I’m Zen from Japan. From April 2024, I’d like to publish my assets, income and expenditure once a month. Please enjoy watching the release of assets held by average Japanese. If you have any advice, please let me know!
Firstly, I introduce myself. It looks roughly like the following.
Age : completed master’s degree in 2021 (late 20s) Major : Chemical Engineering Occupation : Research and development job at a chemical manufacturer Income : Late 200,000 yen Investment policy : Focusing on index investment with NISA, and trying out various investments Target : Dividend 1 million yen/year
Assets amount disclosure (May 2024)
Total assets amount
Zen’s total assets in May 2024 were 13,139,204 yen. (83,695 USD) The breakdown is as follows.
In terms of Japanese yen, only Japanese yen was negative compared to last month, but the overall balance was +129,742 yen. On the other hand, in dollar terms, due to the ongoing depreciation of the yen, the increase in my assets was small. The overall balance was +370 USD.
Let’s check the breakdown of each financial asset.
Japanese stocks
The Japanese stocks held by Zen were +52 USD compared to last month. The trend of the Nikkei Average in dollar terms was as shown in the image below.
Charts provided by TradingView
Although there were some rises and falls in stock prices, the change in the Nikkei Average for May as a whole was small. I think that such ups and downs are unavoidable as long as I’m investing. Currently, I’m not able to fully invest in Japanese stocks due to the following concerns.
Will the Japanese yen appreciate as a result of the US interest rate cut? As a result of the strong yen, will the Japanese stock price fall as foreign investors sell Japanese stocks?
Is there a possibility that America will experience a recession in the future? Is there a possibility that Japanese stocks will also fall due to the US economic recession?
Although I have some concerns, I’d like to hold onto the stocks in the belief that it will rise over the long term.
Investment trust (S&P500)
I have accumulated the following investment trusts using the new NISA investment limit. ・三菱UFJ-eMAXIS Slim 米国株式（S&P500） 33,333 yen ・三菱UFJ-eMAXIS Slim バランス（8資産均等型） 10,000 yen
The investment trust I held was +875 USD compared to last month. The additional reserve amount has been included in this month’s price, but even excluding that, the price has increased significantly.
The trend of S&P500 was as shown in the image below. The blue line is the value in Japanese yen terms, and the orange line is the value in dollar terms.
Charts provided by TradingView
This month, the effect of the weaker yen is small, and US stock prices are doing well. Personally, I wonder an adjustment phase is coming soon. However there’s no point in thinking about it, so as a commoner, I just accumulate it without thinking about it.
Bonds
As for bonds, I hold iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond Market ETF (AGG). The bonds I hold increased by +37 USD compared to last month. This month’s AGG trend was as shown in the image below.
Charts provided by TradingView
AGG’s stock price has risen this month. It is often said that there is a see-saw relationship between bond prices and interest rates, but are they starting to see interest rate cuts soon? (I don’t really understand this part yet.)
Exchange rate
This month’s JPY/USD trend was as shown in the image below.
Charts provided by TradingView
Due to the rapid depreciation of the yen and foreign exchange intervention from late April to early May, the market was volatile and unfriendly.
Even with foreign exchange intervention, the yen’s depreciation in May as a whole is a little sad for me, as someone who builds assets in Japanese yen. In theory, I was aware of the risks of holding only Japanese yen. But when the yen actually depreciates, the scale of this risk becomes even more acute.
This month’s expenses
This month’s credit card payment amount was 190,742 yen (1215 USD). Like last month, the price exceeded 100,000 yen, and the 200,000 mark is now in sight.
This month’s cause is obvious. This is because I purchased a Dell laptop for 120,000 yen to start this blog. Considering that the cost is around 70,000 yen excluding the cost of the laptop, I think it is within the acceptable range.
Summary
Overall, the amount of assets was positive compared to last month, but I’m a little disappointed that assets haven’t increased much this month despite the strong market.
This month has made it clear that it is not only important to increase my assets, but also how to save them. But I also think it’s important to invest in experience. I don’t just want to focus on saving money, I want to be careful about balance.
The ratio of Japanese yen is 36%, and I would like to invest somewhere, but there are no investments that I feel are cheap at the moment, so I’m letting it play for now this month.
The above was the asset amount disclosed in May 2024. June is the rainy season in Japan and you may feel depressed, but let’s do our best. See you next month.
