2019

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
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – December 2019

Portfolio Update – December 2019

  • Total Portfolio value: € 3,745.64
  • YTD development: +5.28%
  • MoM development: +1.28% from € 3,698.28
  • Current average fee: 0.25% p.a.

I hope that you had a good and joyful end to 2019, and a perfect start of 2020! Feels amazing, doesn't it, with a new year and a new decade? For me, this marks the first 12-month anniversary of this blog and my All Seasons Portfolio, for which I took my first shaky steps in December 2018. And look where we are now!

My year is actually of to a rocky start (a case of food poisoning, leaving out all the details), but the year can only get better from there. I am slowly but surely growing the reader count of this blog, for which I am ever so grateful. And my portfolio is actually performing decently as well.

The end of 2019 felt quite uneventful, but that might only be that everything happens at once now in 2020 with the American assassination of Qasem Suleimani, the Iranian general (spoilers), but all in all, investors and markets were in a good mood in December.

However, leading indicators of economic growth show a lack of growth going forward and that companies' profits aren't really increasing at the same pace as their stock prices. I guess we will see more of the results of such tendencies during 2020. Good that we have prepared with a risk adjusted portfolio such as the All Seasons Portfolio.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – December 2019
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – November 2019

Portfolio Update – November 2019

  • New investment: Long-Term Government Bonds
  • Average portfolio fee: 0.25% p.a.
  • +3.95% YTD growth (up from 4.17% in September)
  • Total portfolio value EUR 3,698.28
  • Request for input for a coming post on investing in bonds with negative yield

Welcome back to a new update of my All Seasons Portfolio built by ETFs available outside the US. This time, with an update on the November 2019 development.

Outside, winter is making its first appearance here in Sweden with cold weather and some days with snow fall. That good enough reason to keep warm inside and binge watch TV series or read, and prepare for Christmas.

It reminds me that I have soon completed a full year since starting with the All Seasons Portfolio strategy. 21 December 2018 I wrote my first post on how to get started with the All Seasons Portfolio. This past year has taught me a tonne, and I will write a special blog post on the most important teachings and summarizing the first year.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – November 2019
Read more about the article Portfolio Deep Dive – Why invest in Commodities and about Invesco Bloomberg Commodity ETF

Portfolio Deep Dive – Why invest in Commodities and about Invesco Bloomberg Commodity ETF

Let's take a slight break from the normal routine, shall we? Up until now, I have only posted on this blog once per month with my monthly updates. In those updates, I have included some additional flavor on different investment related subjects, such as tips to invest your pay raise in March or about why you as an European should consider investing in America back in April.

Today, I want to have a slightly different approach. Rather than combining this post with a monthly update, I will do a deep dive in certain aspects of my portfolio, in its own article. This way, it will be easier to truly focus on one subject, while hopefully maintaining your attention.

My portfolio currently consists of 10 different ETFs (October 2019). When I am done building my portfolio, it will be composed by 23 different ETFs according to my plan. However, let us today dive in a bit deeper into one of these ETFs that I intend shall have an approximate share of 7.5% of the portfolio value in the All Seasons Portfolio, namely Invesco Bloomberg Commodities UCITS ETF.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Deep Dive – Why invest in Commodities and about Invesco Bloomberg Commodity ETF
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – October 2019 – Should you really avoid debt?

Portfolio Update – October 2019 – Should you really avoid debt?

Good to have you back for the 10th portfolio update of my All Seasons Portfolio. October has been a good month and I hope that you too have enjoyed the autumn so far. With the falling darkness and bad weather, at least portfolio growth sheds some light in our lives.

The past months, I have been struggling with adding new funds to the portfolio, and I haven't made any new additions since June really. Now, however, I have added about EUR 264 and went shopping for Mid Term Government Bonds. I did this in spite of my anticipated cash outflow coming in November to the tax authorities, by increasing my indebtedness and took a loan to pay my taxes. But aren't loans a bad thing?

Many are taught from a young age that debt is an inherently bad thing and that it should be avoided at all cost. The truth is, however, that you can accelerate your life and portfolio growth with a moderate amount of debt. Debt in itself is not dangerous, but rather the monthly cash flow that follows to service the debt can be disastrous.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – October 2019 – Should you really avoid debt?
Read more about the article Portfolio Update – September 2019 – Graphs that show that the strategy works

Portfolio Update – September 2019 – Graphs that show that the strategy works

Preparations have now started in my household, for the autumn and winter ahead. Shorts and light shirts are packed in my storage unit, and out have long johns, turtle necks and thick warm jackets come. Dreadful moment when you realize that colder weather is coming. Here in Stockholm, Sweden, it is already touching 0 degrees Celsius during night time. I have vowed to myself that I will, one day, retire in a southern country, with a warmer climate. Tuscany or Sardinia are high up on my wish list. If you are from a Mediterranean country, hook me up with tips!

Before I can retire, I fear I have a few years left in the work force (being still 26). If I want to head down that road sooner, I would need to build some more to my wealth, which, coincidentally, is part of the purpose with my All Seasons Portfolio, that is besides educating about finance. Regardless, it is important to have goals, short term goals and measurable progress when investing. Tuscany is my end goal.

As was the case in August, I have not been able to add any new funds into my account. It pains me a bit, because I enjoy seeing the numbers grow and I am a strong believer in saving and investing. But, I still have a chunky EUR 4,000 to contribute to the tax authorities in November, so prioritizing that for the moment.

Continue ReadingPortfolio Update – September 2019 – Graphs that show that the strategy works