1st Quarter 2006 Report Card

My portfolio had a return of $1,039 in the first quarter of 2006 or an annualized return of 7.48%. This is a combination of price appreciation of $811 and dividends of $227.

Holdings in natural gas dropped nearly $500 this quarter. It still has a good dividend yield 3.7% and the drop in market value is largely a reversal of prior period gains. I continue to reinvest the dividends and I am sitting on a sizeable capital gain since I bought the stock. I believe it is still a good long term hold but will monitor it closely.

My telecom holding remains largely unchanged, however a record dividend has been announced and I will receive the annual distribution in Q2. The dividend yield of 4.75% was the primary reason I originally purchased the stock. The stock is sitting at a loss but the dividend will bring it back up to it's original cost base(essentially I'll have a 0% return on the year for this one)

The real estate trust unit continues to perform well. I receive one additional unit per month from reinvesting distributions and while I had expected the price to remain stable since I bought it, the trust has also had some decent price appreciation.

I have a high allocation to cash and equivalents which is sacrificing my overall return. Unfortunately this is a necessity to meet some liquidity needs over the next year. I will continue to keep it invested in a 3% interest savings account.

I'm looking to make a small investment($3,000) into international equity. In most of the funds I've seen so far, Japan seems to have a heavier weight than I would like. I'd specifically like to find a ETF or index fund investing a high percentage in China.