February 2017 update ($389,939 +$3,228 or +1%)

↑ Vanguard Emerging markets ETF is up by 4% or $567

↑ Vanguard S&P500 ETF is up by 4% or $2,993

↑ iShares core DAX wen up 1% or $273

↑ iShares Emerging markets sovereign debt ETF (IEMB )  is up by 2% or $399

↑ iShares Emerging markets  Corporate bonds ETF (EMCR) is up by 1% or $546

↑ Precious metals are up by 3% or $296

↑ Dividends Vanguard Emerging markets  (VFEM) for Q4 2016 - $35

↑ Dividends  Vanguard S&P 500 (VUSA) Q4 2016 - $270

↑ Dividends  iShares EM MRK SOUV BD  - $209

↑ Dividends  iShares EM MRK CORP BD  second quarter benefits - $924

↑ EUR is up to USD by 2%, for my portfolio it is $5,081

↑ GBP is up to USD by 1%, for my portfolio it is $358

Grand total additions:  $11,887

↓ Rosneft shares are down by 19% or $2,205 for my portfolio.

↓ Gazprom shares are down 5% or $5,670

↓ Company shares are down by 3% or $784

Grand total losses:  $8,659

Observations:

-          I keep setting aside $500 a month towards a tax efficient scheme through a stock purchase programme. This is 8 times less than I used to be able to save. That brings an interesting question as I am working for the same company and putting about 3,000 hours a year of work…

-          I continue to investigate options on the investing with Vanguard directly, to minimize the expenses. It make take another month or so before I will make my mind.

-          The UK government recently decided to pull some of the pension fund money out of fossil fuel company and invest in renewables. My research on energy companies proven to be correct, as ExxonMobil cut its reserves by 19% percent as it revised away 3.5bn barrels of heavy bitumen at an oil sands project in Canada. Low oil and gas prices during 2016 meant that some of its assets no longer qualified as proved reserves.