Back in March 2015 I decided to invest £50,000 of my own money using 80-20 Investor. The purpose was two-fold, firstly to show how you can use 80-20 Investor to invest and outperform the market with only a few minutes effort every now and then. Secondly, no other investment commentator, journalist or research provider invests their own money for fear of failing. This is a sorry state of affairs and is precisely why I committed to openly running my own portfolio for 80-20 Investor members to see.
Since then I have periodically changed my portfolio using the fund suggestions provided by the 80-20 Investor algorithm and associated research. I always disclose the changes at the time they are made.
My portfolio has performed brilliantly while not taking excessive risks, as currently only around 60% of the portfolio is invested in equities. Since I started the challenge I have outperformed the market, passive portfolios and 90% of managed funds. I have produced a profit despite the various crises we have experienced including a Greek crisis, a Chinese economic slowdown as well as a commodity crisis.
The table below shows that my portfolio has performed brilliantly since the challenge started in March 2015:
| Name | Total Return % |
| 50k challenge (my portfolio) | +1.5% |
| Passive Vanguard benchmark | -1% |
| Average fund manager | -2.9% |
| FTSE 100 | -6.9% |
Potential portfolio changes
The chart below (click to enlarge) shows how each of the funds in my portfolio has performed since the last fund switch (two months ago). As you can see the reintroduction of Japanese equities has been a particularly profitable move. Interestingly a number of the funds in my portfolio remain in the Best of the Best Selection including Fundsmith Equity, Threadneedle Global Bond, Vanguard Lifestrategy 20% Equity, Legg Mason Japan Equity.
My current portfolio looks like this is:
| Fund | % allocation |
| Fundsmith Equity Fund | 20.27% |
| Fidelity Global Dividend | 8.93% |
| Aberdeen Property Trust | 4.82% |
| Newton UK Income | 7.61% |
| Legg Mason Japan Equity | 7.61% |
| GLG Continental European Growth | 10.17% |
| Jupiter Absolute Return | 6.78% |
| Troy Trojan | 5.06% |
| Threadneedle Global Bond | 8.59% |
| Vanguard Lifestrategy 20% Equity | 20.16% |
This gives an asset allocation of approximately:
- Global fixed interest - 20%
- US equities - 17%
- European equities - 16%
- UK equities - 15%
- Japanese equities - 9%
- Other international equities - 7%
- Cash - 2%
- Property - 4%
- UK Gilts - 2%
- Alternative assets/strategies - 8%
The ISIN codes for the funds in my portfolio are as below:
| Name | ISIN Code |
| Aberdeen - Property Trust | GB00B036Z329 |
| Fidelity - Global Dividend | GB00B7FQHJ97 |
| Fundsmith - Equity | GB00B4LPDJ14 |
| Jupiter - Absolute Return | GB00B5129B32 |
| Legg Mason - IF Japan Equity | GB0033507467 |
| Man GLG - Continental European Growth | GB00B0119370 |
| Newton - UK Income | GB0006779218 |
| Threadneedle - Global Bond | GB0001533685 |
| Troy Asset Management Ltd - Trojan | GB0034243732 |
| Vanguard - LifeStrategy 20% Equity | GB00B4NXY349 |
Given that a number of funds remain in the Best of the Best shortlist I certainly don't need to make wholesale changes to my portfolio. Also if you look at the performance of my £50k portfolio (green line) since the start of this month (May) versus the other benchmarks it has been quite remarkable. You can click to enlarge the image.
In light of both of these facts I have not made any knee-jerk changes. Some may say 'if it's not broke don't try and fix it'. However, I am likely to review a number of the funds in the coming days and make a couple of minor tweaks in line with the process behind 80-20 Investor.
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