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.
My investment portfolios have been taking hit due to the uncertainty surrounding the global economies because of the viral outbreak and oil price crash.
The decline has been steep, and it is kind of similar to what we had in December 2018 and 2015-2016.
I am a net buyer, and I usually buy more stocks when the markets take a temporary hit. I bought a lot of shares in early 2016 and in December 2018.
I did the same thing this time too. I spent over $11 200 and purchased some stocks and ETFs in February.
Now I feel it did something way too early.
I prepared for a market correction, but I didn’t expect these types of volatilities.
In the past, my portfolio size was small, so I didn’t notice significant changes in dollar value when it takes hit by a couple of percentages in a day.
But my portfolio is now worth over $300K. The size is big when I compare to my income level.
Thus, when it takes hit by a 2% or 3% percentage, my net-worth down by a couple of thousand dollars. It is not fun to watch.
Honestly, it is not easy to watch my investments drop by thousands of dollars in a day or two. I was financially prepared to handle the volatilities, but not mentally.
If I say I was having fun and exciting during the market turbulence, then it must be a lie.
Anyways, it has been a learning experience in my journey. And I keep learning new things every day. So, I will be in a better position to handle any market volatilities in the future.
These types of volatilities may be new to me but are not new to the market. The companies I own in my portfolio have gone through much worst scenarios than now and recovered quickly.
Regardless of what markets are doing, the companies I own will continue to operate, make profits and share them with their true owners – aka shareholders.
I believe everything will come back to normal soon.
And I am confident my portfolio will recover quickly and hit new high once the issues surrounding the financial markets are resolved.
Meanwhile, I will be collecting dividends while waiting for recovery.
Portfolio Changes
In February, one of my holdings in my Canadian portfolio, Northview Apartment REIT (NUV.UN), received a take-over offer. I usually sell a stock if it gets any take-over offer and takes profit because it does not go through, then the stock will take hit.
Therefore, I sold the stocks and purchased RioCan (REI.UN) and Choice Properties (CHP.UN) using the proceeds raised from the sales.
Plus, I had $6000 in my RRSP account. I contributed the money for the 2019 tax year. I purchased a couple of shares of TD, BMO, FC, ZUD ETF and initiated a small position in VGH ETF.
Also, I purchased a few more shares of NTR.TO in my non-registered account.
I made most of the purchases in the last week of February. Still, I feel like I purchased them much earlier. I should have waited a bit longer so I could have bought them even much lower prices. I will be more patient in the next market corrections.
Now, I am running out of money. I put all the dough into the market. I may not be able to buy more shares if they go further down. I still have good purchasing power in my margins account, but I am not too comfortable using them now.
Anyways, I am a long-term dividend investor. I believe my portfolio will come back quickly and reach new high when markets regain their losses as they did in the past.
If you are an investor, then there are chances that your portfolio also has been taking the hit. Please understand you are not alone.
Review every single investment you have and see if they can go through any market situations. If you have any doubts, then discuss it with a qualified financial advisor.
Stay healthy and stay positive! Everything will be fine soon!
Portfolio Changes
Now, let us look at the purchases I made last month.
Canadian portfolio
I added 50 shares of Nutrien Ltd (TSE:NTR) in my Canadian portfolio.
U.S portfolio
I added 15 units of ZUD.TO and 4 units of DGRO ETFs into my U.S portfolio.
International Portfolio
I just added 2 units of IDV & 1 unit of ZDH.TO etfs into my International Portfolio.
I will continue to build my international portfolio using the international dividend ETFs (ZDH.TO & IDV) in order to diversify my investments.
Here are the changes I made in my dividend portfolios in February 2020:
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 February 2020.
- SOLD 70 units of NUV.UN at $36.35 (received a take-over offer)
- added 40 units of REI.UN at $27.53
- added 100 units of CHP.UN at $14.93
- added 20 shares of NTR at $57.14 (averaged price)
- added 30 shares of BMO at $95.43 (averaged price)
- added 10 shares of TD at $68.80
- added 80 units of FC at $12.92
The changes made in my U.S dividend portfolio in February 2020.
- added 86 units of ZUD (Canadian hedged) U.S Dividend ETF at $23.94 (averaged pirce)
- initiated 20 units of VGH (Canadian hedged) U.S Dividend ETF at $40.90
The changes made in my International dividend portfolio in February 2020.
- added 1 unit of ZDH (Canadian hedged)at $23.08
With recent changes and dividend hikes my yearly estimated passive income (EPI) up from $11 880 to $12 493 in February 2020.
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 requirements 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: This post contains affiliate link. Therefore, I will earn a commission if you use the links to buy products or services (at no additional cost to you).
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Hello Finance Journey:
Hope you had a fantastic weekend! And I also hope you and your family are staying safe and healthy!
I enjoy reading your blog. It contains a Plethora of interesting, intellectually stimulating information.
I have been wondering for a long time why you wouldn’t invest in stocks like VDY, VRE, XIU and the likes for 70 percent of your portfolio since most of these funds use the long and short strategies. They short the index when it goes down and provide a cushion to the down side. As small time investors, we live at the mercy of seismic events, big shorts, and deep pockets.
I really enjoy reading all your posts, but i also feel that if you were to look at your last 5 years’ returns, they’d be aligned with the index. And if so, why not just buy SPY or XIU or QQQ or DJI or XIC or XUT or XDV or XEI or VDY?
I have no desire to curb your enthusiasm, but i have been burnt in individual stocks many times. I do feel that picking individual winners is a suckers game…..Boeing, Tesla, CNQ, SU, Brookfield…
I’d appreciate your thoughts.
God Bless!
Hello Bob,
Thank you for stopping by and for your valuable advice.
I invest in ETFs for the U.S and International stocks. I hold DGRO, VIG, SDY, NOBL, ZUD.TO VGH, etc.
However, it is a bit difficult to invest in Canada using ETF. The Canadian market has been very narrow-focused, and the majority of the indexes/ETFs are built with only financial, energy and materials sectors. Thus, I am very selective with the Canadian market, and I prefer to invest in individual stocks in the Canadian market.
Best Regards
Damn.. If February was tough for you mentally I can’t imagine what your March update will be like. Tough times..
Hello Mark,
It is a tough time for many of us. But I believe it is a temporary event. When we look back at this event after a year or two, it will be just history.
Cheers,
I think all we can do now is hang in until this market bottoms. I think we are close. TSX could go under 10000 points but we may get government intervention to close the markets for a period.
A bit of good news will turn things around but I don’t think we will get that for a few weeks.
After your recent post I to bought some positions on the worst Thurs last week but much to my surprise the market has dropped another 10 to 13% since then. I will again buy some more positions in the next few days, weeks. I think everything is on sale right now.
My only concern is that some of these companies will trim or cancel their dividends especially in the energy areas
What are your thoughts?
Peter
Hello Peter,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your inside. I feel the same like you. Everything is on sale. I wish I have more money to deploy. I am scared to use margin loan at this moment. It is very unexpected scenario for all of us.
May be some of the weak companies and oil companies may consider reducing their dividend (some will be temporarily cut) …
Best Regards,
Hang in there buddy… I am the same and have had to watch tens of thousands of dollars of gains/value disappear. So difficult to watch.
Hello Justin,
Thank you for stopping by,
We are not alone. Every one of us suffering. I believe there will be solutions in the coming weeks or months.
Best Regards,
I’ve added positions in recent days. Mostly Enbridge and some Pembina. Running low on funds now, but also prepared to use Margin should sig ificant drops occur. If we get anywhere near 50% down I consider the risk minimal.
Hello Sean,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts.
Honestly, I didn’t expect these types of market volatilities. I prepared for a market drop, but not these types of the economic scenario.
Cheers,
Hi Finance Journey,
The market unpredictable and historical decline is nerve wracking to say the least. I avoid engaging as much as I can. I peaked at my portfolio balance yesterday, and I am down $70k..yikes! However, the income generated is more important to me. I would be more devastated if one or more of my companies decreased their dividend. Finger cross it won’t happen. Needless to say, I spent around $10k buying solid companies….my annual dividend income is now up to $25k……so stay calm and focus on the income machine not the book value.
Cheers, Carol
Hello Carol,
Thank you for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!
To avoid stress, I didn’t check my portfolio for the last couple of days. I know my portfolio is down significantly, but I do not dare to check the value right now. It seems like there are chances that some companies may reduce their dividend as almost all economic activities are stopped due to viral outbreaks.
I wish I have more money to deploy now.
Regards,