Month End Summary – July 2007

I had a fairly good July, even with the rough final week.  My annualized gain year to date is 27.74%.  That’s down from the 40+% I was running for most of the first half of the year.  I was expecting a decliine since I’m not investing as deeply as I was earlier with my increased concerns on the market’s general direction.

For the first time this year, my 12 month return (28.78%) is higher than my year to date return.  Even with my annualized gain dropping, I’m pretty happy with how I’ve been managing my account.  Instead of only focusing on a random percentage I want to achieve I like to compare my returns to some major indexes.  My non-annualized return according to Quicken (which I think takes into account my monthly deposits) is 14.01%.  The S&P 500 has only gained 5.91% and the Dow is only up 2.73%.  If I can continue to beat the major index averages I consider my attention I devote to my investments worth my time as opposed to just sticking my entire account into index funds that attempt to mirror the markets.