Another year has come and gone, and with it another year of largely “benign negligence” on my part when it comes to managing the former iPIG portfolio.
The account containing the former iPIG portfolio unofficially finished the year valued at $132,170.05. That number is subject to change a bit when the final year end statement is published. That amount looks like the highest value of any snapshot I’ve taken of the account since its inception. The year end statement from 2022 put the account’s value then at $109,221.38.
That 21.0% return looks awesome on its own, but it actually underperformed the S&P 500 (24.2%) and the related ETF tracker SPY with dividends reinvested (26.2%) over the same time period. That underperformance doesn’t really surprise me, given how much better the former iPIG portfolio held up in 2022 than the same benchmarks: ( Former iPIG Portfolio -- Year End Update -- 2022 ).
Of course, the portfolio’s design is based on seeking a growing income stream that at least keeps up with inflation. On that point, the former iPIG portfolio shined. I did the math in this article: This Strategy Trounced the S&P 500 in 2023. Here's How. | The Motley Fool . In essence the $3,340.25 in dividend-like income that the former iPIG portfolio generated increased 10.24% from the year before, far outpacing the 4.95% increase from the SPY index ETF. That 10.2% increase in dividends also outpaced the 3.1% official inflation rate over the past 12 months.
As an aside, I wish my personal inflation rate had only been 3.1% over the past 12 months, but that’s a topic for another post…
All told, I’m satisfied with how the portfolio performed vs. its design criteria, and I’m thrilled its holding up so well with me doing as little to watch over it as I have. I’d like to believe 2024 will be the year I actually do a legitimate portfolio review and make sure I “weed and feed” where appropriate, but my recent track record on that front has been less than stellar…
Regards,
-Chuck
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