In September 2017, I received slightly over $100K as a result of the commuted value of my pension plan. I decided to invest 100% of this money into dividend growth stocks. Each month, I publish my results. I don’t do this to brag, I do this to show you it’s possible to build a portfolio during an all-time high market. The market will crash… eventually. In the meantime, I rather cash some juicy dividends!
Portfolio holdings
Numbers are as at May 1st 2018:
Canadian portfolio (CAD)
| Company Name | Ticker | Market Value |
| Alimentation Couche-Tard | ATD.B.TO | $4,745.45 |
| Andrew Peller | ADW.A.TO | $7,474.15 |
| Royal Bank | RY.TO | $5,853.60 |
| Canopy Growth Corp | WEED.TO | $5,424.20 |
| Enbridge | ENB.TO | $6,346.62 |
| Fortis | FTS.TO | $4,286.70 |
| Lassonde Industries | LAS.A.TO | $5,670.00 |
| Magna International | MG.TO | $5,345.20 |
| Shopify | SHOP.TO | $6,394.00 |
| Cash | $128.61 | |
| Total | $51,668.53 |
As of April 27th, both portfolios are still in positive territory since the beginning of the year (+0.7% for CAD and +4.3% for US). So far, my Canadian portfolio is supported by three successful trades (Andrew Peller, Shopify and Lassonde). Canopy Growth keeps going up and down without taking a break. For those who think that investing in marijuana stocks is easy money, keep note of how it fluctuates in my portfolio. Make sure your stomach can take it.
Mr. Market created a nice opportunity on the Canadian market with the never-ending plunge of Enbridge (ENB.TO). I decided to convert my cash from both accounts (CAD and USD) and use the dividend cashed over the past 5 months (about $1,000) to increase my position in this solid dividend paying stock.
Bought 51 more shares of Enbridge (ENB.TO)
I will not lie, ENB is a risky pick. While we all understand the stability of a toll road like a pipeline, those entities require heavy cash flow and colossal projects to generate growth. The big talk right now is around Line 3 replacement, a $7 billion project. The latest news was coming from a judge in Minnesota supporting Line 3 (good), but using the original route (bad). ENB sought approval to build the new Line 3 pipeline on a different route to avoid oppositions. This adds to the current uncertainties around ENB’s projects. Over the next two years, if this project isn’t approved, future dividend growth may take a hit. This is why the stock is going down and down and… down.
But, the company has $26 billion worth of projects on the table, and another $48 billion in various stages of development. Among those projects, there is the Line 3 replacement. The company expects the completion of this project in mid-2019. There are still regulatory processes to be completed, but the Line 3 could become a real growth driver for the years to come. In fact, ENB shows an impressive list of growth projects for the upcoming years.
Numbers are as at May 1st 2018:
U.S. portfolio (USD)
| Company Name | Ticker | Market Value |
| Apple | AAPL | $5,196.83 |
| Disney | DIS | $4,485.60 |
| Gentex | GNTX | $5,311.00 |
| Hasbro | HAS | $3,990.50 |
| Honeywell | HON | $4,596.80 |
| Lazard | LAZ | $5,543.70 |
| Microsoft | MSFT | $5,673.00 |
| Starbucks | SBUX | $4,924.05 |
| Texas Instruments | TXN | $5,109.50 |
| United Parcel Services | UPS | $4,146.96 |
| Visa | V | $6,334.00 |
| Cash | $103.74 | |
| Total | $55,415.68 |
On the US side, I haven’t done any transaction as I’m fully happy with my portfolio. It contains several short-term winners such as Gentex (+18%), Lazard (+31%), Microsoft (+26%), Texas Instruments (+14%) and Visa (+17%).
Hasbro took another hit after their earnings. Hasbro is in the eye of the Toys R Us storm and took the hit with 16% revenue decrease. Shipping orders have reduced due to uncertainties caused by this situation. North America sales have dropped by 19% and Europe by 28%. However, HAS ended the quarter with $1.6 billion in cash and returned $109.6 million to shareholders. I expect the company to go through this difficult period and come back with strong growth numbers in 2019. Their brands and their licensing deals remain their strongest advantage.
Dividend income: $59.77 CAD
As this portfolio is going through its first year of existence, I have no clue what to expect for my monthly dividend report. Now I know that April is my weakest month of the year. In January (last quarter), my dividend payment was higher due to Disney’s bi-annual distribution. So no panic here… everything is normal!
Canadian Holdings payouts: $26.42 CAD
- Alimentation Couche-Tard: $7.74
- Andrew Peller: $18.68
U.S. Holding payouts: $25.85 USD
- Gentex: $25.85
Total payouts: $59.77 CAD
*I used a USD/CAD conversion rate of 1.29.
Since I started this portfolio in September 2017, I have received a total of $1,160.43 in dividend.
Final thoughts
I find it very funny to read all those articles about the market crushing everybody’s return. I don’t know if its because I get paid monthly to watch my stocks, but I didn’t feel much market fluctuation. I guess it’s part of the joy of being a dividend growth investor!
Since I’ve used all my cash to buy more shares of ENB, I didn’t start dripping yet. I know… lazy Mike!
Nice mike
Alot of growth there by the looks of it and great addition of endbridge. I think all the political stuff shows how solid existing pipelines will be in the future.
Decent income that show grow with that list of solid companies.
Keep it up
Cheers
I always generate more growth than income in my portfolio 😉 hahaha! But the dividend payments will become important in 30 years from now, therefore I’m not too worried!
Cheers,
Mike
Looks good. Will watch your journey. I believe market has outperformed investors over an extended duration of time (10+ years). We will have to wait and see if you are the exception 🙂
You are right, most investors underperform the market over the long haul. My other portfolio (RRSP) outperform the market since 2010 (the year I switched my portfolio towards dividend growth stocks). Still, it hasn’t gone through a market crash. This is where your real investing performances count!
Cheers,
Mike
Looking solid here Mike. Like the diversification in the portfolios. This will be fun to watch going forward, that’s for sure!
Bert
Hey Bert!
yes! this is only the beginning. I’m glad I was able to take a portfolio from scratch and watch its development through time. It’s also interesting as I can’t add more money to this portfolio. Therefore, it’s all about performances and dividend payment. Numbers aren’t boosted by additional contributions.
Cheers,