My Investment Portfolio
If you haven’t done so, I highly suggest you first read my page about my investing strategy here: My Stock Portfolio Page
Welcome to Stock Street’s portfolio update for October, 2017! Below you will find my returns so far for the year 2017.
As of the end of September, I was within less than 1% of the S&P 500. But, that was until Chipotle decided to go cliff diving in October.
As of end of the end of October, Chipotle has a YTD rate of return of -27.45%.
Now, I know some of you are reading this and thinking I am sitting at home, weeping into a cup of Ben & Jerry’s as I loudly curse Chipotle alone on my couch, “Why Chipotle?!” “Why?!?!”
Those of you who read this blog regularly know I don’t really care Chipotle’s stock price just fell off a cliff. I don’t own the stock so I can sell it anytime soon. I believe Chipotle is a great company in the long-term.
I would purchase more shares today if it weren’t already such a high percentage of my portfolio.
I am still very happy to own Chipotle – I am not selling, and I may buy more at some point…we will see.
On the other hand, Michael Kors had a fantastic couple months and has done the complete opposite of Chipotle. It is currently up 13.3% as of the end of October.
Without further adieau – let’s go through the portfolio!
* The numbers below show my investment portfolio as of market close on October 31, 2017.
Allocations
* The above are fake account balances but the allocation percentages of my portfolio are the same.
The core fund of my investment portfolio consists of the Charles Schwab index fund which tracks the S&P500. Over time I have sold positions in my core index fund and purchased the current three companies I own. I also have a small amount of cash in the portfolio, currently in the 6% range.
The goal of my strategy is to take my time, have patience, and continue to build out the portfolio to eventually consist of 100% individual stock, with little money in the index fund.
Changes Made Since the Previous Update
An important note on the portfolio. I have been distributing some money monthly to go towards a new business endeavor. This came out of my index fund and I will likely distribute more over the next couple months. For this reason, the percentage of my index fund has decreased and all other percentages have increased.
If you compare the index fund allocation from June to the present, my index fund allocation has decreased. It was as high as 68.8% in June.
Last month I have changed the way I track my overall portfolio gains. I am now using the Modified Dietz method which uses a weighted cash flow. This method is more accurate than what I was doing before.
My Portfolio Year to Date (YTD) % Return Vs. S&P 500 Trailing USD
The month of September brought me within less than 1% of the S&P 500. October brought me back down.
As of the end of October, I was lagging the S&P 500 by 7.04 percentage points: My Portfolio = 7.92% Vs. S&P 500 = 14.96%
Many of you who read this monthly know that I do not care much about short term gains or losses in my investments. I am a long term investor and I know my holdings will gyrate all over the place in the short term. However, in the long term, I expect to average a gain higher than the S&P 500. That is the goal at least!
YTD Prices
Back in July, the YTD chart on Chipotle looked like a parabola. As you can see today, Chipotle doesn’t look like a parabola anymore, but more like a downhill ski slope. Either way, Chipotle is down now under $300 (a steal if you ask me).
Female Health Company/Veru Inc. (VERU) started 2017 at $.91 and is now $1.35.
Schwab S&P500 Index (SWPPX) started 2017 $34.71 and now is $40.23.
Chipotle (CMG) started the year at $379.11 and is now $271.90.
Michael Kors (KORS) started the year at $42.78 and is now $48.81.
Individual Returns YTD Percentage
- Chipotle (CMG) was my best performing stock for a couple months. In July if fell to a -8.27% and today it is at a -27.45% gain so far in 2017.
- Female Health Company/Veru Inc. (FHCO) is now sitting at the first place slot with an overall return of 47.72% (down from a YTD gain of 188.04% last month!)
- Schwab S&P 500 Index (SWPPX) has gained 17% ytd. (I know it’s weird it is outperforming the S&P 500…but that is what my brokerage account says).
- Michael Kors (KORS) sits at a 13.3% gain. I purchased additional shares of KORS back in March when it was down around 11% for the year (this is just the YTD return for Kors, my cost basis is actually lower since I purchased additional shares and hence my rate of return is higher than 13.3%.)
Buildout Strategy
Remember, my investment portfolio strategy involves in-depth research and patience. I am a slow moving investor and I take my time. The only way to invest patiently while taking part in the stock market is to use an index fund as a core account; this way you can take your time analyzing securities as you try to find your next purchase.
Don’t forget there is no rush; it is extremely important to do great research and understand each company you purchase as you continue adding to you portfolio.
If you haven’t done so, I highly suggest you first read my page about my investing strategy here: My Stock Portfolio Page
You also may also like my recent post: The “READY! FIRE! AIM!” Retirement Strategy
I was recently turned onto M1 Finance. I am really loving what they have going on over there. M1 Finance is the first major player in the RoboAdvisor space to include the ability to add individual stocks to a RoboAdvisor plotform. Check them out by clicking here for M1 Finance. You can also read the review I wrote about them here: M1 Finance – The First Sexy Robo-Advisor?
Disclaimer: These are the ideas and opinions of the author. The author is not responsible for the actions of those who read the posts on this blog. Each individual reader has a unique situation and unique needs. This blog is not intended to solve those unique situations of the readers. This blog is not liable for decisions made by the readers of this blog.
You know how websites add a section at the bottom that says, “This post MAY contain affiliate links”? Well, I am not going to be vague like those websites. We all know if they write that sentence, the post includes affiliate links. So, I will tell you straight up that this post DOES include affiliate links. Use them, I will make a little dough (at no extra cost to you). Here is my affiliate link disclaimer if you want to read more: DISCLAIMER
Really interesting read! Currently setting of on a FIRE journey myself in one of the most heavily taxed countries in the world, where it is actually a good investment strategy to keep your student debt for as long as possible, just wrote a post about it on http://www.fireviking.com.
This is why I love reading about different ways o working within the system in different countries!
Keep it up!
Thanks, Fredrika! Good luck with that FIRE. I know it can be tough saving up enough for FIRE in heavily taxed countries but I’m sure you can do it!