It’s a gloriously sunny day out there. The kind of day that is rare in the UK and the kind of day that makes most Brits want to sit outside. Sadly, it’s not to be. I don’t want Coronavirus and therefore I will be staying in as we all should be.
Some interesting things have happened this week on the markets. The S&P500 has seen it’s biggest increase perhaps ever. The FTSE 250 has also shot up. That is good news for my portfolio and I’ve seen my ii account return to about £97k, up from a low of £81K about 2 weeks ago. I’m feeling better about that.
Here is a snapshot of my SIPP portfolio. My ISA is not shown, but brings it up to about £97K
| Symbol | Description | market Value | Gain | Gain % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VUKE.L | VANGUARD FUNDS PLC FTSE 100 UCITS ETF GBP DIS | £22,975.80 | -£7,016.56 | -23.39% |
| VMID.L | VANGUARD FUNDS PLC FTSE 250 UCITS ETF GBP DIS | £3,545.89 | -£1,213.47 | -25.50% |
| VWRL.L | VANGUARD FUNDS PLC FTSE ALL-WORLD UCITS ETF USD DIS | £10,329.35 | -£1,670.13 | -13.92% |
| VFEM.L | VANGUARD FUNDS PLC FTSE EMERGING MARKETS UCITS ETF USD DIS | £9,854.35 | -£2,377.30 | -19.44% |
| VUSA.L | VANGUARD FUNDS PLC S&P 500 UCITS ETF USD DIS | £44,614.50 | -£5,360.67 | -10.73% |
| £91,319.89 | -£17,638.13 |
I’m still down £17K but it’s not as bad as two weeks ago.
I think the return to business as usual in China has given confidence that the lockdown has an end. Although it is baffling with the unfolding disaster in the USA right now.
So, my strategy of holding on for dear life and doing nothing seems to be working. It hasn’t been fun, but it proves that having the nerve to stay the course can be rewarding. If I had chickened out and sold, I would have missed this record-breaking gain.
I am not exactly cash rich at the moment so won’t be able to heavily invest in the bargain stocks. It’s rather unfortunate but i’m keeping as much cash as I can as I’m convinced I’ll be made redundant at some point in the next 3 months. My company is sending out the at risk letters on 27th April so I’ll find out then. I’m genuinely not that fussed as I’m not particularly enjoying my job at the moment. I hope that I can leave it and then find a better one. However, the jobs market will be in the doldrums as companies struggle to get back on their feet for a while.
Long term thoughts move to emigrating to Australia where my girlfriend is from. I realised I would get paid more out there and probably have a substantially higher standard of living than in the UK. FIRE would come much quicker.
However, the major issue is my mentally ill mother. I already live far away from her but since my father passed away I have to look after her a lot more. My sister lives nearby but still. Australia is long way away.
Anyway, food for thought.
