Quarterly Report

[Free To Canoe]

Time to see how we are doing.
My numbers for the quarter: -8.6%.
My quarterly thoughts:
Emerging Market is a good thing, not a bad thing (this quarter).
Pssst Wellesley is something to whisper about this quarter.
What the h*ll happen to my REITs (again this quarter)?

Free (still) to Canoe

 

[DblDoc]

According to Quicken: -21.53%

I have the same opinion about REITs and EM and would add SCV to the list of asset classes doing relatively well. It would seem that correlations are drifting away from 1.0

DD

 

[haha]

According to Quicken: -21.53%

I have the same opinion about REITs and EM and would add SCV to the list of asset classes doing relatively well. It would seem that correlations are drifting away from 1.0

DD

I'm down 3%. I took my hit last fall; so far this year I am treading water.

Ha

 

[NW-Bound]

Down 2.2% since market opened on Jan 2, 2009.

Stock allocation increased from 50% to 58%. Buy, buy, buy...

 

[FIREd]

Down 5.3% for Q1 2009.

Bonds and commodities were up, everything else down.

But our net worth has recovered nicely this quarter (thanks to hefty, new investment contributions). Our high water mark was reached in May 2008 and we are retesting that level. But, this time around, we are doing it while the DOW is at 8,000, not 13,000... So as the market recovers, our net worth should enjoy a nice boost which should propel us that much closer to FI.

 

[Tadpole]

"1 Jan" to "28 Mar" -1.08%
YTD -0.29%
YTD dollar value increase 0.98%
From highest dollar value recorded (31 May 2008) ~ -4.25%
From highest dollar value recorded minus new savings ~ -9.4%

At high portfolio was equity/bond/cash about 30/20/50 and now is about 20/20/60 even though my new money is allocated approximately as a equity/bond 60/40 portfolio. I'm certainly not getting rich this way.

 

[OAG]

MS Money +1.716% gain on savings. Net Worth +3% increase.

 

[randy082054]

Net worth up 6%, largely due to taking profits on run-ups of individual TIPS (except for a balanced fund in my wife's 403b, that's where all our $$ is concentrated.)
Now looking for the next TIPS buying opportunity....

 

[tuixiu]

I'm still stinging from my annual rebalance happening right when the DOW popped back up to 9k at the beginning of the year.

 

[RonBoyd]

MS Money:

Portfolio - Down 4.6% 1Q 2009 (same holdings as 3Q 2007)
Net Worth - Down 1.1% 1Q 2009

 

[TromboneAl]

I'm still stinging from my annual rebalance happening right when the DOW popped back up to 9k at the beginning of the year.

Same here. It's nice that we've had a good run in March, but this graph puts it in perspective:

 

[audreyh1]

For Q1:
Portfolio: -6.26% Total net worth: -8.02%

YTD (thru April 3):
Portfolio: -2.33% Total net worth: -3.78%

What a difference 3 days make!

Audrey

P.S. I rebalanced on Jan 15. I've settled on this date because most years DOW etc. have a run up a the end of the year (Santa Claus Rally), plus there tends to be a rally the first few days of the year because new money comes into the market on Jan 1. Besides, it takes me at least a week into the new year to figure out the taxes owed on the portfolio which affects the rebalancing because I have to withdraw cash to pay estimated taxes.

Some years though there has been a rally Jan 1 to Jan 15 and so I feel "burned". But I decided to just stick with the same date year after year and it should average in my favor.

 

[cardude]

Down about 10% for the quarter.

12/31/08 = 86% equities / 14% cash equiv
3/31/09 = 74% equities / 26% cash equiv

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Down 8.7% Dec 31-Mar 31. Up 4.7% since.

 

[HFWR]

Down 2.2% since market opened on Jan 2, 2009.

Stock allocation increased from 50% to 58%. Buy, buy, buy...

Don't you mean "bye bye"?

 

[Jake46]

Portfolio -1.7%
Net Worth -3.1%

 

[Alan]

IRR is -2.68% through 4/4

current allocation is 37/49/14 against target of 35/50/15

 

[kumquat]

I'm about +20% (give or take a point or two).

You wouldn't like my asset mix (or my last year's results) though. No genius here.

 

[Bikerdude]

YTD down 2%. 33% equities down from 50%. No selling and have not rebalanced....yet.

 

[LOL!]

Down about 3%, but my 401(k) is UP because of rebalancing.

 

[NW-Bound]

Don't you mean "bye bye"?

I have been really BUYing. In contrast to posters who are accumulating and buying with fresh dough (good for them), my wife already ER'ed and I have recently resumed some part-time work (both W2 and 1099) to get some income to stem the drawing from our investment.

If I have any cash leftover from this income to buy stocks, this fresh money is minuscule compared to the portfolio size. Since Oct 2007, it has shrunk by about 8 to 10 years of living expenses. I still have about 20-25 years left (Our expenses are highly variable, due to kids still in college and our own whimsical foreign travels).

The main thing is that the income allows me the courage to go to a more aggressive allocation. Hence, buy, buy, buy.

I also looked at my own performance vs. the indices. Year to date, I roughly match the Nasdaq, and beat the Dow and the S&P. Out of the 58% that is in equities, I have about 2/5 in mutual funds, and 3/5 in my own stock picks. I do have some tech stocks, but that's not my concentration.

 

[FUEGO]

Down 13% for Q1 2009. Not too bad considering 100% equities and the total US market and total international market indexes were down 11% and 13% respectively over the same time period.

My portfolio leans heavily on small and value and international, with a huge helping of REITS (10%) and Emerging Markets (9% target, currently at 11%). Many components of the portfolio are highly volatile, but since they are not 100% correlated, the overall volatility is lessened. And hopefully this mix will produce higher long term returns.