Monthly Review - October 2012

October was a month of  moderate financial progress with gains in my equities being partly offset by falls in commodities and unfavourable FX movements but supported by positive cash flow from the properties and positive savings. The result was an modest increase in net worth.

Here are the details:

1. my Hong Kong equity portfolio appreciated modestly. There were no additions to the portfolio this month (although a few extra shares in Xtep purchased at the end of last month were credited to the portfolio this month and I took some dividends in scrip). The biggest event this month was the cooling measures introduced last week which hit my property heavy portfolio hard towards the end of the month (Henderson, HKR, K Wah and Tai Cheung all falling steeply) but not enough to outweigh the gains earlier in the month and in other positions;

2. my AU/NZ equities appreciated;

3.my ETFs appreciated slightly 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;

4. my commodities fell with most of the loss being in silver;

5. all of my properties were occupied with all tenants paying on time. There were no repair bills and one property will become vacant in November;

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 average with good income being matched by high expenses. I purchased a small amount of physical silver (which has been treated as an expense) and transferred some money to Mrs Traineeinvestor (also treated as an expense). I also restocked my supply of wines for drinking which did some damage.

My cash position was more or less static; savings, cash flow from properties and dividends received were positive, but closely offset by the transfer to Mrs Traineeinvestor and the physical silver which were both treated as expenses. 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 1,2%. The year to date increase is 22.6%. 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