Monthly Review - September 2012

September was a month of outstanding financial progress with gains in my equities and commodities being increases by favourable FX movements and supplemented by  positive cash flow from the properties and positive savings. The result was an impressive jump in net worth.

Here are the details:

1. my Hong Kong equity portfolio appreciated significantly. In absolute dollar terms, this was the single biggest contributor to this month's result. I increased my investment in Sinotrans Shipping to the point where it is now one of my top ten holdings. I sold my very very small shareholding in Daisho Microline. I also purchased a few more shares in Xtep today which will show up in next month's report;

2. my AU/NZ equities appreciated;

3.my ETFs appreciated in line with the local markets. The exception was Vietnam where a combination of domestic market movements and FX losses caused the ETF to fall. I sold a few units from my position;

4. my commodities were up with most of the gain being in silver. I added a very small position in paper gold to the portfolio;

5. all of my properties were occupied with all tenants paying on time. There was very one small repair bill;

6. currency movements were positive, as the NZD and AUD rose against the HKD/USD;

7. my position in bonds remains small;

8. there were no open derivative contracts;

9. savings were solid with good income and moderate expenses. I purchased a small amount of physical gold (which has been treated as an expense) and would have purchased a bit more but BOCHK was out of stock.

My cash position rose due to new investments being less than sale proceeds, savings, cash flow from properties and dividends received. I currently hold 41 months of expenses in HKD cash or equivalents. This is above my target floor of 24 months.

For the month, my net worth increased by an impressive 4.5%. The year to date increase is 21.2%. My retirement date has been fixed for the middle of next year for reasons that have nothing to do with finance - financially, I am past the point where I can afford to retire.