Monday, July 25, 2005

Portfolio Check

Here's a look at my E*Trade portfolio. I'm not doing as well this year vs. the S&P 500 as I did in 2003 and 2004. I bought some bond funds when the stock market was doing well and interest rates were way down, thinking they'd be a good value in the long term. They're not doing so well recently, but they all pay dividends, so it's not as bad as it looks. But a year or two ago I was up over 30% total. I don't plan to buy any more individual stocks in the near future-- I think I'll stick with mutual funds, trying to find ones with low expense ratios... my approach is pretty seat-of-the-pants. I should probably read more about investing.


Current Qty Paid $ Gain % Gain Market Value
ICENX $28.94 143.281 $20.24 $1,246.54 42.98% $4,146.55
RYVPX $11.05 319.149 $9.40 $526.60 17.55% $3,526.60
BRSIX $18.01 243.164 $8.27 $2,369.15 117.85% $4,379.38
RYTRX $12.88 309.023 $8.09 $1,480.22 59.21% $3,980.22
GM $36.45 50 $43.45 ($372.99) -16.99% $1,822.50
JENSX $23.97 137.237 $21.86 $289.57 9.65% $3,289.57
MBDFX $10.50 232.558 $10.75 ($58.14) -2.33% $2,441.86
HXBAX $10.91 216.826 $11.53 ($134.43) -5.38% $2,365.57
CHTMX $10.37 232.558 $10.75 ($88.37) -3.53% $2,411.63
LU $2.84 200 $1.69 $212.01 59.56% $568.00
TIVFX $15.03 171.585 $14.57 $78.93 3.16% $2,578.92
MCD $30.57 50 $17.35 $643.01 72.62% $1,528.50
XRX $13.13 75 $13.40 ($43.24) -4.21% $984.75
TOTAL

$28,027.58 $6,148.85 21.94% $34,176.43

6 comments:

Monty Loree said...

Hey Madame X.
thanks for dropping by my blog.

With this portfolio, it looks as if you've got enough money for a down payment on a house.

Maybe not in New York.. May Montana :(

Thanks again for dropping by

Financial Maturity Blogspot

JLP said...

Even though bonds are "simple" they are can be very hard to understand. You can't buy bonds as a "value investement" like you can buy stocks.

Unfortunately, it's not a good idea to buy a bond fund when interest rates are down. Why? Because a bond's value works the opposite of interest rates.

If you buy a bond when interest rates are really low, and then interest rates increase, your bong is worth LESS than it was before.

If you buy a bond when interest rates are high and then interest rates drop, the value of your bond increases.

Does that make sense?

JLP

AllThingsFinancial

JLP said...

Geez, I can't believe I spelled bond "bong." I guess I should have read it through before I submitted.

JLP

Madame X said...

I definitely have a lot to learn, obviously! But JLP, was I at least sort of right in thinking that there is an inverse relationship between the stock and bond markets, and that buying a bond fund while the stock market was hot might be a good idea since its value would go up if the stock market crashed?

Madame X said...

PS, JLP, thanks so much for the feedback! It's great to get it from someone who knows what they are talking about!

JLP said...

If your goal was to simply diversify your holdings, then bonds are an okay place to put your money.

JLP

AllThingsFinancial