I<\/span> forgot to update the portfolio! I\u2019ve been leaning so hard into my passive investing<\/a> persona that I fell asleep at my spreadsheet and didn\u2019t twig when the 1 July Q2 deadline sailed by.<\/p>\n The markets are a distant background rumble to me right now. Oil price up, oil price down. Another day, another prophecy of AI doom.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t care. It\u2019s just that the question being asked, it cannot be answered.<\/p>\n The question? Always being some variant of, \u201cWhat\u2019s the next big thing?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the story of the year so far, told in straight lines:<\/p>\n Data from justETF<\/a>. The chosen ETFs are proxies for the Slow & Steady portfolio\u2019s holdings, plus gold and commodities. <\/p>\n Gold is the loser year-to-date, commodities the winner.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, previously unloved emerging markets and property are the cream of the equities crop.<\/p>\n Who had that marked on their card for 2026?<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the story again, told in wobbly lines of uncertainty:<\/p>\n Gold (red line) hit a new high in early March before dropping 23%.<\/p>\n Buying opportunity or time to get out?<\/p>\n Commodities<\/a> (grey line) looks like it\u2019s commanded by the Grand Old Duke of York. The changeable duffer perpetually marching his hard assets up and down hills. You want some?<\/a><\/p>\n Emerging markets (blue line) have now beaten the MSCI World over the last three years. That\u2019s a comeback worthy of the WWE, given how the new challengers had been roundly pummelled by the developed market champs for 15 years following the Credit Crunch.<\/p>\n Me? I\u2019m happy to own it all and let the chips fall where they may.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the portfolio holdings and long-term annualised returns since kick-off in 2011. <\/p>\n The Slow & Steady<\/em> is Monevator\u2019s<\/em> model passive investing<\/a> portfolio. It was set up at the start of 2011 with \u00a33,000. An extra \u00a31,360 is invested every quarter into a diversified set of index funds, tilted towards equities. You can read the origin story<\/a> and find all the previous passive portfolio posts<\/a> in the Monevator <\/em>vaults. Last quarter\u2019s instalment can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n All returns in this post are nominal GBP total returns unless otherwise stated. Subtract about 3% from the portfolio\u2019s annualised performance figure to estimate the real return after inflation.<\/em><\/p>\n The full growth picture looks like this:<\/p>\n In real-terms, the portfolio is still 2.6% below its December 2021 peak. Another quarter or two of progress could push it to higher ground once more. <\/p>\n It has to be said though that we\u2019re coming up for five years underwater since inflation spiralled. By contrast, recovery from the Global Financial Crisis<\/a> took less than three years for a 60\/40-type portfolio.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, trad 60\/40 portfolios have a history of suffering<\/a> like this during severe bouts of inflation. Consider adding some additional protection<\/a> to yours.<\/p>\n Every quarter we plough another \u00a31,360 into the market\u2019s black earth and hope we\u2019ll harvest plenty of corn later. Our stake is split between our seven funds, according to our predetermined asset allocation.<\/p>\n We rebalance using\u00a0Larry Swedroe\u2019s 5\/25 rule<\/a>. That hasn\u2019t been activated this quarter, so the trades play out as follows:<\/p>\n Emerging market equities<\/strong><\/p>\n iShares Emerging Markets Equity Index Fund D \u2013 OCF 0.18%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: GB00B84DY642<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a3108.80<\/p>\n Buy 40.8946 units @ \u00a32.66<\/p>\n Global property<\/strong><\/p>\n iShares Environment & Low Carbon Tilt Real Estate Index Fund \u2013 OCF 0.18%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: GB00B5BFJG71<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a368<\/p>\n Buy 25.5016 units @ \u00a32.67<\/p>\n Developed world ex-UK equities<\/strong><\/p>\n Vanguard FTSE Developed World ex-UK Equity Index Fund \u2013 OCF 0.14%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: GB00B59G4Q73<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a3503.20<\/p>\n Buy 0.5631 units @ \u00a3893.61<\/p>\n UK equity<\/strong><\/p>\n Vanguard FTSE UK All-Share Index Trust \u2013 OCF<\/a> 0.06%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: GB00B3X7QG63<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a368<\/p>\n Buy 0.18 units @ \u00a3377.84<\/p>\n Global small cap equities<\/strong><\/p>\n Vanguard Global Small-Cap Index Fund \u2013 OCF 0.29%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: IE00B3X1NT05<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a368<\/p>\n Buy 0.1189 units @ \u00a3572<\/p>\n UK gilts<\/strong><\/p>\n Vanguard UK Government Bond Index \u2013 OCF 0.12%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: IE00B1S75374<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a3285.60<\/p>\n Buy 2.1189 units @ \u00a3134.79<\/p>\n Global inflation-linked bonds<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Royal London Short Duration Global Index-Linked Fund \u2013 OCF 0.27%<\/p>\n Fund identifier: GB00BD050F05<\/p>\n New purchase: \u00a3258.40 + \u00a3118.92 dividend<\/p>\n Buy 343.9562 units @ \u00a31.097<\/p>\n New investment<\/strong> contribution<\/strong> = \u00a31,360<\/p>\n Trading cost <\/strong>= \u00a30<\/p>\n Average portfolio OCF <\/strong>= 0.17%<\/p>\n Take a look at our broker comparison<\/a> table for your best investment account options.<\/p>\n Or learn more about choosing the cheapest stocks and shares ISA<\/a> for your situation.<\/p>\n You might also enjoy a refresher on why we think most people are best choosing passive vs active investing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Take it steady,<\/p>\n The Accumulator<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nAnswers on a postcard<\/h4>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\nPortfolio-o-vision<\/h2>\n
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<\/a><\/figure>\nNew transactions<\/h2>\n
User manual<\/h3>\n