Hi Kastelco, Year end mathematical tallying –
The portfolio is up 8% year-to-date and will likely miss my originally intended 11% primarily because I made no appreciable equity / option trade to matter, and had simply depended on cash income of the real estate and bonds to do the lifting.
My allocation position, unlike that of Abby Jo Cohen, has not changed appreciably. I do not understand where Abby gets her cash for the repeated upping of equity allocation, but I have to earn it first.
I had bravely tripled my earlier position in GX 2007 8.75% bonds the day after Columbus Day. My first tranche was purchased at 70 cents on the dollar about three weeks earlier, and the post-Columbus Day second tranche (tripling) was done at 19.5 cents on the dollar. I do not planned to average down again because I remember my Bangkok Bank experience during the practice run of the current script back in 1997-98, namely, there can be always another 70% down to go, mathematically speaking.
So, current allocation …
Cash 42.8% (38.5% Euro, 12.5% CHF, 1.5% AUSD, rest USD)
Bonds 23.8% (valued at cost)
Gold and platinum metals 5.4%
Rental Real Estate 23.4% (value at lower of cost and market, for now)
Equity 4.6% (AMGN, AOL, CHL, CMCSK, NEM, SNE, Furukawa Electric, HK.5, …)
I have outstanding short positions in December NEM Put 20, Call 22.5, January SWC Put 20 (yup, an apparent mistake).
I have no material debt to speak of, but having arranged lines of credit in a few currencies, ready for I seriously do not know what.
I am closing in November on a quarter share in a piece of beach land in Thailand, but this represents ‘new-add’ from current year active savings and will not be included in NAV calculation until the start of the next year. The Japanese government is advising ‘no-travel’ to Philippines (yup, my bolt hole retreat from global disaster is now a front line but undefended state), Malaysia and Indonesia, and so our little partnership of resort developers intend to put up something good for whatever remains of the tourism market.
Either Abby is wrong, to the tune of very, or I am, to the sound of somewhat.
Chugs, Jay |
