After giving monthly updates and investment lessons for beginners on my ETF Investments for the past year, this will be my last one. I may give sporadic updates here and there, but not the monthly detailed ones as I’ve been doing.
It all started off with my first ETF Investment with EasyEquities and I’ve detailed some changes to my strategy as well as the good and bad months as far as growth is concerned.
I have however found a strategy that I’m happy with and thus the updates have become somewhat boring.
My passive investment – November 2019
My current ETF Investment
As at 28 December 2019 I have invested R17,500 into ETF’s and my current balance is R17,803.96. That’s a 303.96 growth, or an average of 3.9% growth.
How did I calculate the 3.9% growth?
Taking each contribution that I made, I have calculated the daily compound interest at 5% which is comparable with what my bank would give me, and then I have tweaked the percentage until it matches what I actually have.
Some months have shown a good average growth whilst others have even gone into the negative.
As you should know though, ETF’s are for the long (long long) term and the monthly swings are quite irrelevant when looking over a 20 year period.
Investment strategy
This has remained constant over the past few months. Initially I changed and swopped ETF’s but I’m currently quite happy with this allocation.
- 25% Local Equities – CoreShares Sci-Beta (Smart Beta)
- 15% Local Equities – Satrix Top 40
- 10% Local Property – Satrix Property ETF
- 39% Offshore Equities – Satrix Worldwide
- 10% Offshore Property – Sygnia Global Property ETF
- 1% DCX – Crypto
This is a split 50% local, 49% offshore and 1% crypto.
Note: I am currently reading The South African’s Guide to Global Investing which argues that South Africans should invest far more offshore. Once completed I will certainly blog about it and may possible even change my strategy a bit.
Investment lessons for beginners
1 – It’s not that hard
As complicated as things may sound, managing your own ETF investments is actually super simple. You literally just select a few that fit in with your strategy and have competitive fees, and then you leave your money.
There will always be a better strategy, someone who is more clever who has some advice, and new things to consider.
That is all great! You can change your mind about investments, you can change your strategy and you can invest in new products. However, an investment in one or two ETF’s left for a very long time will probably not perform too badly!
2 – Don’t get caught up in emotion
When markets fall or new companies list, it’s easy to get caught up in the hype and emotion. News channels are generally very good at stirring up emotion and “experts” are happy to weigh in and tell us to buy this or sell that.
Listen, be aware of what’s happening, but don’t make rash decisions based on emotion.
When investing in ETF’s, rather just leave them and do nothing. You can ride out the waves.
3 – Keep learning
You’re never too old to learn! So keep reading, listening and studying and looking for new ways to invest. Blockchain technology is an example of a new way that one can invest (say with Bitcoin or Etherium). These may (or may not) be a good investment. It’s good to learn and understand what it’s all about.
You don’t have to invest in everything that’s new or exciting, but you should have some knowledge about it so that you can make an informed decision.
Closing thoughts
As the year comes to an end, so do the monthly investment updates.
Hope you have enjoyed them s much as I have as I love spreadsheets and tracking things!
Please connect with me on Twitter or Facebook and let me know what money topics you would be interested in, or comment below.
That a great post, I’m still as well learning about ETF, I prefare to slit 50/50 local and offshore.