Here is my portfolio as of 12-28:
Not much activity this year. I sold Gazprom for roughly double the price I paid. I grew to feel like there was no need for me to take what I felt like was a significant risk holding the security. I read a book about the Russian natural gas industry which made me more skeptical of long-term growth prospects.
I initiated one new position, New England Realty, which I had previously owned several years ago and sold for a modest profit. It seems like an entrepreneurial company which owns Class B apartments in Boston and trades at a reason price. I believe the price is low due to the company being a partnership rather than a REIT and also having a very low distribution. I don't remember why I sold it originally - I think I would have been better off staying put.
The S&P this year is up 27.6% and I up 28.4%. While that modest outperformance doesn't make up for my poor returns last year, I am still very pleased. I think the valuations of companies in my portfolio are reasonable while I feel like valuations in the overall market are fairly high. I also have grown my cash position significantly, and while I have no reason to think a downturn is imminent, I do feel comfortable holding a sizeable cash position and am not in a rush to invest it.
Toward the end of last year I bought a house and now have a 30-year fixed 2.75% mortgage. While I hope I can outperform that rate, since treasury rates are still well below that level I have been making some prepayments to keep my cash balance in check. I prepaid roughly 10% this year and plan to prepay about the same amount again next year. It is the first debt I have had in my life and I dislike the feeling. Unless rates rise significantly and it becomes completely irrational to do so, I will probably direct a portion of my excess cash toward reducing the mortgage down to a level that I find more comfortable (say 25% of the value of my house rather than 75%).
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