White Trash on the skids

There's been bloodletting in the markets, and the White Trash Portfolio has not been immune. It's still faring better than the major indexes we track.

To refresh your memory, the components of the White Trash Portfolio were as follows:

• BFB - Brown-Forman Corp. Cl B
  
• BUD - Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc.
  
• CHB - Champion Enterprises Inc.
• F - Ford Motor Co.
• GM - General Motors Corp.
  
• IGT - International Game Technology
  
• KO - Coca-Cola Co.
  
• MCD - McDonald's Corp.
• MO - Altria Group Inc.
• WMT - Wal-Mart Stores Inc

Since inception, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the major indexes performed as follows:

• DIA, which tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, is down 29.3%.
• SPY, which tracks the S&P 500, is down 34.7%.
• VTI, which tracks the performance of the broad US stock market as a whole, is down 35%.
• IYC, which tracks the Dow Jones Consumer Cyclical index, is down 38.6%.

And White Trash? Down 27.13%.

Amazingly, Anheuser-Busch, McDonald's and Wal-Mart are all still in the positive column since portfolio inception; BUD is the winner at 23.2% in gains.

Big Loser: GM, losing 80% of its value since purchase, followed closely by Altria, with a 77.3% loss.