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Read more about the article Portfolio Update – May 2020 – What happens now? Uncertainty after Covid-19

Portfolio Update – May 2020 – What happens now? Uncertainty after Covid-19

  • Summary of April 2020 in the economy
  • The most important lessons from the coronavirus crisis to remember and to prepare for future crises
  • My All Seasons Portfolio is up 3.93% month by month. Total value now over EUR 4,000
  • Bought Stocks and Commodities this month, and switched Long-Term Government Bonds ETF to US Treasuries instead of global bonds

Welcome back for another monthly update of the All Seasons Portfolio blog. This time around, we have had to digest another month in lock down and April 2020 could perhaps be remembered for us all wanting to forget it.

Anyway, I hope that both you and your families and loved ones have stayed in good health, and that you haven't been too restless at home.

On my end, things have been hectic at work with long days, which is not surprising when you work with loans to corporates. These are interesting times but I am holding up. Hope we will soon be seeing an end of the tunnel. However, I am very pleased and humbled to still have job, as I know not everyone have been that lucky. And at least in Sweden, we have been able to exercise outside, but if our government have employed the right strategy through the outbreak, I am not the right person to take a stance on. All I know is that I have been working from home the past 8 weeks and been avoiding to go to the bars (which cannot be said for all my countrymen). Just hoping that we all will soon be able to get these crazy times behind us.

These are crazy times in our daily lives and for the economy, it has not been uneventful on the financial markets either. It feels quite difficult to summarize everything that goes on when so much happens. It also feels like there is so much going on that you lose the sense of time, like did the WTI crude oil flash crash happen 3 weeks ago or 3 months ago? It seems s hard to keep track of time when stuck at home.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – May 2020 – What happens now? Uncertainty after Covid-19
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – April 2020 – Covid-19 – Time to reflect and prepare for next crisis

Portfolio Update – April 2020 – Covid-19 – Time to reflect and prepare for next crisis

  • Summary of April 2020 in the economy
  • The most important lessons from the coronavirus crisis to remember and to prepare for future crises
  • My All Seasons Portfolio is up 3.93% month by month. Total value now over EUR 4,000
  • Bought Stocks and Commodities this month, and switched Long-Term Government Bonds ETF to US Treasuries instead of global bonds

Welcome back for another monthly update of the All Seasons Portfolio blog. This time around, we have had to digest another month in lock down and April 2020 could perhaps be remembered for us all wanting to forget it.

Anyway, I hope that both you and your families and loved ones have stayed in good health, and that you haven't been too restless at home.

On my end, things have been hectic at work with long days, which is not surprising when you work with loans to corporates. These are interesting times but I am holding up. Hope we will soon be seeing an end of the tunnel. However, I am very pleased and humbled to still have job, as I know not everyone have been that lucky. And at least in Sweden, we have been able to exercise outside, but if our government have employed the right strategy through the outbreak, I am not the right person to take a stance on. All I know is that I have been working from home the past 8 weeks and been avoiding to go to the bars (which cannot be said for all my countrymen). Just hoping that we all will soon be able to get these crazy times behind us.

These are crazy times in our daily lives and for the economy, it has not been uneventful on the financial markets either. It feels quite difficult to summarize everything that goes on when so much happens. It also feels like there is so much going on that you lose the sense of time, like did the WTI crude oil flash crash happen 3 weeks ago or 3 months ago? It seems s hard to keep track of time when stuck at home.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – April 2020 – Covid-19 – Time to reflect and prepare for next crisis
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – March 2020 – Have you been taking too much risk?

Portfolio Update – March 2020 – Have you been taking too much risk?

  • Reading tips on how the All Seasons Portfolio Strategy has developed during the coronavirus bear market
  • Have you been taking too much risk as an investor?
  • The monthly portfolio update - Stocks still down, gold is up again
  • A lesson learned from a mistake I made on choosing my Long Term Government Bond ETF.

Hi, and happy to have you back for another monthly update!

Here in Sweden, as you may have heard, our government are taking a different approach than the rest of Europe. I don't condone how they are treating it, but I have been working from home for more than 3 weeks now (and counting), doing my part in not spreading the virus further. We are all in this together and everyone has a responsibility to limit the spreading.

And now down to business. Another month has passed with heavy impact of the Covid-19 coronavirus on the financial markets. There is so much that could be written on the coronavirus outbreak and its effects on the economy, and honestly, it is way more than can reasonably be covered in this blog post.

I will, however, share how it has impacted my portfolio so far, some personal observations, and also reflect on risk taking, as I believe many retail investors have been in over their heads on the stock market in recent years and only now get a glimpse of what risk means. And of course, I will share the usual monthly portfolio update.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – March 2020 – Have you been taking too much risk?
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – February 2020 – Coping financially after the corona virus

Portfolio Update – February 2020 – Coping financially after the corona virus

  • Corona update: All Seasons Portfolio development was -3.46% 21 Feb to 6 Mar, compared to -14.33 All-World Stocks
  • Bonds helping to avoid the worst drawdown
  • Stocks, gold and commodities in negative territories, while gold has gained back some losses during the beginning of March
  • All Seasons Portfolio Strategy shows its value during shaky markets; it is good to diversify across asset classes to decrease portfolio risk
  • After these few weeks, my confidence in the strategy remains strong

Hi and welcome back,

Let's cut to the chase straight away - it is during special circumstance that I write this month's portfolio update. February har been a rocky month all over the world and asset types. I am sure you have felt the effects of the spread of the corona virus Covid19 in your portfolio. I guess that you are also very curious about how the All Seasons Portfolio has performed during a time when the VIX index, which measures market volatility, has reached 54 (so far)?

Have you been at all curious how the All Seasons Portfolio strategy has worked out in the middle of the corona outbreak and the worries on the financial markets? Luckily, that is what I have set out to answer this month.

Considering that the All Seasons Portfolio is designed with the thought in mind that it should withstand the volatility on the stock market, my portfolio should have fared quite well? That is what I will answer in this month's portfolio update.

The layout of today's post will be that first, we will look at the past two weeks specifically how the All Seasons Portfolio has managed the risks of the corona outbreak and the volatility on the markets. We'll go through each asset classes and look into the day-by-day development of my All Seasons Portfolio. Lastly, we will look at the month-by-month portfolio updates as we always do.

Read more to find out how my portfolio has been impacted by the bear market caused by the corona virus.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – February 2020 – Coping financially after the corona virus
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – January 2020

Portfolio Update – January 2020

Welcome back to a new great year with the All Seasons Portfolio Strategy!

January has been exciting in my portfolio. It now looks totally different. Well, I still employ the same strategy as always, but I have simplified - a lot. I have cut down the amount of ETFs from 12 to 6 and all with an All-World focus. I think this will make my portfolio simpler, but also for you, it will be easier to follow what I do and see the benefits of the All Seasons Portfolio Strategy. But more on this to come further down.

January has had som peculiar weather here in Stockholm. We still haven't seen winter at all so far. Usually, we have snow and ice here, but it has been very warm for the season. Even if the cold weather can sometimes be cruel and feel harsh, it is still quite enjoyable somehow. And the snow makes the otherwise dark days feel brighter.

On the markets, we are heavily impacted by the Corona virus worry. Today, when I write this on Monday 3 February, Shanghai stock exchange fell by 9% after having been closed for the week following the Chinese new years. Also Western stock markets have been impacted negatively these past weeks, also bringing oil prices down. Citibank sees further price declines toward $50 per barrel.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – January 2020
Read more about the article Year in Review – Summary of 2019

Year in Review – Summary of 2019

It is a new decennium, and we close the books of 2019 as we leave yet another year behind us. New Year is an excellent time to pause for a minute and reflect over the past 12 months. For me, it is also a great opportunity to take a look of how my All Seasons Portfolio performed this first year, and, most importantly, what I have learned in the process.

The structure for this post, is to first have a quick recap month by month from January to December of my investments, and after that, we will close the chapter of 2019 with some lessons learned, and new thoughts for the year to come.

I did not do any rebalancing this first year, as I only added funds by buying ETFs in asset classes where I was underweighted. Despite this, the profits turned out pretty well this first year, and well in line with the theory. In theory, the All Seasons Portfolio should yield about 4-5% per year as standard, and then by rebalancing, this yield will be topped with 1-2% more, providing a low risk return of about 7%. That is very much in line with the stock markets average return over time.

Continue ReadingYear in Review – Summary of 2019