Month End Summary – July 2019

July was another positive month for the broader market, but I was still underinvested for the month and missed out on some more gains. I did have a gain, but not as much as I could’ve had.

My account ended July with a Net Asset Value (NAV) of $93,287.57 according to Interactive Brokers (IB) after ending June with a NAV of $92,636.34. I had a gain of $651.23 (~0.7%) on paper for July (less than the S&P 500’s 1.31% gain for the month and the Dow’s 0.99% gain). I had $340.77 in net realized gains, which includes my one closing trade on an IWM covered call, $58.89 in interest and $41.56 in dividends (QQQ).

Quicken reported that I have an account value of $93,219.40, which is the same as what IB shows after I add in the $68.17 in interest accruals that IB credits in advance of the actual payment.

I’m 97.9% invested in this account as of the end of the month, 19.96 percentage points below the end of June. I have $1,959.78 left in uninvested cash. My back surgery went well three weeks ago and I’m spending a little more time at my desk each day. My son goes back to school in a few weeks and then I shouldn’t have any distractions from trading for a while. My only August option in place is a covered call at the $187 strike that’s $4 in the money. I’m not going to make an adjustment to it until we’re closer to August expiration. A lot can happen before then as we saw today with a quick 500-point reversal for the Dow over less than 30 minutes.

This is my asset allocation in my IB account as of the end of July:

• Large-cap ETF: 41.07% (including QQQ)
• Mid-Cap ETFs: 38.05%
• Small-Cap ETF: 16.78%
• International: 3.98%
• Individual Stocks & Other Sector ETFs: 0.0%
• Bonds: 0.0%

According to Morningstar, here’s how I compare to the major indexes (including dividends) through the last trading day, July 31, 2019:

• Dow Jones: YTD change +16.69%, 12-month change +8.22%
• S&P 500: YTD change +20.24%, 12-month change +7.99%
• NASDAQ Composite: YTD change +23.21%, 12-month change +6.56%
• Russell 2000: YTD change +17.66%, 12-month change -4.42%
• S&P Midcap 400: YTD change +19.38%, 12-month change +0.79%

My return according to Quicken through July 31, 2019:

• YTD Return: +11.58% (not annualized)
• 1 Year Return: -8.42%

The VIX ended the month at 16.12 and the VXN ended at 18.78. The VIX finished July 1.04 points higher than the end of June. The VXN finished 0.98 points lower. The VIX peaked on July 31, when it hit an intraday high of 16.55. The VXN peaked on the same day at 19.27. Today’s volatility sent both of these indexes above the July intraday highs. What we never know is if today’s price drop and jump in volatility is the beginning of a longer trend or if it’ll be short lived again. I’m set up in a decent position to weather the next few weeks of ebbs and flows and will add more exposure when I see a good opportunity.