Intro..
For those of you new to this website, in this post, I discuss the recent changes I made in my dividend portfolios, and sometimes I discuss my portfolio diversification strategies as well.
In December, I continued buying income producing assets, aka dividend-paying stocks, despite the recent market volatility.
I didn’t have a chance to inject new money into my U.S portfolio due to the unfavorable currency exchange rate between U.S and Canadian dollar. In fact, I didn’t add new money to my U.S portfolio for a last couple of years.
However, I sold three individual stocks with decent profits and used the proceeds to add four different dividend growth ETFs. I have been making these changes for a while in order to diversify my portfolio.
All the stocks I sold in my U.S portfolio are already in those ETFs. Thus, I won’t miss any future performance.
In my Canadian portfolio, I added new capital and purchased some stocks (see below for the full list).
As you can see that I certainly did not catch the lowest possible price because finding the bottom is impossible, at least for me. And, it is impossible to guess the short-term share price.
But, I believe that the share prices of these companies will move higher and keep sending me growing dividends for many years to come.
As an income-focused investor, lower prices mean more income for every dollar I invest.
Therefore, I like volatile market similar to the one we had in December so I can buy high-quality investments for cheap.
Occasionally, I borrow money to invest in stocks.
Last month, I used my margin loan to excute some purchase orders.
If markets start to move higher and if I can’t find any dividend stocks at a cheap valuation, then I will turn my focus on paying down debts so I could improve my purchasing power.
But, it is not necessary for me right now as there are so many high-quality stocks are available at a discounted price, especially in Canada.
Here are the changes I made in my dividend portfolios in December 2018:
Disclaimer..
Please note the information posted on this website is the opinion of my own and should not be considered as professional financial advice. I am not a financial professional, and I can buy, sell, or hold any investment at any time.
Any transactions I publish on this website are not recommendations to buy or sell any securities or investments.
Please do your own research or consult with a qualified financial professional before even considering using the information obtained from this website.
The changes made in my Canadian portfolio in December 2018.
- Added 15 TD at $69.95
- Added 10 shares of BMO at $93.00
- Added 10 shares of RY at $94.85
- Initiated 40 shares of KEY at $27.94
- Added 10 shares of BNS at $71.50
- Added 5 shares ofCM at $107.35
- Added 3 units of ZDH at 21.12
The changes made in my U.S dividend portfolio in December 2018.
- Sold 10 shares of AFL at $43.46
- Sold 15 shares of CSCO at $47.25
- Sold 10 shares of PEP at $119.05
- Added 5 units of IDV ETF at $30.12 (average price)
- Added 18 units of NOBL ETF at $64.19 (average price)
- Added 5 units of SDY ETF at $95.89 (average price)
- Added 14 units of DGRO ETF at $34.98 (average price)
- Added 2 units of VIG ETF at $105.14 (average price)
With recent changes and dividend hikes helped to my boost my yearly estimated passive income (EPI) to $10036, with 2018 increment of 19.27%.
I have updated the portfolio pages with these changes.
Commission FREE ETF purchases
Are you wondering how I can execute small orders of ETSs? Thinking about commission fees?
Actually, I use Questrade for all my ETFs purchases. There are no commission fees for ETFs purchases at Questrade. Therefore, we could buy one or any number of ETFs without paying any commission fees.
This is a great way to deploy cash and invest for more cash-flow as soon as they come in.
For those looking to start investing with little money, Questrade is one of the good options to consider because of their commission-free ETF program and minimum requirement to open an account.
If you have a plan to open an account with Questrade, please accept my gift and take advantage of this $50 trade commission rebate.
There is a trading charge of $4.95 when you sell ETFs. All the details are at the time of writing. If you have a plan to open an account at Questrade, please check all the information (including current commission fees) on their website and see if it is suitable online brokerage for your needs.
Disclosure: Please note above is an affiliate link. Therefore, I will earn a commission if you use the above links to open an account at Questrade (at no additional cost to you).
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You mention ETF purchases through Questrade, but which brokerage are you using for stocks? I’m curious what your thoughts are on making relatively small trades (< $1000) to buy stock if/when you pay a price per trade. I see in your last update you made a few trades that would fall in this category (CM, BNS. a few others that are very close). I try to make fewer, but larger trades but would like to hear your rationale for following a different strategy.
Keep up the good work!
Hello Luc,
Thank you for stopping by,
I have brokerage accounts with Questrade, InteractiveBrokers, TD direct Investing and RBC direct Investing.
As you mentioned, I use Questrade for most of the ETFs purchase because of their commission free ETF program. Also, most of my other investments are with Questrade as well (RRSP, TFSAs, etc).
I always try to keep my cost down when it comes to investing. That was the main reason I decided to take control of my money and invest myself rather than paying 1% to 3% fees for every single year for mutual funds or advisers.
For me, paying less than 1% for commission is fine. Therefore, I am OK to pay $5 for $500 investment. Sometimes I use IB to make less than $500 stock purchases. As long the fee is less than 1% of my investment then it is absolutely fine for me. It is just a one-time fee, not recurring yearly fees.
Best Regards,
Hi FJ,
You move is very meaning full as many investors freak-out and buy & sell stocks at wrong time. Timing the market is impossible and not every body done it successfully.
I made a commitment to stay fully invested in any market turbulence.
Keep up your good work FJ.
Hello Raju,
Thank you for stopping by,
You are absolutely right! If you have a long-term view on market, then you will do much better than those predict for short-term price movements.
Best Regards,
Hi again, do you use DRIP with your Canadian and US stocks…..explain Y or N
Hello RB,
I don’t use DRIP.
DRIP is a one of the great ways to build wealth. But, I like to receive cash dividends in my accounts, then I use the cash to buy stocks or ETFs that are trading at good value to my view.
Cheers,