Portfolio:
12/03/07
$150 000 in Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) @ $74.84 = 2 004 shares
$50 000 in Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) @ $21.28 = 2 349 shares
$50 000 in Macarthur Coal Ltd (MCC) @ $4.55 = 10989 shares
$50 000 in Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) @ $18.05 = 2770 shares
Total: $300 000
18/05/07
2004 shares in RIO @ $90.91 = $182 183 .64
2359 shares in NCM @ $22.20 = $52 369.80
10989 shares in MCC @ $5.27 = $57 912.03
2770 shares in FMG @ $34.45 = $95 426.50
Total: $387 891.97
Reasons For Choosing This Portfolio:
I decided to begin with 50% of my portfolio ($150000) invested in Rio Tinto Ltd, being the second largest multinational mining company in the world. Having established its presence in Australia over 40 years ago, I felt that this would be a secure major investment, with its diverse interests (outlined below) and a past history of strong performance against the ASX50 index. I similarly wanted to invest in Xstrata, however it is not listed on the ASX.
Of the remaining $150 000, $50 000, or 17% of my initial capital each went towards Newcrest Mining Ltd (Gold), Macarthur Coal Ltd (Coal) and Fortescue Metals Group (Iron). All of these companies appeared to have strong backgrounds with the potential for further growth in the near future. In particular, Fortescue looked to be a strong mover with iron ore prices doubling in the recent past.
In this way, I thus rounded out my portfolio with 50% in one major player in the industry representing varied interests, and the remaining 50% split evenly between interests in gold, coal and iron. Due to this split, I believed any negative fluctuations in specific base commodity prices would only affect a small section of my portfolio, minimising the loss.
Company Overviews:
Rio Tinto Limited:
Originally formed in 1873, Rio Tinto is the world’s second largest minerals company. “Its activities span the world but are strongly represented in