currently at about 30% international equities (thru index ETFs), 50% Aust equities (thru direct holdings), 20% short term trading including collateral for short option positions.
Ah, another person with the overseas ETF, and direct shares Australian. I've dabble with options, but I feel the decay and expiry side of things makes it feel like the ASF stock picking comps we hold each month: it may be a brilliant share, but if it doesn't perform well in that exact 30 day period, you get nothing for it
i'm not retired yet, but am planning to do so in the next 2-3 years. i'd like to up the short term trading slightly, as i do intend to get into it a bit more once retired. but might end up actually lowering it instead, if my paranoia over the loss of SIPC coverage caused by the migration to IB Aust gets the better of me.
I hear about a lot of people who "feel lost" once they retire. I think having an active interest in making money through investing/trading once you retire can be very power. You've got the time. There's excellent communities to tap into. And it can become your new focus that gives you purpose.
i also agree 100% equities is the way to go, but i keep a floating 0-10% cash allocation to allow for some limited market timing/buying on dips.
Sounds good. My 10%, which I'll keep in bonds mostly, are to smooth out my takings from my shares. But like yourself, I tend to feel I'm missing out on too many opportunities, if I have a lot in cash just sitting around.
personal views only, may well prove to be wrong in the coming years, but i'm a bit nervous about Aust's long term economic prospects, hence the much heavier weighting towards international ETFs.
Interesting. Instinctively I don't see Australia as much of as risk, but that's based on how well it's performed in the past - which is very well - as opposed to some insight into it's future. I definitely agree about mining being very cyclical. But on the other hand, it did help us through soft spots when other economies went into recession, and we sailed on through. The other sector the ASX is massively overweight in, is our banks. That's bad post royal commission, but historically, they've done really well.
Although Australia is considered very underrepresented in tech, we are quite good at bio tech (CSL, Cochlear, etc), and fin tech (APT, ISX, Z1P, etc). So we're getting there. Not so much straight tech, but I'm waiting on the launch of DingoBook to take over the world.
Zaxon you wrote an excellent post in another thread about the viability of selling units to raise cash vs relying on dividends, which i completely agree with. as a 40 year old FIRE adherent, long term growth is still paramount, immediate cashflow not as much. i don't want companies giving me their earnings as dividends, then i have to go to the trouble of re-investing it again (and paying tax along the way). i'd rather they retain most of it and pump it back into their own future growth.
There you go - an excellent summary of that view point! People like "income" because it works so well in other asset classes, but people overlook the oddity about dividends. If someone pays you rent for your house, your house price doesn't fall because of it. If your bank pays you interest, they don't decrease your balance to offset it. But if a company pays you dividends, your share price does drop by that amount. I think too many people come from understanding of how rents and interest work (which is understandable), and then assume it's the same with shares, so dividends must be good.