Portfolio Update November 2020

 

Again, it’s DIY Portfolio report time!  As usual, you can expect our next update in about 12 weeks.

You can have a look at previous portfolio updates here:

All Portfolio Updates

Portfolio Update August 2018

Portfolio Update November 2018

Portfolio Update February 2019

Portfolio Update May 2019

Portfolio Update August 2019

Portfolio Update November 2019

Portfolio Update February 2020

Portfolio Update May 2020

Portfolio Update August2020

Note that the last words of this report have been written on November 1^st, before the US presidential election.

Despite all unprecedented events, our DIY Portfolio is still in the positive this year, which is surprising. Year-to-date capital return is around zero and are modest return essentially comes from dividends. Not that bad waiting for better days.

It would be doing even better if it were not for the last week of October where it abruptly went down by a little more than 4%.  We can sense markets are getting nervous about the upcoming US election. Contested results would probably cause the most turbulence. That’s why today, we’ll try to reason not giving into fear, essential for any successful investor.

After that, we’ll discuss our own portfolio management for the upcoming months and years. For now, let’s just say things are not getting simpler. We’ll conclude with our usual roundup of portfolio transactions. You’ll see we have been doing a little bit more lately.

Once more, I’ll remind you that I am not an investment or tax professional of any kind. The intent of this blog is not to give specific investing advice. Before investing yourself, we suggest you do all necessary research and consult a licensed financial professional if need be. 

Resist Giving into Fear

With all that is happening in the world, you may be tempted to give into your fear and cash in all your investments. We have to confess that even us, as committed investors, are sometimes afraid and have our moments of doubt.

We still believe you have to resist and remain patient as efficient investing always has to be approached with a long-term perspective.

New Year and Dividend Income Update 2019

As usual, figures have been updated on several pages of our blog to reflect 2018 results.

Among others, these pages have been updated:

Escaping 9-to-5

Investing Goals

The accumulating phase of our investing plan is almost over. Somewhat in maintenance mode, we are also trying to remain as tax efficient as possible.

For instance, this year being a low-income one (thanks to our third leave of absence, a big fat 8 month this time around, hooray!), we will transfer some funds from RRSP to TFSA accounts. It’s never desirable to pay taxes but the tax cost incurred now that way will be a lot less steep than in future higher-income years.

New Year and Dividend Income Update 2018

As usual, figures have been updated on several pages of our blog to reflect 2017 results.

Among others, these pages have been updated:

Escaping 9-to-5

Investing Goals

Portfolio

A tad sooner than expected, the accumulating phase of our investing plan is phasing out. Our DIY Portfolio should continue to steadily grow but our major contributing efforts are already a thing of the past.

Keep Saving and Investing Simple

In this day an age, we have access to an impressive variety of financial products. It sometimes feels like every time you blink, the financial industry comes up with a new gimmick promising you to astonishingly make your money grow faster or to protect it from any danger.

But, as we will explain today and contrary to what many suppose, you probably can successfully save and invest simply understanding just three main financial vehicles. 

No Need to Become a Financial Wizard Capable of Grasping Every Intricacy

For most people, all that financial mumbo jumbo can be overwhelming and apart from inevitable death, the only thing guaranteed is probably that they, the financial institutions, will make a big chunk of money selling these. And most of the time, it will be at the expense of the consumer…the ever poor consumer.

On top of it, almost nobody really has spare time to manage and invest money during busy workdays. And we are not even talking about developing the necessary skills to do so.

New Year and Dividend Income Update 2017

As usual, figures have been added on several pages of our blog to reflect last year’s results.

These pages have been updated:

Escaping 9-to-5

Investing Goals

Portfolio

We are especially proud that on top of the 100K$ we invested over the years in our DIY Portfolio, it also grew up by an additional 100K$. In fact, we achieved that significant and motivating milestone back on December 16^th 2016. 

Build Wealth by Reducing Recurring Expenses

In our so-called modern but consumption oriented society, people get a kick out of shopping and buying stuff. Many spend too much and that may be the main reason they will never really get wealthy.

When it comes to saving, most people tend to get pessimistic very fast because they focus on the millions they would need to truly become financially independent. Some have completely given up and don’t even bother anymore.

Additional income sure wouldn’t hurt building up your fortune. But today, we will concentrate our efforts on the other side of the equation: expenses, and especially the quiet but nasty recurring ones!

The Illusion of Seamless Payments

To add to the misfortunes of compulsive shoppers and buyers, salespeople and marketers have found a new trick in this consumption driven era: they hide the real price of products and services behind easy-to-make payments.

That way, consumers don’t exactly know how much they are paying; they only know how little their payments seem to be.

New Year and Dividend Income Update

Just a quick word to let you know that, for the new year, comments and figures have been added to several pages of our blog.

These pages have been updated:

Escaping 9-to-5

Investing Goals

Portfolio

Watch List

Monitor List

As a bonus, here’s a chart of our Dividend Income since 2013:

Focus on Quality Dividend-Paying Stocks

Dividends and Appreciation

Blue-chip dividend-paying stocks should occupy an important part of your investment portfolio. They can be acquired directly by buying shares of solid dividend-paying companies in at least three different sectors of the economy. Some mutual funds or ETFs also specialized in dividend stocks.

Indeed, in addition to often offering interesting capital gain, these stocks also provide regular dividends to their owners. Those dividends may be easily reinvested or provide regular income.