Monthly Review – October, 2018

October saw a sharp decline in net worth with losses in all asset classes compounded by adverse currency movements. The end result was a 4.9 percent decline in net assets.

For the year to date, the portfolio is down 5.10 percent.

Here are the details:

1. my Hong Kong equities fell ... a lot There were no transactions this month. At month end I purchased a few more shares in Sinopec (HK:386);

2. my AU/NZ equities were were down. There were no additional purchases this month;

3.my equity ETFs were down (India, Hong Kong and China) in line with the local markets;

4. my position in silver fell slightly. I am considering selling my silver and investing the money in equities for additional income;

5. all tenants are paying on time and all properties are let;

6. the AUD and NZD were down against the USD/HKD;

7. my position in bonds remains modest. There were no additional purchases this month. Recent interest rate increases have pushed the holding values of some of my bonds to  below par - since I intend holding to maturity (other than a solitary perpetual) this is not a problem. I have a margin facility in place and my carry trade is doing its thing and generating a small amount of additional income;

8. expenses were low.

My HK cash position rose during the month due to full occupancy on the properties and a number of dividends being received. I currently hold 43.6 months of expenses in HKD cash or equivalents (up from 26.68 months on 1 January). 

Total household gearing ((debt+accruals)/assets) is 9.38% of total assets – more or less flat from last month. Property prices are as at 1 January, 2018 and will not be marked-to-market until year end and I do not net off cash. With a mark-to-market of equities, bonds and FX this number will fluctuate even if the amount of debt is being slowly amortised.