Investing year in review by Mark Copsey

In this final article of the year I thought it would be interesting to share with you some of the investments I have made over the past 12 months and how they have performed.

In April 2021 I attended the University of NSW’s Angel Investors Program hosted by UNSW to hear from some very talented, passionate members of Sydney’s startup community. Since attending this course I have completed 4 (albeit small) investments in startup companies; three in Australia and one in the US. Of course, it’s far too early to see where they will go but for me it’s been a fascinating journey to see how these fantastic people think. I’ll continue to build this portfolio in 2022.

In October I was very fortunate enough to host an online panel of young Aussie startup founders as part of Spark Festival. We had a refreshingly honest, informative and wide-ranging conversation covering their unique businesses and perspectives. Again I thank them for their participation and wish them all a bright future. You can still catch the full recording at the link above if you’re also interested in the future of Australian business and innovation.

I then went on to discuss Carbon Investing and made an investment in the KRBN KraneShares Global Carbon ETF. Since making the first purchase the investment is up a measly 3.51%, which is still better than bank interest – but we’ll get to that soon. Seems all the hype of COP26 in Glasgow has been forgotten already. However, in proving it’s possible to live without coal, Scotland blew up its last coal fired power station this month. Are the grey men in Canberra watching?

Next on the list of alternative investments was Crypto, which gave rise to a three part series on all things decentralised; starting with Bitcoin, continuing with Blockchain, and finishing with NFTs. To really understand some of this technology, I made investments in both Bitcoin and Ethereum. If you read the articles you would have seen the wild swings in price, which tested my resolve to hang in there at times. But hang in there I have and so far been rewarded with a 56% return (oh wait, is that -30% or is it +70% – such has been my experience of the almost by the second price movements!)

I then rounded off the year with a four part series for beginner investors consisting of: tips on how to build a portfolio, introducing ETFs versus active investing, unpacking investor psychology, and then offering some practical tips for the new investor.

I finished the year by being interviewed by Veronica Milsom on the ‘Full Blown Adult’ Podcast, which you can listen to here.

In June I foolishly (there’s a clue in that word) didn’t follow my own advice and decided to invest in a basket of US direct tech equities based on recommendations from a well-known investment group. Down a disastrous 14.55% at the time of writing. My core portfolio, which is dominated with the ETF NDQ and follows the NASDAQ, is up 14.52% over the same period. As I said years ago: ‘Stock picking is a mugs game’. Fortunately this represents only a small part of my overall investments so I’m not overly worried and, as a very long term investor, I still have faith that some of these companies will come good and that’s the point of this portfolio. Only a few are expected to come good but that could more than make up for the losses of the others. Diversification.

For the serious side of my investments, which forms the core part of my family’s investment portfolio, this is up 26.74% for the 12 months ended 16 December (at the time of writing). Again, as I have time on my side, I’m fairly aggressive with a 66% holding in international related ETFs.

The Allworths Wealth Management Balanced Portfolio is up 14.55% compared to the A&P/ASX Net Total Return of 15.17% for the same 12 month period, and beats this index by 1.03% over a three year period.

I hope you have found these articles interesting and informative over the past year. I have certainly enjoyed learning about some of the more obscure investments out there today. I’ll keep on searching and hopefully bring you more next year.

But now I close off the year by wishing you all a very Merry and Safe Christmas as well as a successful and prosperous 2022.

As always, if you want any further information on the investments noted in this article, feel free to drop me a line: growth@allworths.com.au

IMPORTANT NOTICE

This blog post contains general information only and has been prepared by Allworths without reference to your objectives, financial situation or needs. Allworths cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of the information contained here. By making this information available to you, we are not providing professional advice or recommendations. Before acting on any of the information contained here, you should seek professional advice. Allworths Wealth Management Pty Limited (AFSL 457 155) is the Wealth Management arm of Allworths Chartered Accountants. For further information, please contact us on (02) 9264 6733 or email growth@allworths.com.au.