August 2017 Performance

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PERFORMANCE:

In August the Equal weighted portfolio returned 0.0% and is the baseline for the other portfolios. 

The TA portfolio (which actively allocates among the four asset classes that are in the equal weighted portfolio) underperformed the equal weighted portfolio returning -0.3%. 

The Enhanced portfolio (which uses the allocation of the TA portfolio and seeks to enhance those returns with security selection) performed very strongly, returning 1.4%.

The relevant security returns for the month of August (excluding dividends) were:
For Equal and TA portfolios: VTWO -1.2%, VONE 0.2%, JNK 0.4%, AGG 0.7%
For Enhanced portfolio: IEMG 2.3%, DSEUX 0.5%, KXI -0.2%, JXI 3.5%
Color significance for whole post:
Red is small cap equity 
Orange is large cap equity
Purple is high yield debt
Green is investment grade debt

ALLOCATION:
Allocations during August


Allocations after today's trades (September 1st).




ATTRIBUTION:


Aug - 17  3 Mo 
Allocation Rt   -0.3%  1.2%
Selection Rt    1.7%  2.4%

The way to think of this is that the "Allocation Rt" is how much the TA portfolio out (or under) performed the equal weighted portfolio (how much did the asset allocation benefit returns). The "Selection Rt" is how much the enhanced portfolio out (or under) performed the TA portfolio (how much security selection benefited returns).

COMMENTARY:
Equal Portfolio: This portfolio is the baseline, which the other portfolios are based off of.

TA portfolio: Having the full allocation being in equity hurt returns, fortunately the weight to small cap equities has been significantly reduced over recent months as it performed quite a bit worse than the other three asset classes.

Enhanced portfolio:  Equity markets struggled with the exception of emerging markets. The utilities sector fund also did very well. Utilities have a history of outperforming in difficult equity environments which is why I added that exposure. The international equity fund (DSEUX) also did a little better than the US equity benchmarks, which helped.

Below is the since inception cumulative returns of the three portfolios.


DISCLAIMER:
Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.  This strategy is presented for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. October is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks in.  The others are July, January, September, April, November, May , March, June, December, August and February. ~ Mark Twain

Comments

  1. Bryan BaggenstosSeptember 1, 2017 at 9:30 AM

    For context the S&P 500 returned 0.05% in August and 2.5% over the last 3 months.

    ReplyDelete

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