Bad news: After 12 months of investing, I learned I was reporting my performance wrong.
Good news: I was doing better than I thought!
I was reporting my raw stock price value changes, not including dividends (or fees), using an awkward monthly manual snapshot.
I found the metrics I should have been using, on the Performance tab, which includes dividends (and fees). Fidelity estimates I’ll earn $572/yr in dividends, which is 2.5% of my $22,650 total - useful to include.
Here’s my monthly performance history (as reported by Fidelity) compared to the S&P 500.
| Month | Rate of Return | S&P 500 |
|---|---|---|
| July 2023 | 6.6% | 3.1% |
| June | 8.7% | 6.5% |
| May | (-1.7%) | 0.3% |
| April | 0.2% | 1.5% |
| March | 0.0% | 3.5% |
| February | (-4.5%) | (-2.6%) |
| January 2023 | 15.1% | 6.2% |
| December 2022 | (-5.2%) | (-5.9%) |
| November | 6.7% | 5.4% |
| October | 5.1% | 8.0% |
| September | (-14.7%) | (-9.3%) |
| August | (-1.3%) | (-4.2%) |
| July 2022 | 2.2% | 9.1% |
And here’s my quarterly performance (only reported for the quarters with complete data) which looks smoother.
| Quarter | Rate of Return | S&P 500) |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2023 | 7.1% | 8.7% |
| Q1 2023 | 10.0% | 7.5% |
| Q4 2022 | 6.4% | 7.5% |
Fidelity also shows my overall performance, against a few Market Indexes (of their choice).
| Fund (pre-tax) | 1-month | 3-month | YTD |
|---|---|---|---|
| My ‘Time-weighted’ Returns | 8.7% | 7.1% | 17.7% |
| My ‘Money-weighted’ Returns | 8.6% | 7.5% | 16.7% |
| S&P 500 Index | 6.6% | 8.7% | 16.9% |
| Dow Jones U.S. Index | 6.9% | 8.4% | 16.2% |
| MSCI ACWI [non-US ETF] | 4.5% | 2.5% | 9.6% |
| US Bond Aggregate | (-0.4%) | (-0.8%) | 2.1% |
| Municipal Bond Index | 1.0% | (-0.1%) | 2.7% |
[The above charts are accidentally for June. The following chart is correct for July.]
| Fund | 1-month | 3-month | YTD | 1-year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| My Fund | 6.3% | 14.0% | 25.5% | 12.5% |
| S&P 500 | 3.2% | 10.5% | 20.7% | 13.0% |
| Dow Jones | 3.6% | 11% | 20% | 13% |
The ‘Time-weighted’ returns seem to be just returns as you’d expect - that’s the number I’ll be focused on. The ‘Money Weighted’ returns look like some Fidelity Magic I can ignore. (See the Appendix to see how Fidelity defines them.)
I wonder if they show the bonds just to give investors something to beat.
I’m glad to see I’m keeping pace with the S&P 500, but this is a small sample. The Fidelity chart extends to 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, and 10-year columns as well; the S&P 500 10-year is cumulatively up 235.4%! My data for these columns is empty - milestones to look forward to.
Buys
Reddit convinced me to buy a spread of fertilizer. Brand new positions marked.
| Total | Symbol | Account % | Total % Gain |
Total $ Gain |
New Shares |
Description | Average Price |
Last Price |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $884 | OXY | 3.9% | 3.2% | $27.0 | 2 | OCCIDENTAL PETE CORP COM | $61.2 | $63.1 | Buffett energy |
| $433 | PFE | 1.9% | -8.5% | -$39.9 | 4 | PFIZER INC | $39.4 | $36.1 | my top Healthcare pick |
| $235 | MRNA | 1.0% | -12.4% | -$33.4 | 1 | MODERNA INC COM | $134.4 | $117.7 | more Healthcare |
| $207 | JD | 0.9% | 21.4% | $36.3 | 2 | JD.COM INC SPON ADS EACH | $34.0 | $41.3 | Burray’s China pick |
| $109 | BNTX* | 0.5% | 1.1% | $1.2 | 1 | BIONTECH SE SPON ADS EACH | $107.7 | $108.9 | German healthcare, good stats |
| $110 | CTRA | 0.5% | 13.6% | $13.2 | 2 | COTERRA ENERGY INC COM | $24.3 | $27.5 | Burray energy |
| $82 | CF* | 0.4% | 17.6% | $12.3 | 1 | CF INDUSTRIES HOLDINGS IN | $69.8 | $82.1 | fertilizer |
| $67 | BTI | 0.3% | 2.8% | $1.9 | 1 | BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO | $32.8 | $33.7 | dip |
| $69 | NTR* | 0.3% | 15.5% | $9.3 | 1 | NUTRIEN LTD COM NPV ISIN | $59.6 | $68.9 | fertilizer |
| $57 | BUD* | 0.3% | 0.6% | $0.3 | 1 | ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/N | $57.0 | $57.3 | dip |
| $54 | DVN* | 0.2% | 9.6% | $4.7 | 1 | DEVON ENERGY CORP NEW | $49.3 | $54.0 | Burray energy |
| $53 | SNY* | 0.2% | -0.1% | -$0.1 | 1 | SANOFI ADR REP 1 1/2 ORD | $53.4 | $53.4 | large French healthcare |
| $41 | MOS* | 0.2% | 15.2% | $5.4 | 1 | MOSAIC CO NEW COM | $35.4 | $40.8 | fertilizer |
| $36 | KHC* | 0.2% | 1.1% | $0.4 | 1 | KRAFT HEINZ CO COM | $35.8 | $36.2 | Buffett in at $70 in 2015, hasn’t sold |
*New positions
Holds
Since I just passed 12 months, this is the first time I’ve had the option to sell a stock long. So I researched the 19 stocks I purchased in the first month, but still decided to hold them all.
There are conditions I would sell an individual stock, probably, but this anecdote sums up my feelings in most cases:
O’Shaughnessy: “Fidelity had done a study as to which accounts had done the best at Fidelity. And what they found was…”
Ritholtz: “They were dead.”
O’Shaughnessy: “…No, that’s close though! They were the accounts of people who forgot they had an account at Fidelity.”
I marked those first-month stocks below, and sorted the list by total % gain. It’s interesting to see the spread in performance of my first month picks. Would you hold them all?
| Total | Symbol | Account % | Total % Gain |
Total $ Gain |
Description | Average Price |
Last Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $125 | PKX | 0.6% | 179.6% | $80.6 | POSCO HOLDINGS INC ADR EA | $44.9 | $125.5 |
| $436 | RCL | 1.9% | 166.0% | $272.4 | ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP COM | $41.0 | $109.1 |
| $219 | NFLX** | 1.0% | 105.0% | $112.4 | NETFLIX INC | $214.1 | $439.0 |
| $1,593 | META** | 7.0% | 99.1% | $793.0 | META PLATFORMS INC CLASS | $160.0 | $318.6 |
| $283 | CCL** | 1.2% | 98.1% | $140.0 | CARNIVAL CORP COM USD0.01 | $9.5 | $18.8 |
| $257 | CUK | 1.1% | 88.6% | $120.7 | CARNIVAL ADR REP 1 ORD | $9.1 | $17.1 |
| $150 | RDFN | 0.7% | 77.3% | $65.3 | REDFIN CORP COM | $8.5 | $15.0 |
| $331 | NCLH | 1.5% | 76.5% | $143.5 | NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HLD | $12.5 | $22.1 |
| $120 | LVS** | 0.5% | 60.3% | $45.0 | LAS VEGAS SANDS CORP COM | $37.3 | $59.8 |
| $145 | STNE | 0.6% | 58.9% | $53.7 | STONECO LTD COM USD0.0000 | $9.1 | $14.5 |
| $90 | PVH | 0.4% | 58.0% | $32.9 | PVH CORPORATION COM | $56.7 | $89.6 |
| $13 | PLUG | 0.1% | 57.1% | $4.8 | PLUG POWER INC | $8.4 | $13.1 |
| $115 | EB | 0.5% | 56.2% | $41.4 | EVENTBRITE INC COM CL A | $7.4 | $11.5 |
| $203 | BMWYY | 0.9% | 55.5% | $72.6 | BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE | $26.2 | $40.7 |
| $229 | LNVGY | 1.0% | 53.4% | $79.6 | LENOVO GROUP ADR | $14.9 | $22.9 |
| $398 | GOOGL | 1.7% | 48.4% | $129.9 | ALPHABET INC CAP STK CL A | $89.4 | $132.7 |
| $399 | GOOG | 1.8% | 48.4% | $130.3 | ALPHABET INC CAP STK CL C | $89.7 | $133.1 |
| $80 | NOV | 0.4% | 41.9% | $23.7 | NOV INC COM | $14.2 | $20.1 |
| $589 | AAPL | 2.6% | 39.9% | $168.1 | APPLE INC | $140.4 | $196.5 |
| $193 | HOOD** | 0.8% | 37.4% | $52.6 | ROBINHOOD MKTS INC COM CL | $9.4 | $12.9 |
| $139 | HPE | 0.6% | 37.3% | $37.8 | HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRIS | $12.7 | $17.4 |
| $336 | MSFT | 1.5% | 35.0% | $87.0 | MICROSOFT CORP | $248.9 | $335.9 |
| $109 | MKSI | 0.5% | 34.9% | $28.2 | MKS INSTRS INC COM | $81.0 | $109.2 |
| $14 | NYCB | 0.1% | 33.4% | $3.5 | NEW YORK COMMUNITY BANCOR | $10.4 | $13.9 |
| $139 | UHS | 0.6% | 32.4% | $34.0 | UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES | $104.9 | $139.0 |
| $83 | KMX | 0.4% | 30.3% | $19.2 | CARMAX INC | $63.4 | $82.6 |
| $316 | JPM | 1.4% | 29.9% | $72.8 | JPMORGAN CHASE & CO | $121.6 | $158.0 |
| $214 | MU | 0.9% | 28.2% | $47.1 | MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC | $55.7 | $71.4 |
| $64 | HMC | 0.3% | 27.5% | $13.8 | HONDA MOTOR LTD AMERN SHS | $25.0 | $31.9 |
| $53 | CLF | 0.2% | 27.2% | $11.3 | CLEVELAND-CLIFFS INC NEW | $13.9 | $17.7 |
| $9 | PACW | 0.0% | 26.5% | $2.0 | PACWEST BANCORP DEL COM | $7.4 | $9.3 |
| $116 | JWN | 0.5% | 24.1% | $22.5 | NORDSTROM INC COM NPV | $18.6 | $23.1 |
| $336 | TM | 1.5% | 23.4% | $63.7 | TOYOTA MOTOR CORP ADR-EAC | $136.4 | $168.2 |
| $136 | CMCSA | 0.6% | 22.0% | $24.5 | COMCAST CORP | $37.1 | $45.3 |
| $147 | PBR | 0.6% | 20.2% | $24.7 | PETROLEO BRASILEIRO SA PE | $12.2 | $14.7 |
| $91 | OMF | 0.4% | 19.7% | $15.0 | ONEMAIN HLDGS INC COM | $38.0 | $45.5 |
| $351 | COF | 1.5% | 19.2% | $56.7 | CAPITAL ONE FINANCIAL COR | $98.1 | $117.0 |
| $276 | TCEHY | 1.2% | 19.0% | $44.0 | TENCENT HOLDINGS LIMITED | $38.6 | $45.9 |
| $77 | OKTA | 0.3% | 18.4% | $12.0 | OKTA INC CL A | $64.9 | $76.9 |
| $66 | F | 0.3% | 17.4% | $9.8 | FORD MTR CO DEL COM | $11.3 | $13.2 |
| $84 | AVUV | 0.4% | 17.2% | $12.3 | AMERICAN CENTY ETF TR AVA | $71.9 | $84.2 |
| $37 | HBAN | 0.2% | 17.1% | $5.4 | HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES INC | $10.5 | $12.2 |
| $117 | VXUS | 0.5% | 16.9% | $16.9 | VANGUARD TOTAL INTERNATIO | $49.8 | $58.3 |
| $55 | QRVO | 0.2% | 16.9% | $8.0 | QORVO INC | $94.1 | $110.0 |
| $137 | PNC | 0.6% | 16.8% | $19.7 | PNC FINANCIAL SERVICES GR | $117.2 | $136.9 |
| $263 | HPQ | 1.2% | 16.0% | $36.3 | HP INC COM | $28.3 | $32.8 |
| $83 | LILAK | 0.4% | 15.1% | $10.9 | LIBERTY LATIN AMERICA LTD | $7.2 | $8.3 |
| $48 | VEA | 0.2% | 15.0% | $6.2 | VANGUARD DEVELOPED MARKET | $41.4 | $47.6 |
| $116 | VSS | 0.5% | 14.0% | $14.2 | VANGUARD INTL EQUITY INDE | $101.7 | $115.9 |
| $95 | LSXMK | 0.4% | 13.8% | $11.6 | LIBERTY MEDIA CORP DEL CO | $28.0 | $31.8 |
| $84 | LILA | 0.4% | 13.7% | $10.1 | LIBERTY LATIN AMERICA LTD | $7.4 | $8.4 |
| $251 | CE | 1.1% | 13.6% | $30.0 | CELANESE CORP DEL COM | $110.4 | $125.4 |
| $277 | WFC | 1.2% | 13.5% | $32.9 | WELLS FARGO CO NEW COM | $40.7 | $46.2 |
| $203 | CHTR | 0.9% | 13.4% | $23.9 | CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS IN | $357.3 | $405.2 |
| $306 | BABA** | 1.3% | 13.0% | $35.3 | ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD | $90.4 | $102.2 |
| $95 | LSXMA | 0.4% | 12.9% | $10.9 | LIBERTY MEDIA CORP DEL CO | $28.1 | $31.7 |
| $66 | TD | 0.3% | 12.4% | $7.3 | TORONTO DOMINION BANK ONT | $58.7 | $65.9 |
| $32 | CFG | 0.1% | 12.4% | $3.6 | CITIZENS FINL GROUP INC C | $28.7 | $32.3 |
| $109 | ACGBY | 0.5% | 11.2% | $10.9 | AGRICULTURAL BANK-UNSPON | $8.1 | $9.1 |
| $113 | DOW | 0.5% | 10.1% | $10.4 | DOW INC COM | $51.3 | $56.5 |
| $29 | FITB | 0.1% | 10.1% | $2.7 | FIFTH THIRD BANCORP | $26.4 | $29.1 |
| $74 | AAP | 0.3% | 10.0% | $6.8 | ADVANCE AUTO PARTS INC | $67.6 | $74.4 |
| $384 | GM | 1.7% | 9.4% | $33.1 | GENERAL MTRS CO COM | $35.1 | $38.4 |
| $40 | BCS | 0.2% | 9.1% | $3.3 | BARCLAYS PLC ADR-EACH CV | $7.3 | $8.0 |
| $191 | SIX | 0.8% | 8.6% | $15.1 | SIX FLAGS ENTERTAINMENT C | $22.0 | $23.9 |
| $14 | SHYF | 0.1% | 8.6% | $1.1 | SHYFT GROUP INC COM | $13.3 | $14.4 |
| $56 | NTDOY | 0.3% | 6.5% | $3.4 | NINTENDO CO LTD UNSP ADS | $10.6 | $11.3 |
| $480 | BAC | 2.1% | 6.3% | $28.4 | BANK AMERICA CORP COM | $30.1 | $32.0 |
| $428 | ALLY | 1.9% | 5.6% | $22.6 | ALLY FINANCIAL INC COM US | $28.9 | $30.5 |
| $301 | VWO | 1.3% | 5.4% | $15.6 | VANGUARD INTL EQUITY INDE | $40.9 | $43.1 |
| $93 | BMO | 0.4% | 5.4% | $4.8 | BANK OF MONTREAL COM NPV | $88.2 | $92.9 |
| $491 | CVX | 2.2% | 4.6% | $21.7 | CHEVRON CORP NEW COM | $156.4 | $163.7 |
| $358 | INTC** | 1.6% | 2.6% | $9.2 | INTEL CORP COM USD0.001 | $34.9 | $35.8 |
| $261 | WBD** | 1.1% | 2.6% | $6.5 | WARNER BROS DISCOVERY INC | $12.7 | $13.1 |
| $199 | SWK** | 0.9% | 1.0% | $1.9 | STANLEY BLACK & DECKER IN | $98.3 | $99.3 |
| $238 | USB | 1.0% | 0.0% | -$0.1 | US BANCORP | $39.7 | $39.7 |
| $381 | C** | 1.7% | -2.0% | -$7.9 | CITIGROUP INC | $48.7 | $47.7 |
| $362 | BND | 1.6% | -3.9% | -$14.8 | VANGUARD BD INDEX FDS TOT | $75.4 | $72.4 |
| $14 | SBGI | 0.1% | -5.5% | -$0.8 | SINCLAIR INC CL A | $14.7 | $13.9 |
| $142 | KSS** | 0.6% | -6.0% | -$9.0 | KOHLS CORP COM | $30.3 | $28.5 |
| $97 | IDCBY | 0.4% | -6.1% | -$6.3 | INDUSTRIAL &COMMERCIAL BK | $10.4 | $9.7 |
| $107 | XOM | 0.5% | -6.5% | -$7.5 | EXXON MOBIL CORP | $114.7 | $107.2 |
| $110 | GPN** | 0.5% | -6.7% | -$7.9 | GLOBAL PAYMENTS INC | $118.1 | $110.3 |
| $93 | CICHY | 0.4% | -6.9% | -$6.9 | CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK C | $12.5 | $11.6 |
| $31 | BEPC | 0.1% | -7.3% | -$2.5 | BROOKFIELD RENEWABLE CORP | $33.6 | $31.2 |
| $53 | MHK | 0.2% | -7.5% | -$4.3 | MOHAWK INDUSTRIES COM USD | $115.0 | $106.3 |
| $26 | CWEN | 0.1% | -8.3% | -$2.4 | CLEARWAY ENERGY INC CL C | $28.8 | $26.4 |
| $152 | PYPL** | 0.7% | -8.7% | -$14.4 | PAYPAL HLDGS INC COM | $83.0 | $75.8 |
| $178 | DIS | 0.8% | -9.4% | -$18.3 | DISNEY WALT CO COM | $98.1 | $88.9 |
| $73 | ZM | 0.3% | -10.0% | -$8.2 | ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS | $81.5 | $73.4 |
| $233 | TFC | 1.0% | -10.9% | -$28.4 | TRUIST FINL CORP COM | $37.3 | $33.2 |
| $223 | MMM | 1.0% | -11.3% | -$28.4 | 3M CO | $125.7 | $111.5 |
| $58 | FTCH | 0.3% | -12.2% | -$8.1 | FARFETCH LTD COM USD0.04 | $6.6 | $5.8 |
| $130 | FLWS** | 0.6% | -14.4% | -$21.9 | 1 800 FLOWERS COM INC CL | $10.1 | $8.7 |
| $167 | TSN | 0.7% | -14.5% | -$28.3 | TYSON FOODS INC | $65.2 | $55.7 |
| $158 | WB | 0.7% | -17.0% | -$32.3 | WEIBO ADR REP 1 CL A ORD | $19.0 | $15.8 |
| $89 | LBRDK | 0.4% | -18.1% | -$19.6 | LIBERTY BROADBAND CORP CO | $108.8 | $89.1 |
| $80 | JBSAY | 0.4% | -19.8% | -$19.6 | JBS SA SPON ADR EACH REP | $9.9 | $8.0 |
| $51 | HIW | 0.2% | -20.1% | -$12.7 | HIGHWOODS PROPERTIES INC | $31.6 | $25.3 |
| $239 | VZ | 1.0% | -20.7% | -$62.2 | VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS IN | $43.0 | $34.1 |
| $145 | T** | 0.6% | -21.0% | -$38.6 | AT&T INC COM USD1 | $18.4 | $14.5 |
| $58 | CDLX | 0.3% | -21.5% | -$16.0 | CARDLYTICS INC COM | $14.9 | $11.7 |
| $45 | BAX** | 0.2% | -22.5% | -$13.1 | BAXTER INTERNATIONAL INC | $58.3 | $45.2 |
| $90 | WBA** | 0.4% | -24.1% | -$28.6 | WALGREENS BOOTS ALLIANCE | $39.5 | $30.0 |
| $160 | PARA | 0.7% | -26.0% | -$56.2 | PARAMOUNT GLOBAL CLASS B | $21.7 | $16.0 |
| $59 | VFC | 0.3% | -27.1% | -$22.0 | V F CORP COM NPV | $27.2 | $19.8 |
| $31 | KIRK | 0.1% | -33.5% | -$15.7 | KIRKLANDS INC COM | $4.7 | $3.1 |
| $60 | FIS | 0.3% | -38.8% | -$38.3 | FIDELITY NATL INFORMATION | $98.7 | $60.4 |
| $132 | HBI | 0.6% | -44.0% | -$103.3 | HANESBRANDS INC COM USD0. | $9.4 | $5.3 |
| $21 | ILPT | 0.1% | -51.4% | -$22.4 | INDUSTRIAL LOGISTICS PPTY | $8.7 | $4.2 |
| $79 | DISH** | 0.4% | -57.5% | -$107.3 | DISH NETWORK CORPORATION | $18.7 | $7.9 |
| $6 | BBBYQ** | 0.0% | -94.2% | -$91.0 | BED BATH AND BEYOND COM U | $4.8 | $0.3 |
| $0 | SBNY | 0.0% | -100.0% | -$242.6 | SIGNATURE BANK | $121.4 | $0.1 |
**For sale long (at least partially)
Appendix
Your Money-weighted rate of return reflects the impact of investment market changes, dividends and interest, fees, and cash flows, such as deposits and withdrawals, on the return. By factoring in the size and timing of cash flows, your money movement decisions have a direct impact on the return due to market timing. The calculation will weigh periods of time differently based on the overall account balance. This means when your account has a higher balance the performance experienced during that time will be given a greater weight compared to the performance experienced when your account has a lower balance. This return helps you evaluate both the performance of your investments and the impact of your money movement decisions on performance.
Your Time-weighted rate of return reflects the impact of investment market changes, dividends and interest, and fees on the return. It does not take into consideration the impact of cash flows, such as deposits and withdrawals. By not considering the size and timing of your money movement decisions, this return is a better performance indicator of your investment manager’s ability. This return helps you evaluate the performance of the investments in your account.