Monthly Review - January 2013

January was another month of excellent financial progress. The bull market in equities continued. Commodity prices improved. FX movements were favourable. Cash flow from the properties was positive with all properties back to fully occupied. I received my end of year pay out for 2012 so income was high and there were no major expenses. The result was a very solid increase in net worth.

Here are the details:

1. my Hong Kong equity portfolio appreciated sharply. This was the source of most of the gains this month. I added to my positions in NWS and Herald Holdings. I hold shares in CMR which is currently suspended following an attack by a short seller alleging fraud. I have arbitrarily assumed that the shares will fall by a third when the suspension is lifted;

2. my AU/NZ equities appreciated moderately;

3.my ETFs appreciated in line with the local markets;

4. my commodities rose slightly. I opened a position in notional platinum;

5. all of my properties were occupied with all tenants paying on time. There were no major bills this month;

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 at month end although I did a small AUD/HKD FX contract during the month which was closed out for a very small profit;

9. savings were very high with good income (due to m 2012 year end payout) and expenses were low.

My cash position rose with more money coming in than going out due to new investments. I transferred some money to Mrs Traineeinvestor which is treated as an expense. I currently hold 42 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 6.2%. The year to date increase is 6.2%. My retirement date has been fixed for the middle of this year for reasons that have nothing to do with finance - financially, I am past the point where I can afford to retire.