Well, the time has come to update the Freedom Fund once again as we start another month. The Freedom Fund is my portfolio, and I think it’s aptly named. My portfolio is my way to freedom; freedom from a job I don’t desire to purchase goods I don’t need to impress neighbors I don’t care about. This journey is all about freedom and flexibility. One day the dividend income this portfolio generates will fully cover my expenses and my time will be completely my own. What could you possibly want to own more than your time?
I feel extremely fortunate and thankful that I’m able to post these updates every single month which shows the power of monthly contributions to investments because of the high savings rate I maintain. It shows how a relatively large sum of money can be built through the power of time, patience and perseverance.
It’s important to keep in mind that while updating the overall value of my portfolio is important for historical reference and for purposes of keeping track of total return, my main focus is on the rising dividend income stream the Fund provides.
The past month was more of the same, as you readers have come to expect. After discussing a couple of low-yield, high-growth opportunities on my watch list for a potential July purchase, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on initiating a position in Visa Inc. (V). Shortly thereafter, I found what I thought to be fairly compelling value in Deere & Company (DE) shares, and so I initiated a position with that company as well. Now, due to my portfolio nearing 50 positions I’ll probably be initiating new positions at a much slower rate than before, choosing instead to add funds to the existing investments within the portfolio.
July was pretty interesting. Most of the month was this slow creep upward for the broader market, but it ended with a bang! The last week of the month was the worst weekly decline for the S&P 500 index in two years. I’ll be ready to allocate capital here as early as next week, so I’m hoping these cheaper prices hold out and I”m able to add to one of my positions in fairly quick order. DE is already cheaper than my entry price, so I’m excited to average down there.
The current market value of the Fund stands at $164,642.84, which is a 0.99% decrease over last month’s published value of $166,288.88. The broader market fell by over 1.5% for the month, and my portfolio was affected by my large exposure to a number of stocks that underperformed the broader market, some significantly so.
Stocks like The Coca-Cola Company (KO), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Aflac Incorporated (AFL), and Philip Morris International Inc. (PM), and BP Plc (BP) all saw fairly strong price depreciation during the last month. It’s a good thing I don’t compare my portfolio’s performance to the S&P 500 index! And I suppose it’s also a good thing that I look forward to stocks I own dropping in price.
If I wasn’t already heavily invested in all five of the above companies I’d give strong considerations to investing in any/all of them over the coming weeks. In fact, a part of me is flirting with the idea of adding to my KO position here, depending on capital availability. However, I have to be careful now that I no longer have the big income from my old dealership job. Can’t have it all in life!
I’ve already published my watch list for the coming month, and nothing has really changed. I’m stalking DE right now, and I’m highly likely to add to my position early in the month, as I feel the value that was already there has only become more apparent.
I’m currently invested in 49 companies. This is an increase since last month, since both of my recent investments involved initiating new positions with companies I hadn’t been previously invested in.
These updates are mainly designed to show the increase or decrease in the value of the underlying equities I’m invested in, but the main purpose of investing in dividend growth stocks is for the rising stream of dividends over time. So, with that said I don’t put too much emphasis on these monthly updates on the value of my portfolio. I think it is a good idea, however, to keep track of the rising (or falling) value of one’s securities and be aware of where they are in terms of the marketplace and whether or not certain stocks are attractively priced. It proves to be a useful exercise, for me at least, to update the values monthly. It gives me fresh perspective on which equities are performing well and which aren’t, and from there I can make educated decisions (based on further due diligence) on which stocks I’d like to add fresh capital to (while considering portfolio weight as well).
Full Disclosure: Long V, DE, KO, JNJ, AFL, PM, and BP.
How did July treat you? A good month for the portfolio? Add to some investments during the last week?
Thanks for reading.
Photo Credit: Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Edit: Corrected seventh paragraph.
Well on your way towards achieving your goal! I’ve been following your posts with a keen interest and will continue to do so. All the best.
I like the graph… My portfolio balance didn’t change much either. Looking forward to your dividend income update which follows this in about 3 days or so.
DM,
Nice chart man! Who cares about the value — we get so excited for the downturn and given our recent articles regarding adding to our current position – this is an awesome time. I initiated a new position into Scott’s Miracle Gro earlier this month and they’ve decreased approx $1.50 from my purchase price, which even that position has my thinking of adding more from the slight downturn. What’s really interesting is even a little teaser of depreciation in the value of stock prices has us excited – and we can only hope that it continues to slide for wrong reasons (aka not because the companies themselves are performing poorly) & to be prepared for when/if it does.
Looking forward to the month of August. This could be a “re-up” month. I’ll stay tuned and look forward to seeing your moves and I’ll keep you informed with mine. Hope the weekend went well DM! Talk soon.
-Lanny
Thanks for the update. Our portfolio took a hit as well, but I actually welcome a retreat like this because it will make more purchases possible. After we quit our jobs we’ll be converting our 401k’s into IRAs and deploying that money into reliable dividend growth stocks. Because of that, I wouldn’t mind further market retreats!
Keep up the good work!
Looking good Jason. I hope we get to deploy some dry powder soon. I initiated my position in Aflac, and i intend to build a pretty large position in the near future. I am also really interested in Visa, but I didn’t pull the trigger. Good work with that buy! I think you’ll be thrilled you bought it 20 years from now. Now I just need to figure out how much I’m willing to pay for the world’s most recognized credit card processor.
-Bryan
Love the chart, Jason! Certainly the dip in the last week was fairly solid, with hopefully more to come over the next month or two. I hope the online and other income sources continue to grow so you can keep putting capital to work on a regular basis!
The last week sure was helpful for long term investors. I’m looking forward to adding to some other positions next week/month. Hopefully the market will continue to head south a bit and give some better values. I’m also looking at adding to my DE position since I was a bit early on the purchase but no worries for a long term investor.
Jason,
I love the addition of the chart and how it’s interactive, very cool! Will we get to see something similar from your dividend income updates? You know you’re making serious progress on portfolio size when you make two purchases in the month and the portfolio value still goes down, what a great opportunity for purchases. The freedom fund is officially a beast, keep at it. I had a great July despite the drop, I initiated two positions and passed my 2014 goal of new capital invested. It feels great to be so far ahead of where I thought I’d be. Cheers to a great August!!
Wishing you a fantastic week ahead,
~Ryan
DM its great that you have capital ready to deploy when the times get tough (and the bargains come out). Luckily for us, when the value charts don’t look good for our stock portfolio’s, we could just switch over to the dividend history and bring back the smile. Regardless of stock price, dividends keep rolling in and its a good feeling.
The graph is a very nice addition. And it’s somewhat interactive too! Great progress, even though there was a slight decline. That will happen from time to time. Nothing goes up in a straight line. Keep up the great work!
Cheers.
Hi DM,
You definitely have the right attitude about the portfolio value. Given the choice between losing 1% on a 6 figure portfolio paying a growing dividend stream, or having no savings and hence no 1% loss; I’d happily go with the 1% loss!
Looking forward to reading about your next purchase!
Best wishes,
-DL
Nice looking graph! Jason. Picture is worth more than thousand words 🙂
I added positions in DE and XOM this month and my porfolio value only increased by ~1K due to market dive. I’ll be updating my portfolio soon.
I’m planning to add some more positions in DE but we will see if other opportunities arise as well.
Cheers!
Freedom 52,
Thanks for following along! Much appreciated. 🙂
I wish you all the best as well. To our success!
Best wishes.
IP,
Thanks. Glad the graph comes across nicely. I tried to make sure the colors blend in with the blog’s design.
I’ll be posting the dividend income update sometime this week…either Tuesday or Thursday. 🙂
Hope all is well over there with your pursuit!
Cheers.
Lanny,
I’m with you, my friend. Portfolio value really does me no good. Like I often say, I can’t go down to the net worth store and buy stuff with my net worth. I plan to eventually buy goods with the passive dividend income which will provide me cold, hard cash on the regular. Who wants to worry about a fluctuating net worth when dividend income is only going one way: UP! 🙂
I had a fantastic weekend, and I’ve got a post coming up explaining some of the activities I was involved in. Hope you had a great weekend as well!
Take care.
Spoonman,
Sounds like things couldn’t be working out better for you. Great timing! 🙂
Let’s hope this pullback becomes a bit more substantial. I’ve got much less capital to work with than before, so every little bit helps.
Best regards!
Bryan,
Nice buy there with AFL. I’m already a bit heavily invested there, so I’m not interested right now. But if I didn’t already have a position in the company I would be very interested in doing exactly what you did. That’s just a solid company. Great job!
And I hope V works out. It’s a bit of a gamble for me with the low yield, so I’m anxious to see what the next dividend increase looks like. I’ll be disappointed with anything less than 20%, so we’ll see. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. 🙂
Cheers!
W2R,
Thanks! I started messing around with charts a little while ago. I like the look of this one, and it’s pretty easy to use.
Appreciate the support. I’m definitely planning on putting capital to good use just as regularly as before, albeit with smaller amounts. But all progress is good progress. 🙂
Hope all is well over there. And I hope you’re enjoying married life!
Best wishes.
JC,
I’m with you on DE. I think it was a solid purchase before, and now it’s even better.
Let’s indeed hope the move south continues. Mr. Market can be pretty moody. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Take care.
Ryan,
Thanks. Glad you like the chart! Yep, I’ll have a similar chart for the dividend income update, like last month. It isn’t quite as useful for those updates because dividend payouts can oscillate quite a bit from month to month, but that’s okay.
Yeah, the market can definitely impact my portfolio more than I can these days. But that’s okay. As you mention, it just means things are coming along. Rocky waters are just fine with me. 🙂
You’re doing great over there as well, especially with all the capital you’re putting to work. Keep it up!!
Best regards.
IE,
I’m with you. The dividend income is ultimately the barometer I use to determine my success and how far along I am. And that’s looking better and better after every quarter. Success begets success. 🙂
I hope all is well over there with your journey as well. Progress favors those that are consistent.
Best wishes!
Henry,
Absolutely. I wouldn’t mind at all if my portfolio decreased by a similar amount or more next month. My limited capital can use all the help it can get! 🙂
I was just reading your expense report. That’s just phenomenal.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers.
DL,
You’ve got it. I’ll take a decline every month if it means my dividend income is being supercharged by the power of new capital. As long as everything remains fundamentally sound with my investments, I’m just fine. 🙂
Appreciate you stopping by! Looks like you had a very solid July as well over there. Keep it up!
Take care.
PIM,
Nice buys there. Both of those companies are just solid long-term businesses. Really can’t go wrong there!
I plan to add some more to DE as well. Let’s hope the market cooperates. 🙂
Cheers!
Jason
That’s the best thing about blogging you can see your progress throughout the years. I always enjoy bouncing some stock ideas off of you as your analysis is very thorough. To 200k in your portfolio.
Charles,
Blogging is really wonderful. Not only do I get to interact with like-minded individuals like yourself and inspire people, but I also get to hold myself accountable and see that progress over time.
And I’m happy to share ideas and discuss stocks any day. I could do nothing but talk stocks, saving, and financial independence all day long. It’s a joy that I can do it much more than before. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Best wishes.
I’ve been busy adding new stocks for a while, but now I’m up to 29 and have to decide whether to keep adding new positions, or double up on some of the ones I already own that have fallen in price. I want to start an initial position in DE, but AFL is tempting me to add to it instead.
Surely as a dividend investor the actual networth means little… Infact I’d guess it means more opportunities to buy discounted shared! Regardless, $164k is still a pretty epic stash, well done!
Hi Jason –
I’m with you! I feel now is a good opportunity to “buy on the dip”. I look at add to both KO and MO early this week…
Your portfolio is doing very well!
Ray
My portfolio dipped as well but reading blogs and posts regarding dividends keeps my chin up. Now I look forward to dips and bear markets. Thanks for the update DM.
Nice progress, DM…even though you saw a bit of a drop after the recent correction. I had a similar impact on my portfolio, but like you – I dont really compare to the broad market’s return number. I am not interested in beating the market and simply focused on building my income stream.
Keep up the great work
R2R
Hi Jason,
As you are having ARCP in your portfolio what is your view on REITS and the correction in the market. I read that REITs do not correlate too much with the SP500 in their movements so I suppose my question is. If the broader market really corrects now, will the REITs also go down the same way or will maybe even some capital find thei way into them because of the yield?
The reason for my question is that I am interested to pull the trigger on ARCP too, but wonder if I get more for my money in a few days or weeks.
I have already a good load of aristocrats and a sound foundation, but a little high yield goes a long way I agree with you. I know timing the market is not what we do, but with that opportunity to buy at discount I am torn. Also I don’t want to shoot my remaining ammunition (cash 😉 too early when maybe other great companies are on sale soon.
What do you and the community here say?
Greetings,
Ben
Last week was a good reminder that markets go down. I’m always disappointed that it takes 1 year or 2 years of a slow climb. Steady progress. All wiped away in a week or less. It is a fickle and funny market. I have no idea what will happen. Down further? Yes. Up? Sure. Steady? Of course. Big drop? Certainly.
Interestingly, my latest selection process found DE and PM as sector winners for August — both look like great buys here!
Cheers
FerdiS
Justin,
I don’t think you could go wrong with buying either one at today’s price. I already have a sizable (for me) position in AFL, so I’m looking to build up DE instead here. But both look very solid.
As far as initiating new positions vs. building up existing positions I would factor in how large you want your portfolio to eventually be and focus on value. I’ve never invested in new companies just to invest, but rather sought out value first and foremost.
Happy shopping! 🙂
Take care.
ERG,
Exactly. I’m hoping for another portfolio decline this coming month. More dividend income is the name of the game. 🙂
Best regards.
Ray,
Nice. I think KO in particular is starting to look attractive once again. I don’t anticipate stretching for it in August, but if it keeps falling I might make a buy there.
Keep up the great work!
Cheers.
DFG,
Looking forward to dips is something that requires a mindset change. It took me a little while to understand it as well. But once you realize how helpful cheaper stock prices are to long-term wealth building you’ll never look back. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Best regards.
R2R,
Exactly. Beating a collection of stocks that have nothing to do with me and what I’m aiming for is not something I worry about. I’d rather focus on the rising income stream that does in fact materially impact my plans. 🙂
To our success!
Best wishes.
Ben,
It’s impossible to say what will happen to REITs in a correction. And a correction can happen for many reasons – war, unrest, oil prices, interest rate changes, no reason at all, the winds now blow in an easterly direction instead of westerly.
That’s a little tongue-in-cheek, but you get my drift.
I would focus less on trying to anticipate the market and more on focusing on high-quality businesses, fundamentals, and how investments fit in with your goals.
I personally don’t plan on having a major allocation to REITs in general, and that’s simply because the growth is somewhat limited.
Good luck! 🙂
Best regards.
Wade,
Nobody knows what will happen with the broader market. That’s why I don’t even worry about it. I instead choose to focus on individual businesses and their fundamentals, valuations, and how they fit within the little conglomerate I’m building. 🙂
But I do hope for cheaper stocks. That simply means my current capital can buy more stocks and yield for the same amount of money.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers.
Ferdi,
Those look like great stocks right now to me. I’m absolutely loaded up on PM, so I can’t buy more. But I continue to like DE. That’s most likely where my capital is going to go for the month of August.
Sounds like you have a great selection process. 🙂
Best wishes.
Now you got me thinking I should name my accounts with a fancy name. Like the unlimited sour candy fund or the quarterly waterslide trip fund lol.
This pullback is bringing some value back to the market. Lots of new capital being brought in!
No label on the X-axis of the graph? My professors would have you shot on site!
You’re making good progress!
Great work! It’s always inspirational to see how your net worth has increased over time. Even if it decreases slightly (like this month), that just provides a good opportunity to DCA down a bit. And the fact that your portfolio value decreased less than the overall market says something about the strength and quality of your holdings. Thanks for your openness!
A-G,
I like unlimited sour candy fund. That sounds pretty good to me! 🙂
This pullback is most welcome. I wish I was earning even more income to put away, but that would require me to go back to the dealership and slave away for 50 or so hours per week. I’ll take my current scenario over that any day of the week!
Keep up the great work over there. You’re killing it.
Best regards.
WE,
Ha! I guess I just have faith in my readers. I assume if you have the capability to type and use the internet then you know 2011, 2012, and 2013 is “time”. 🙂
Thanks for the support. It’s a slow, steady march to FI. But every day is a new opportunity, and one day closer to freedom!
Hope all is well over there.
Cheers!
DividendDeveloper,
You’ve got it. A less valuable portfolio on paper really means nothing. The more important aspect is how efficient new capital is being put to work and how much the dividend income is rising. Of course, if tracking your net worth is your thing then a month like this would probably be disappointing. I don’t really care about my net worth since it really does nothing for me, so I’m pretty excited by all of this. 🙂
I hope you’re able to put some capital to work now as well! 🙂
Best wishes.
Jason, I’m looking at MCD & AFL. What do you think of their current prices. Are they on your radar?
Nice Work! I added MCD & DE to my portfolio in July. I am keeping my eye on PM, CVX, & Rig. So I might buy some in the next couple of days.
Hi Jason,
thanks for the information.
I am really impressed by the development of your freedom fund.
By the way: you know what I call my portfolio?
It’s my “Fuck you Fund”… 🙂
I also had a decline in July. But fresh money is on the way and I am planning at least two purchases in August.
Best regards from Germany
rickrack
Indeed I did! Picked up some YUM, MCD, HSY, and a small amount of KMB. Only one I was iffy with was YUM; I still feel it’s slightly overpriced, but I’ve had my eye on it, and this seemed like a good time to start nibbling. No matter; I think all of these will be solid dividend generators for a long time.
Oh, sorry, meant to reply to your earlier message.
Harish,
I think AFL is particularly compelling right now. However, I’m not as big a fan of MCD. I think they have some operational issues they need to work out before I’d be interested in investing any more of my capital. Even if I didn’t already have a position I don’t think I’d be particularly interested in MCD right now.
Basically, I prefer AFL right now out of those two.
Best of luck. Happy shopping! 🙂
Cheers.
J,
Nice buys. I think DE is definitely priced right.
PM is another great choice. I think that’s one of the best buys on the whole market right now.
Keep it up!
Take care.
rickrack,
I like the name of your fund! Mine is basically used for the same purpose. 🙂
Great job using the decline to put some capital to work. That’s the name of the game!
Thanks for the support and readership. Much appreciated.
Best wishes.
Another month gone by… KO, PEP and V are on my watch list for August in addition to GSK. Looking forward to the market to correct a bit and hopefully I can get these at better valuations.
Great post as usual DM. July for me is one of the biggest of the year since the quarterly payers participe to this monthly payday 😉
And I will blow my revenue goal at Dec 31 of this year, so a good one. Keep it up!
Been following your blog for a couple months, and have started up a freedom fund of my own. Sold my index funds and purchased a few US stocks – KO, T, MCD and being from Canada its in mostly Canadian companies – BCE, EMA, BDT, TRP, TD, SU, IFC. Going to hold on to my REIT ETF, but I like this strategy for the equity portion ~ 90% of portfolio. Looking forward to seeing the dividends accumulate…
farcodev,
Great to hear that! Hope you broke some personal records for July then. 🙂
Sounds like you’re having a wonderful year thus far. Gotta love 2014!
Cheers.
Ben,
Glad to hear that! I hope you see even greater success with your fund than I have with mine. 🙂
The good news is that you have some great companies up there in Canada, primarily in the telecom, energy, and banking industries.
Best of luck. And please keep in touch.
Best regards.
Thanks DM! 😀
Well, I managed to expand my “liberty fund” (you should copyright it! haha!) in May and June, and I’m waiting patiently (or so…) until the next wave in mid-August.
Yeah 2014 is not bad; many events, one small error, some swing and a surprise with the revenues breaking my yearly goal 🙂
Monitoring and searching for new stocks (I only use the canuk Markets for now) is always a tedious but worthwhile process, especially with value investing.
Cheers!
Great progress on the fund. A 1% drop is really nothing to worry about as long as you keep adding to your portfolio and continue with the dividend investing strategy.
Well done, Congratulations! The dips are neat here too, in India though our markets have been on steroids for v long with foreign fund flow inflows…Out here, a good time to buy is when your stock goes ex-dividend–there’s almost always a dip…or, there’s stock specific bad news which isn’t really bad…
Liked too, your prudence with buying now the income from the dealership is no longer there.
Power on!
Tawcan,
You’ve got it. A drop in the fund isn’t only no big deal, but actually something I welcome. It means stocks are cheaper, yields are higher, and the capital I’m putting to work today can go much further.
To our progress! 🙂
Thanks for stopping by.
Best regards.
austereseeker,
Power on, indeed!
I think the best method is just to average in over time. You’ll catch the peaks and the dips, but the key is to focus on great businesses and holding for the long haul.
Hope all is well with your journey over there in India! 🙂
Take care.
July was a slight decrease from the previous month but I don’t sweat the monthly, weekly, daily ups and downs. As long as the dividends keep rolling in I am happy. Remember, I held all my positions through 2008/9 when my entire portfolio was in the red. It didn’t phase me one bit. Let’s hope for a stronger year end finish, though I can venture to guess it may get uglier (better for us to buy some discounted stocks 🙂 .
Nice Jason! Thx for the update. Always good to see what you are up to!
As for us I have had JNJ, DE, V, GIS,WFC, and PG on my watch list. All have good potential In the long run. After looking at all the numbers it usually comes down to a gut check for me on human nature and our habits.
With that said V and JNJ seem to show the most promise with JNJ winning out due to increasing age and lack of personal care for health. I expect their products will be in high demand going forward. Even though JNJ is a pretty big percentage of my portfolio I feel pretty good about buying more at $99 today.
Chris
DivHut,
I’m with you. I actually find it funny that I check my portfolio less as my balance grows. I used to check it every day when it was $30k, now I check every 2-3 days, even though it’s more than five times as big. And when I log on the first thing I’m checking is the dividend report. 🙂
Let’s hope the pullback continues!
Cheers.
Chris,
Nice buy there. I’m obviously a huge fan of JNJ. I think it’s pretty close to fair value right now, and you can do much worse than buy a world-class healthcare company at a fair price. 🙂
Keep up the great work over there. And glad to be a fellow shareholder in JNJ with you.
Take care.
Kicking butt, again, and again. 🙂
Well done Jason. Getting excited now the stock market seems to be correcting?
Mark,
Thanks so much!
I’m not kicking as much butt as I used to because my income has taken a hit, but I’m doing my best to keep up with everyone. 🙂
These are definitely exciting times. I can only wish I had even more capital to put to work, but I’ve found an incredibly wonderful balance between work, saving, investing, and having fun. So things are going really well right now.
Happy shopping!
Best regards.
Really enjoyed this post and reading about your views regarding the possible upcoming market correction. This may be a good time for me to start my own little freedom fund since some of the dividend “champs” you mentioned are seeing some price decreases. Hope to be able to pull the trigger soon. You can be sure I’ll be following all of your posts for additional insight. Take care!
Hey DM,
As you’ve been going at it for some years now, can you detect a pattern in the months where your portfolio decreased in value? For example, a typical “stock-wisdom” is that little happens on the stockmarket during the summer period and that in september things are on the rise again. Do you find evidence of this in your own historical numbers?
Bart
I know this isn’t really your thing, but I’ve made an interesting play on a REIT ETN and wanted to see if you had any other thoughts I hadn’t considered.
Last year, I bought into MORT (leveraged REIT ETN issued by UBS bank) which at the time was price ~$18 (today ~$22) and pays varying monthly distributions of around $4/yr (a hair over 20% yield at purchase). I definitely DO NOT reinvest the distributions, as I’m almost positive this is not a secure long term investment, but just pool the payouts into my account and invest elsewhere. The index holds some of the very exotic REITs (TWO, NLY, AGNC, etc), and is basically a highly leveraged play on mREITs as well as taking on credit risk of the issuer (UBS bank). I don’t fully understand the closing, but I think they can liquidate the fund early and pay out net assets from the sale based on your share count (matures in 2042, but I don’t really plan that far).
Regardless, cumulative distributions since purchase have been ~$3, and at roughly a $4 annual distribution, payback in full just over 4 years from purchase. Perhaps 5 or 6 years as distributions may decline some, but that’s my bet, anyway.
At that point, pure profit… in payback terms. All distributions will exceed my initial investment (and will be reinvested elsewhere, of course).
I have low expectations, but I thought it would be a worthwhile experiment. I initially put in ~$1k, which represents <1% of invested assets today.
I figure I can afford to lose $1k as a mental write off, and it may end up being a big winner. Hopefully within 5 years, it will all be like playing with "house money".
We shall see. The experiment continues..
Syed,
Thanks for stopping by!
I personally think every day is a good day to start investing and building for the future, regardless of the broader stock market’s action. However, with the recent price drops in many high-quality names, the opportunities seem even greater than just a few weeks ago.
I hope you’re able to pull the trigger and create a brighter financial situation for the future you. 🙂
Best wishes.
Bart,
That’s a great question there. But I don’t really notice a pattern. However, I’m probably not the best case study for something like that because I’ve been aggressively adding capital almost every single month for years now.
For instance, you’ll notice two drops in value this year: the February and July updates. So that means the capital I was adding was not enough to overcome market swoons in January and July. But there’s really no pattern to it. You hear of “Sell in May and go away.”, but there’s no real pattern there. In fact, I once read an article comparing the weather to the stock market, and there seemed to be at least as much correlation as other highly regarded academic studies.
I know that doesn’t help, but there really isn’t any help to be given. The best one can really do is average their way into the market, either through individual stocks or funds and just let time work for them. 🙂
Cheers!
Ravi,
While that’s certainly not my thing, it’ll be very interesting to see how it plays out for you. I’m not completely against cranking up the risk/yield on my portfolio a bit here and there, but I’d only do so if I fully understood all of the risks at hand and what it is I’m investing in. I can’t say that for MORT so I won’t be putting any capital there, but I’m very anxious to see how it turns out for you. Definitely keep me updated! 🙂
Though, it sounds like you’ve already done fairly well with the capital appreciation and cumulative payout.
Thanks for sharing that.
Best regards!
Most of my buddies went on a trip to Vegas earlier this year but I couldn’t go due to a work trip that conflicted. Some were down over $500, so this is my Vegas bet on a stock. 🙂
Correction: MORL not MORT (the latter is less leveraged I believe)
In any case it doesn’t really fit your strategy, or really much of mine either, but it was too compelling not to give it a shot.
I usually learn by trial and error anyway. I’m not much of an instructions reader 🙂
Hello everyone,
Great posts and ideas! I love my dividend income stream! Nothing makes me happier than seeing those sweet, sweet dollars being dropped in my accounts.
A recent buy I made was Brookfield Infrastructure Partners BIP.UN.TO (TSX) or BIP (NYSE). Solid company behind it in Brookfield Asset Management who has over 100 years of buying and controlling hard to replace infrastructure. Toll roads, shipping ports, energy infrastructure, real estate etc.
What I like the most is the experience they bring to recognize opportunities in foreign markets and in the North American market. They hunt down and close deals only where it makes sense and are not locked in to any one location or infrastructure asset class. If foreign currencies don’t make sense, they hold off until it favours the company.
It has just dipped recently very to close to its 200 day average and I scooped a few up. A great growth story and all signs point to continued growth.
Please let me know your thoughts!
Duane,
Nice buy there. I’ve heard excellent things about Brookfield. I’ve never taken an in-depth look at it myself, but it looks pretty solid. The business model is easy to understand, the yield is very attractive, and the growth has been well above average. I think you made an excellent choice!
Best of luck with it, and all of your other holdings. 🙂
Cheers.
Jason I could probably do the math but you probaly have already done it! What is your cost basis and what are you generating in monthly, quarterly or yearly dividends? Nice work by the way! Thanks.
jim,
Thanks for stopping by.
All of this information is easily accessed on the blog. I’ll do some of the math for you, though.
I generated $1,319.13 in dividends last quarter. This next quarter appears to be about 10% higher right now. And you can see all of my monthly dividend income reports:
https://www.dividendmantra.com/dividend-income/
But as you can see in my latest dividend income report I’ve averaged $445.38 per month YTD.
All of my cost basis is listed on my portfolio page:
https://www.dividendmantra.com/portfolio/
I hope that helped!
Cheers.
Thanks for sharing your Freedom Fund Update…always nice to see how fellow dividend bloggers are doing. By the way, nice graph…visuals always add some flavor to posts! 🙂
Regarding the portfolio drop, if it wasn’t for our recent purchases, ours would have seen a decrease also. But as long as the dividends are stable and growing, I only view the decrease in stocks price as buying opportunities! 🙂
Cheers to the sale on stocks! Best Wishes. AFFJ
AFFJ,
I’m with you. Increasing dividends + stock drops = opportunity! 🙂
The value of my Freedom Fund doesn’t really have any material impact on my ability to achieve financial independence, so this is really more just for tracking purposes.
Glad you liked the graph. I tried to keep the design kind of in line with the rest of the blog, though I’m not very good at graphs and charts. Ha!
Appreciate the support. I know you guys are doing very well over there. Keep it up!
Best wishes.