Net Worth Update Sept 2019

Looking back at my starting point three months ago, I’ve decided to use the mid-range estimate rather than the low-range for the value of my PPOR. It’s in line with sales figures for similar properties in my street, and is still a little conservative compared to what I would likely get for it if I was to sell. My block is almost 1/3 larger than most similar homes in my street, so the land value is a bit higher.

That then changes my original percentages a little – at the start of this financial year my PPOR actually represented 45% of my net worth, superannuation 50%, shares 2% and cash/equivalents 3%.

As at the end of this quarter, my net worth distribution looks pretty similar – PPOR 44%, superannuation 50%, shares 1%, and cash/equivalents 5%. Not an unexpected result for such a short time-frame.

Even though I’ve increased the estimated value I’m using for my PPOR, the drop in percentage is due to a rise in dollar value in my superannuation, which has increased by 3.93% during this quarter (even though it’s still sitting at 50% of overall worth).

My shares also rose in value around the end of August/beginning of September, thanks to Afterpay Touch (APT) going on a bit of a tear on the ASX. They had already been increasing over time and, since I was looking at a very decent profit on my original purchase (of Touchcorp, which was taken over by Afterpay), I decided to kick off one phase of my overall strategy (still a work in progress!) to gradually cash out of the speculative stocks I own – hence the reduction to 1% overall net worth. I sold my APT shares for a very tidy 1128% gain(!) and shifted the cash to my bonus interest savings account for the moment, resulting in the cash percentage increasing from 3% to 5%. As much as I’d like to use the money to start buying into ETFs or LICs, I plan to move it over to my superannuation as it will bring me very close to the $25,000 salary-sacrifice cap. This, plus the offset against some old capital losses I’ve been carrying for years, will help alleviate the capital gains tax.

Could I / should I have held on to APT? Maybe, maybe not. At the beginning of September Morningstar was reporting that APT wasn’t necessarily a good buy, and although it’s so far hit a high point over $4 more than the price I sold at, I’d bought it as a speculative punt and an 11-bagger is not to be sneezed at. You can’t time the market, after all, even if you have the luxury of having the free time to keep an eye on intra-day prices. Plus, the banking royal commission has also had APT in it’s sights, even though I don’t think their business model is actually all that bad compared to many of the payday lenders, so I’m happy to have cashed out now regardless of the fact that I’ll still likely be up for paying some capital gains.

So that’s it for my first proper net worth update!