1st half 2015 performance

There performance in CHF from portfolio in the first half of 2015, it stands at -4.61%. Cumulatively, this brings us to an annual profitability since launch (03.02.2010) of +12.77%. The portfolio has performed less well than the market (SPI +2.11%) during this bullish half-year, which is mainly explained by the abandonment of the floor rate by the SNB and the predominance of USD securities in the portfolio. The dollar has indeed lost more than 5% against the CHF during this period. But this is not the only explanation.

It can also be noted that since March, stocks paying increasing dividends have been doing less well than the market, even in USD. I interpret this as a return to a certain normality and perhaps even a sign of a more massive clean-up across all stocks. If prudent investors are indeed starting to withdraw, this means that only the crazy ones are left... Or worse, it is the crazy ones who are selling stocks considered too cushy to take more speculative positions. Let us remember that we are still at indecent market levels.

So I don't dwell too much on this lackluster performance. I see it more as an opportunity: if this continues, some dividend payers could become interesting again and if the whole market collapses, this will allow for more confident buying, as was the case too long ago...

The portfolio's dividend growth now stands at 10,26% per year. Thanks to this, the yield on purchase cost of my portfolio stands at 3,48%, despite recent purchases, even though the current yield is only 2,28%. A small downside is the distribution ratio The average portfolio now stands at 58%. This is not dramatic, there is still some margin of safety, but it should not go much higher.

In the first quarter, CHF 1,138 in net dividends were generated (CHF 720 in the same quarter of the previous year). In the second quarter, CHF 1,881 was received, compared to CHF 1,600 in the same period of the previous year. The second quarter is always fuller, thanks to the annual Swiss dividends. I am thus progressing slowly but surely towards financial independence, having now traveled 14% of the path that will allow me to completely retire from the professional world.