PWA Core Portfolio Update (video)

Note: Today's video commentary is targeted specifically to PWA clients and is not intended to be investment advice for non-client subscribers to the blog.

In today's video presentation I walk you through each transaction in each of our core portfolio positions so far this year, illustrate the year-to-date results for a live portfolio, discuss our current hedge, express my current market view, and so on.

It's long, I must warn you, so feel free to take it in chunks. I would like each client to ultimately take in the entire presentation. 

With regard to the featured portfolio results; the example I used consists of retirement accounts only which, therefore, in that it poses no constraints to our process, means it best reflects everything we've done thus far this year. A number of other clients' portfolio results are impacted by legacy assets that are not currently part of our core allocation, but are held typically for tax reasons. Some of those have thus outperformed our core mix, while others have underperformed. Others will vary based on their actual target weighting to our core mix. 

For you clients on whose behalf we sit on substantial cash positions to allocate, we appreciate your patience (as I suspect you do ours) in this most precarious market environment.

For benchmark reference (which, by the way, has zero influence on our process), we default to the MSCI World Index. For those who'd like to consider their results against a wider array of indices, I've feature the up-to-date figures for those we track below.

Once playing, click the icon in the lower right corner for full screen. Focus should occur after a few seconds; if not, click the wheel to the left of the YouTube icon to adjust:



Coincidentally, while taking a break between editing and uploading I listened to this excellent podcast featuring Dave Iben, Chief Investment Officer and Lead Portfolio Manager of Kopernik Global Investors. Dave's considered by those in the know as "one of the great value investors of his generation." I highly recommend it. You'll find that Dave's assessment of current conditions, and where best to exploit them, is similar to mine...

US Equities YTD: 

Dow -6.5%

SP500 -0.2%

SP500 EqWt -8.5%

Nasdaq +17.1%

Russell 2000 -11.7%

Russell 1000 +0.3%

Russell 1000 Eq Wt -6.7%

Canada:

TSX Composite -5.5%

European Equities: 

UK -16.6%

Germany -2.5%

France -15.2%

Russia -8.9%

Italy -13.1%

Greece -30.0%

Sweden -0.1%

Switzerland -1.9%

Finland -4.5%

Euro Stoxx 600 -10.4%

Netherlands -5.1%

Belgium -11.7%

Denmark +15.2%

Hungary -23.6%

Poland -16.5%

Turkey -12.9%

Ireland -14.4%

Norway -17.4%

Portugal -12.8%

Asian Equities: 

Japan -4.1%

Shanghai +5.7%

Shenzhen +26.0%

Hang Seng -11.4%

Australia -11.3%

Korea +0.2%

Singapore -18.7%

New Zealand +0.2%

India -11.0%

Thailand -13.9%

Indonesia -19.4%

Malaysia -1.2%

Taiwan +2.3%

Vietnam -8.9%

Philippines -21.2%

Pakistan -22.1%

Latin American Equities:

Argentina -4.9%

Brazil -34.0%

Chile -20.7%

Colombia -38.1%

Mexico -30.1%

Peru -21.9%

African/Middle Eastern Equities:

African Index -14.8%

Egypt -17.5%

Israel -5.4%

Saudi Arabia -12.2%

UAE -24.8%

Qatar -4.7% 

Commodity Futures:  

Oil WTI -33.5%

Oil Brent -35.1%

Nat gas -16.7%

Gold +19.3%

Silver +8.3%

Copper +5.0%

Platinum -13.1%

Palladium +3.8%

AG:

Wheat -6.0%

Corn -15.6%

Soybean -15.5%

Sugar -8.6

OJ unch +31.0%

Coffee -24.7%

Cocoa -14.2%

Rough Rice -1.6%

Oats -0.9%

Milk +38.2%

Cotton -12.0%

Lumber +36.2%

Live Cattle -9.8%

Lean Hogs -32.0%