finished, they also gave me a generous budget to buy whatever parts I needed. Being a frugal guy, I spent only 1/5 of that to get the job done. Waiting now for them to ask me for a follow-up of that project. Life (and fun work) is great!

 

[chemist]

Because I always end up buying some of what has gone down the most the year before - that's the spirit of rebalancing. Maintaining a fixed AA forces you to buy low and sell high which inevitably means some money goes to things that look "shaky" in the short term, and money comes out of some assets that look "safe".

I don't really care if Europe is shaky for the next year or so. My portfolio is designed to last for decades, so in the long run it should pay off.

And my international funds don't only invest in Europe, they invest all over the world. Europe is just a part.

Finally, by the time Europe looks "safe" for investors, the fund shares will already have risen to reflect that. At that point, my fixed AA will probably force me to trim a little from that asset class.

I never expect stability in my individual asset classes. That's why I maintain a well diversified AA, because while individual asset classes may be quite volatile, the sum total tends to be much less volatile.

Audrey

Well put Audrey. Those who are shying away from Europe right now are:

1) Making a sector bet

and

2) Likely to get back in when things look less shaky - just as you and I are reducing our Europe weight back to our planned allocation during our next rebalancing. (After the price run up!)

Audrey has it right - pick an Asset Allocation and stick with it through thick and thin. No one is smarter than Mr Market.

 

[novaman]

I miscalculated (forgot to include December) turns out my return was 4.4%

 

[ejman]

3.44 % according to Quicken

 

[audreyh1]

Audrey , I always admire your knowledge so may I ask " Why are you buying international stocks while Europe is so shaky " ? I have been shying away from them due to the instability .

And who'da thunk. But it turned out that my international funds were the top performers in 2012. Especially OAKIX, which has the most exposure in Europe and Japan and blew away all the other funds with a 29%+ 2012 return.

Actually, OAKIX wasn't my best performing fund in 2012. TAREX, a REIT with mostly international holdings managed a 36%+ return for 2012.

Funny how things often turn out that way.....[although sometimes it takes a few years for a turnaround].

 

[mickj]

+19.5%

got lucky with some dirty market timing

 

[NW-Bound]

This was an old thread about 2011 return, not 2012. I just want to be sure.

Almost 20% is very good in any year, but if you got that in 2011 when quite a few got negative returns, then it was that much better. Congrats!

PS. By the way, the 2012 return thread is here: http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f28/2012-returns-of-your-investments-64349.html.

 

[mickj]

+19.5%

got lucky with some dirty market timing

oops this was 2012