Your Monthly Portfolio Update
Guy Flynt: June 18tht, 2023
Hi everyone! To be transparent, I will give monthly of my main portfolio. If I have more time, I will give biweekly updates on my second portfolio, the “Funds For Fun” account. The main account is the Alex Dividend Growth Portfolio (ADGI). For this taxable account, I use the stock trading platform called Public (this is an affiliated link where I get a small kickback if you sign up with my referral code/link!). Public charges no fees to invest, you can choose to have your dividends to be in a reinvestment plan (DRIP) (this is very important and will likely be explained in another blog), the platform is simple and user-friendly, and you can buy fractional shares. I have enjoyed Public’s platform during this past year and will continue to use it in the future. The link above is an affiliated link sign up today and get a free slice of a popular stock between $3-300! This is my compounding machine in which I hope to reach financial independence by using dividend growth stocks to supplement my income.
The second portfolio is to act as a high-return savings account. For this taxable account, I use an M1 finance account (Sign up today and get $10 for free!). I will use this fund to help pay a down payment on a car or house, and any other future expenses. Instead of getting a 1-2% yield/return, I hope to get an 8-12% return.
You can check out this Googlesheets link to see which companies I invest in, which ETFs my finance invests in, my Roth 401 allocation, and my “Funds for Fun” portfolio that I am using to pay for future expenses. You can also check this website called Track Your Dividends (I am not a sponsor, but use and enjoy their product) to freely track the dividends of companies you invest in. You can create multiple portfolios, and see the future value, diversification, and next upcoming payment of your portfolio. This is the main website I use to track my annual income and the future value of my portfolio. Sign up for free and effort start to track your portfolio. This link will send you to my fiancée and I’s holdings, 401k, and Funds For Fun account to see what we invest in and dividend income.
In each update I will go over my current mindset, any buys or sells, reasons for why I bought or sold certain stocks, the future mindset of the stock market, and visual graphics of my DGI holdings.
Financial Disclaimer: I am not a Certified Financial Advisor (CFA), I am a meteorologist. The blog posts about investing are my opinions and for your entertainment purposes. They should not be considered financial advice. Investing in the stock market is risky and you can lose money. If you want to invest in the stock market, or have questions about how or where to invest, please seek a CFA.
Affiliate Link Disclaimer: Some of the links are affiliated links with Public and M1 Finance. As a member of their platform, I earn a small portion if you click the link and sign up with them. I enjoy these companies and would not recommend them to you if I did not believe in their mission and platform. Thank you!
If you are interested in how I made these graphs of my portfolio, check out my Patreon page (click page)! I have multiple financial tools including an investment return calculator, budget rules, Financial Independent Retire Early calculator, ETF/stock portfolio stock calculator, time-weighted return tool, portfolio dashboard, and more! I help develop these tools to morph around your financial goals!
Alex Dividend Growth Portfolio Updates
Current Mindset
Christina and I have paid off our wedding!! Oh, what a feeling that is. However, we are moving in July and have those costs to tackle. I am still investing in my dividend growth investing, but only $250 a week with a 60/40 into SCHD and DGRO. If a company is well below its 50- or 100-day moving average, I will buy fractional shares. On the bright side, SCHD and DGRO have been quote on quote on sale, and I have enjoyed buying more shares. The rest of my investing money goes into a high-yield savings account ($140 a week) and my Funds For Fun (FFF) growth account ($120).
My current investment strategy has allowed me a stress-free life giving me no reason to study and watch the stock market like a hawk. Although, it has been interesting to see the highlights of the last few months. Technology over the last 6 months is performing at 37.8%, communication services at 35.46%, and consumer discretionary at 24.82%! Given the federal rate, housing market crisis, debt ceiling doom, and much more, one would think these sectors would crumble, but no. It is the consumer staples, healthcare, and energy sectors that are underperforming.
Taking a look at the time-weighted return (TWR) chart above, S&P 500 (SPY) is now beating me! The Spy is up 8.02% and my DGI portfolio is up 6.44% since the beginning of May 2022. This is a win for me just to be even those close to the SPY!
The best performers in my portfolio (chart below) are Microsoft up +37.86%, Apple up +26.48%, Illinois Tools Work up +17.04%, Comcast up +15.89%, and McDonald’s up +12.37%. I bought as much as I could in Microsoft in late November-December 2022 and early 2023. Those buys have rewarded me with crazy returns. This was the same with Apple, Illinois Tools Work, Comcast, and McDonald’s. Companies that have not performed well are NextEra Energy down -2.38%, Altria Group down -1.37%, SCHD down -1.11%, Johnson & Johnson up barely at +0.03%, Kroger up only +0.35%, and Union Pacific Corp up +0.77%. These are the companies that I have bought quite a bit in the last few months. As Warren Buffett says “Price is what you pay, value is what you get.”
Overall, my portfolio value is up roughly $1,200 bucks! I am happy!
The Buys and Sells
The Buys
Each week I have bought a few shares of SCHD and DGRO. In the last few months, I have also bought fractional shares of Waste Management, Kroger, Johnson & Johnson, and Next Era Energy.
The Sells
Nothing sold!
Why I Bought and Sold
Why Did I Buy It?
SCHD and DGRO for the last three months have underperformed. Including NextEra Energy, Kroger, and Johnson & Johnson. Therefore, I wanna grab up as many shares and fractional shares as possible! They are good companies and ETFs, with great dividend yields plus dividend growth.
Why Did I sell?
Nothing sold!
Future Mindset of the Stock Market
Headline inflation is coming down, but core inflation (like headline inflation excludes items that are subject to volatility like food and energy) remains sticky in the 5% range. This does concern me, as it suggests that we could enter a period of stagflation, which is no bueno. Stagflation will enable the Federal Banks to keep Rates high, punishing Americans with higher living costs, massive corporate job firings (You’re Fired!), and slower economic growth.
The debt ceiling bill passed, thank god, but this certainty that the US does not default on its debt will only last us until 2025. Where we will again watch US Congress hash out another deal and wait until the very last minute to pass it. Both sides a got piece of the deal, but the worrying part is that the deal limits US spending. This will limit growth in the US economy and therefore also most US companies.
The Federal Bank says that it will raise interest rates maybe two more times by the end of this year. If that is the case, I think the stock market might turn volatile. Even worse, the next GDP report could by technical terms put the US economy into a recession. Even though, we are already in one. Seems like everyone has a definition of what a recession is.
This stock market doesn’t make any sense. I don’t understand it. However, I continue to invest in my DGI, still only SCHD and DGRO for now, and buy fractional shares for any company that begs a bargin.
Asset Allocation and Total Income
After one year and three months, my annual dividend income has now reached over $500!!! This has been mainly due to investing heavily in SCHD and DGRO. Currently, my monthly average dividend income is $41.8. Still far away from my $100 per month goal. Looking at the “Total Dividend Per Month” chart, my highest income is in March, June, September, and December.
Microsoft, Apple, Waste Management, Kroger, Lowes, and Union Pacific Corp hold the highest allocation within my portfolio. Microsoft and Apple have exploded in the last six months, giving me a boost in returns!
