Portfolio Update: HELOC Snapshot Post 400 Point Drop

I thought it would be interesting to provide a quick update on my HELOC portfolio following last week’s TSX drop of about 400 points. I am surprised that, since my last update less than 2 weeks ago, my HELOC portfolio ended higher by the end of last week.

The ROI so far is not bad at all especially when compared to the TSX and its sub components below:

One of the reasons the portfolio held up well is because of its REIT component which were not impacted by the sell off since mostly commodity stocks were bearing the brunt of the hit. I have to say that my core holdings HYX and SKW moved very little which also helped. I omitted the TFSA+Non-Registered accounts because they did not change at all since most of it is invested in SKW. Here’s how the HELOC portfolio looks like:

Notice NAE, TLH and the extra SKW compared to last week. I actually added some SKW on Friday @0.50 to bring my average price down to $0.55 in this account. TLH and NAE should be on sale soon if my target prices hit.

My margin usage went from +$500 to -$12,500 as it is typical of me to buy when markets are dropping. If you consider this to be a gamble I would have to agree with you except that my only gamble here is that the world is NOT coming to an end.?? I find it exciting when markets sell off sharply in a few days because I suddenly find all these goodies around me selling at a discount.

While the numbers look nice and all so far, I am not the kind who loses sight of the big picture. This ROI is insignificant for me as it is the end of the year numbers that count. There are still countless headwinds to go through until then and one has to remain vigilant and firmly grounded in order to minimize risks as much as possible. After all, if one single company risk materializes, it could wreck havoc on my portfolio. Just imagine one of SKW’s processing plants burning down for example.

I hope last weeks sell off was not too hard on your portfolio, hows your YTD return so far??