Investment Performance August 2008(-1.01%)

This is an ongoing monthly update on how our equity investments are performing. Please see this background on the investment tool I developed and how I am using it to track our performance against a benchmark to measure our progress or lack thereof.

Its still a work in progress, any feedback is appreciated and may be incorporated into future monthly reports. The only equity investments not covered are:
1) my 401k which is invested in institutional index funds through my employer that I haven't found a tracking symbol for.
2) investments roughly worth less than $500, simply because I don't have the time and energy to keep up with them. I am thinking I will sell these off at some point and add the proceeds to my current investment portfolio because they are too much work to track.

August Highlights:

We finally beat our benchmark last month, but it was short lived as our investments trailed the index benchmarks by 2.47%.
We add small amounts to our GE and USG investments. GE is down to the share price I had started accumulating it at in 2001, but I am not sure I have a good reason for actually making the investment.

I am trying my best to hold off on making investments in companies and stick to index investments at the moment, but its clearly not working so well.

August 2008 Investment Report:

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Comments (5)

Is this the "Cash & Savings" account that lists a $111,890 balance on your investment performance chart?

If so, and I'm reading correctly, you guys are saving about $1400/month in taxable accounts + your ESOP/IRA/401(k)s. Is that correct?

Posted by Thisson | September 16, 2008 11:31 AM

You have absolutely no discipline!

You might as well stick to real estate because you are certainly NOT as smart as you think you are with investing.

You are entirely overweight in IBM, your portfolio is completey out of balance, and you have NO strategies other than to benchmark against indexes.

When you look back in 5 years and aren't anywhere near even a paltry $1M, you'll have wished you did some more due diligence and managed your cash/equities more effectively.

Posted by concerned | September 16, 2008 3:56 PM

You really need to simplify your investments. Your investment personality - disciplined, regular contributions for the long-term - is perfect to get the most out of an all index fund strategy. Sell the individual stocks and the tiny accounts you are holding perhaps for emotional reasons. Allocate across index funds that cover the world's equity and bond markets. Stick to a target allocation by rebalancing and/or contributing to the assets that have fallen below their target %. This will free you to focus on the other aspects of your financial life where your time and energy can make a difference. Trying to beat the market and manage investment decisions in all these companies is futile and not worth your time.

Posted by Financial Expat | September 16, 2008 10:17 PM

Have you posted a copy of your template that you use for your investment performance? I would like to keep better track of my investment performance and your excel spreadsheet looks like it work.

Posted by S | September 17, 2008 12:26 AM

Sorry to hear about Wachovia. You should really be rethinking diversification.

Posted by ETFnerd | September 29, 2008 9:21 AM