Portfolio Two Updated July, 2018

Portfolio two is almost 14 years old.  The beneficiary contributed $7000 and the trustee $14,200 for a total of $21,200.  The current balance is $39,012 for a gain of 84% or ~8% / year when adjusted for the timing of cash flows.  You can see the detail here or at the link on the bottom.

This portfolio is unique because it has moved to ETF’s and ~ 25% cash position.  The ETF’s have been doing well, with a large position in VTI (total US market) and a split between VEU (all world non US) and HEFA (all world non US hedged against the US dollar to get local market performance).  There also is a small biotech position (IBB) and gold ETF position (IAU).

When we moved to ETF’s from individual stocks in 2016, we also purchased a 2 year CD which paid 1.55% interest, because our money market fund was essentially offering “zero” interest on our money and we wanted to keep about $10,000 or so in cash and yet get some sort of return on the money.  This CD recently redeemed into cash in the account.  We could buy a new CD, but we are currently getting 1.85% return in our money market so we can just leave it there because the 2 and 3 year CD’s aren’t offering much more than that, and interest rates seem more likely to go up than down.  Thus we are planning (for now) to just leave cash in the money market instead of buying a CD because the incremental interest is negligible.

I want to have the beneficiary contribute now and have the trustee match, make our investments for summer 2018, have everything clear, then move the fund out of UTMA status and to the beneficiary (like we did with Portfolio One).  Then we can give the (technically former) trustee “agency” capabilities so that we can still take advantage of my free trades (which apply to the accounts that are under me or I have agency capabilities for).