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.
Portfolio changes:
I continued purchasing income-producing assets, aka dividend-paying stocks, in December 2020.
I spent more than $25000 and added a few more dividend growth stocks into my Canadian portfolio. The majority of the purchases were in the utility sector.
With recent purchases and better than expected performance in the clean energy space, my utility sector has reached my maximum sector threshold of 20% of my portfolio.
Therefore, to maintain good diversification, I may not buy any utility stocks in the near future. I will focus on other sectors to continue to build my portfolio.
Besides the utility purchases, I added a decent size position in Sylogist Ltd. (TSXV: SYZ).
Sylogist Ltd is a small-cap technology stock and pays a good dividend. I believe this stock is very undervalued compare to its peers in the same sector, and it will perform well in the near future. Meanwhile, I will collect the juicy dividend and wait for the stock to get noticed by the mainstream.
I continue adding positions in my favourite ETFs (DGRO and ZGQ) using the dividends received in my registered accounts in the U.S and international portfolios.
Small-cap portfolio
I didn’t make any significant changes in my small-cap portfolio. I continue researching a couple of new stocks and monitoring their performance.
It is new to me. I have been learning a lot by searching new ideas.
I have added a couple of positions to my watch list and have been watching them closely.
Currently, I have only three small positions in my small-cap portfolio (MRS, DNG and PTQ). I may consider adding a few more in the coming month (my small-cap watch list: Avante Logixx (TSXV: XX), Caldwell Partners (TSXV: CWL), Plurilock Security (TSXV: PLUR), and a few more).
I keep them as a tiny position compares to my overall portfolio because small-cap stocks come with high than average risk, and I am also new in this space.
Once I am comfortable with my findings, I will consider building big positions in the future.
Unlocking my home value
I purchased my house in 2014, and now more than six years, my house value must be much higher.
Plus, mortgage rates are record low. Therefore, I have been thinking of re-evaluating my house price and considering refinancing to unlock some cash from home.
I believe I can get 5-year fixed-rate for around 2%. So, I plan to take some money out of my house and consolidate my debts into one payment.
For sure, I am not going to use the money to buy unnecessary things or other fancy items. I will pay down my debts and keep my interest payments as low as possible and improve my cash flow.
I already started the process with my bank, and I will update the details once everything is completed.
Here are the changes I made in my dividend portfolios in December 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 December 2020.
- added 60 shares of FTS at $51.60
- added 100 shares of EMA at $53.25
- added 90 shares of H (Hydro-One) at $29.21
- added 175 shares of ACO.X at $38.00
- added 700 shares of SYZ at $10.82
The changes made in my U.S dividend portfolio in December 2020.
- added 5 units of DGRO at $43.90
The changes made in my International dividend portfolio in December 2020.
- added 2 units of ZGQ at $44.29
Due to recent changes my yearly estimated passive income (EPI) up from $15 871 to $16 991 in December 2020 (exchange rate – 1USD = 1.275 CAD)
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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We are hearing much about a stock market crash in April 2021. Just wondering if you are buying gold or bitcoin to off set a market decline. Thanks.
Hello AL Marshall,
I have no opinion about BitCoin, and I don’t understand about this currency or asset (?).
I don’t whether market is going to crash in April 2021 or before or later. I am a long-term dividend investor, I would be interesting to see market declines as I can buy more income-producing assets for lower price. In my opinion, the stocks markets are way overpriced because of low interest rate and more central bank supports. There will be a correction, but nobody knows when it will happen.
Best Regards,
Best Regards,
Good job, I started dividend investing 2 years ago and even though I don’t have as many different company stocks as you, the company stocks I own are very similar to you. I net little over 10,000 last year in dividends. I’m invested in CU, BMO, TD, BNS, CVE, SU, ENB, RNW, TRP, LB & BCE. What are you thoughts on oil & gas stocks? dying industry or still worth investing?
Hello Sameer,
Thank you for stopping by! Glad to see we have a few similar holdings.
To my understanding, oil & gas is not a dying industry. Most likely, it will be here for decades to come. Government policies due to global warming may pressure the industry, but I believe it will be here as there are no solid alternative resources to replace the world energy demand.
The recent I stay away from the industry is that it is not stable, and those companies don’t generate a predictable cash-flow. Their revenue and cash flow are depending on the supply-demand of oil/gas.
As a dividend investor, I would prefer to have a more predictable business.
Best Regards,
How much per month do you normally use to service your debt, as well as how are you able to secure such low interest rates for borrowing? I’m looking at doing the same, and I would like to get some insight from someone who has experience in leveraging!
Hello Jordon,
Thank you for stopping by!
As of mid-January, I pay around $275 per month interest rate for my investment-related loans and around $425 for the mortgage and student loan interests- a total of around $800.
In this article, I discussed how I could secure low-interest rates:
How I receive a lower- rate :
https://www.financejourney.com/how-i-receive-low-interest-loans/
The majority of my loans were used whenever markets at low, not at high. I feel the current market is too high based on valuation.
Please do understand that leverage investing is very risky. If you don’t use it properly, you may end up losing more than you have now. Please do your research or discuss with a qualified financial advisor before making any financial decision.
Best Regards,