LTTs up ~30% Last 12 Months

[TripleB]

I don't check my portfolio earnings/losses too closely, however I do frequently log in to verify no hacking has occurred and to modify 401k contributions each month to maximize how much I contribute based on what my spending needs are.

I've been pleasantly surprised that my total portfolio value has been relatively unchanged YTD (maybe up about 1%) considering International Stocks are down 25% YTD and I hold almost 20% of my total portfolio in international stocks.

Approximately 25% of my total portfolio is currently individually held long-term US treasuries, approximately 28 years to maturity on average.

I wanted to figure out how the hell I've been able to keep a fairly neutral total value in spite of such huge losses in International stocks that make up a large chunk of my portfolio. Part of it is due to the fact that I am also heavily invested in US REITs and they've beaten the SP500 by a few percent YTD.

Most of the fact is due to LTTs doing about 30% growth over the last 12 months. It's compensating for the 50% annualized losses I have in my international stocks.

[Storm]

I'm not exactly sure where you found those figures but my LTTs are not up nearly as much as yours...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=TLT+Basic+Chart&t=6m

Basically TLT was around 120 6 months ago and it is around 125 today.  I'm not exactly seeing a 30% gain.  What exactly inspired you to think such things were happening?

[TripleB]

I'm not exactly sure where you found those figures but my LTTs are not up nearly as much as yours...

http://finance.yahoo.com/q/bc?s=TLT+Basic+Chart&t=6m

Basically TLT was around 120 6 months ago and it is around 125 today.  I'm not exactly seeing a 30% gain.  What exactly inspired you to think such things were happening?

Good catch! I meant to type last 12 months, not YTD. They are up ~30% from June 2011 to June 2012. I have modified the original post to reflect the correct usage.

[buddtholomew]

I don't check my portfolio earnings/losses too closely, however I do frequently log in to verify no hacking has occurred and to modify 401k contributions each month to maximize how much I contribute based on what my spending needs are.

I've been pleasantly surprised that my total portfolio value has been relatively unchanged YTD (maybe up about 1%) considering International Stocks are down 25% YTD and I hold almost 20% of my total portfolio in international stocks.

Approximately 25% of my total portfolio is currently individually held long-term US treasuries, approximately 28 years to maturity on average.

I wanted to figure out how the hell I've been able to keep a fairly neutral total value in spite of such huge losses in International stocks that make up a large chunk of my portfolio. Part of it is due to the fact that I am also heavily invested in US REITs and they've beaten the SP500 by a few percent YTD.

Most of the fact is due to LTTs doing about 30% growth over the last 12 months. It's compensating for the 50% annualized losses I have in my international stocks.

TripleB-

International equities comprise 50% of my overall portfolio and are invested primarily in VWILX, VFSVX and VEIEX (INT LC, INT SC and Emerging Markets). VWILX is up 5.06% YTD, VFSVX 4.15% YTD and VEIEX 4.36% YTD respectively. What International investments do you hold that are down 25%? I suspect you are mis-reading the returns unless your holdings are significantly under-performing their benchmarks.

Best-
Budd