Portfolio update – March 2016

At the end of March 2016, my portfolio stood at $113,788.55 across all my accounts combined. Comparing to my portfolio balance of $104,962.94 at the end of February 2016, this represents an increase of $8,825.61 for the month of March which represents a 8.41% increase for the month.

New investments accounted for $1,500.00 thus giving a net increase of $7,325.61 that represents a 6.98% increase for the month.

I continued my weekly sharebuilder purchases in March. I did not have any other purchases.

Here is a graph showing the growth of my portfolio since 2009.

Disclosure: Long on all stocks mentioned above.

Portfolio update – February 2016

At the end of February 2016, my portfolio stood at $104,962.94 across all my accounts combined. Comparing to my portfolio balance of $101,322.63 at the end of January 2016, this represents an increase of $3,640.31 for the month of February which represents a 3.59% increase for the month.

New investments accounted for $3,136.20 thus giving a net increase of $504.11 that represents a 0.49% increase for the month.

I continued my weekly sharebuilder purchases in February. I also purchased SCHD with my proceeds from BAX and BXLT sale.

Here is a graph showing the growth of my portfolio since 2009.

Disclosure: Long on all stocks mentioned above.

Goals update – January 2016

I like to review the progress at least once a month to determine where I am with respect to meeting/achieving my goals.

These are the goals for 2016:

• Invest at least $25,000
  • New investments in January amounted to $1,200.00. I also made FRIP purchases through Scottrade that totalled $554.40. Total purchases ended up at $1,754.40.
  • But I also sold BAX and BXLT that removed $1,927.73 from my portfolio.
  • Total investments in 2016 so far equals negative $173.33. That’s a great start 🙂 Hopefully, I catch up in February with investments.  
• Receive at least $3,675 in dividends
  • I received $308.43 in dividends in January. This represents 8.39% of my annual goal.
• Achieve at least $4,000 in projected annual dividends
  • At the end of January, my projected annual dividends stood at $3,318.98.
• DO NOT have a portfolio of more than 45 stocks/ETFs
  • Currently hold 44 stocks/ETFs

The goals page will be updated to reflect the progress.

Portfolio update – January 2016

At the end of January 2016, my portfolio stood at $101,322.63 across all my accounts combined. Comparing to my portfolio balance of $104,606.24 at the end of December 2015, this represents a decrease of $3,283.61 for the month of January which represents a 3.14% decrease for the month.

New investments accounted for net negative of $173.33, due to the BAX & BXLT sale, thereby giving a net portfolio decrease of $3,456.94 or 3.30% for the month. This decline follows declines November and December.

I continued my weekly sharebuilder purchases in December. I also had my Scottrade FRIP purchases. I also sold my stake in BAX and BXLT as mentioned above.

Here is a graph showing the growth of my portfolio since 2009.

Disclosure: Long on all stocks mentioned above.

Goals update – December 2015

With 2015 coming to a close, I would like to review the status of my goals I set out for the year.

These are the goals for 2015:

• Invest at least $35,000
  • New investments in December amounted to $1,500.00. I did not make any purchases other than the weekly purchases.
  • Total investments in 2015 so far equals $26,969.30 which amounts to about 77.05% of my goal.
  • Verdict: Failed
  • Analysis: In hindsight, I think that I set out a lofty goal to begin with for the year. In 2014, I set out a goal of $20K, but ended up bumping the goal twice during the year and by the end, I had invested over $33,000 in 2014. I thought I could maintain that pace during 2015 as well, but I was probably wrong. A main reason for investments in 2014 to be very high was because of the backlog in cash from prior years. I will keep this in mind when setting the goals for 2016.
• Receive at least $2,500 in dividends
  • I received $351.88 in dividends in December. So far I have received $2,822.72 in dividends this year. This represents 112.90% of my annual goal.
  • Verdict: Achieved
  • Analysis: This was a good year for dividends. I received over $1,200 more compared to 2014 and that represents an increase of over 77% YoY. I am really happy of this progress and I am hoping to continue this success in 2016 as well.
• Achieve at least $3,200 in projected annual dividends
  • At the end of December, my projected annual dividends stood at $3,275.85. This includes the dividend cut announced by KMI.
  • Verdict: Achieved
  • Analysis: I achieved this goal, though only barely. I wanted to build a cushion in case more stocks announced dividend cuts in the last couple of months. Like I expected, KMI cut its dividend by 75% and I barely managed to stay above my goal. Another dividend cut or two and I would have failed in this goal. There are several stocks that are on the brink of dividend cuts in 2016 and I would have to keep that in mind when setting up my 2016 goal.
• DO NOT have a portfolio of more than 45 stocks/ETFs
  • Currently hold 44 stocks/ETFs. This is one more than November due to my new position in EMR.
  • Verdict: Achieved
  • This is just an ancillary goal to ensure that my portfolio doesn’t get too messy. I still would like to drop the count of stocks/ETFs from the current levels, but not sure which ones to get rid off.

The goals page will be updated to reflect the progress.

Portfolio update – December 2015

At the end of December 2015, my portfolio stood at $104,606.24 across all my accounts combined. Comparing to my portfolio balance of $106,069.99 at the end of November 2015 , this represents a decrease of $1,463.75 for the month of December which represents a 1.37% decrease for the month.

New investments accounted for $1,500.00, thereby giving a net portfolio decrease of $2,963.75 or 2.79% for the month. This decline follows declines November.

I continued my weekly sharebuilder purchases in December. I did not have any other purchases in the month.

Here is a graph showing the growth of my portfolio since 2009.

Disclosure: Long on all stocks mentioned above.

Goals update – November 2015

I like to review the progress at least once a month to determine where I am with respect to meeting/achieving my goals. This post is long overdue as it is almost the end of November.

These are the goals for 2015:

• Invest at least $35,000
  • New investments in November amounted to $1,200.00. I did not make any purchases other than the weekly purchases.
  • Total investments in 2015 so far equals $25,469.3 which amounts to about 72.76% of my goal. I am probably not going to be able to meet this goal. 
• Receive at least $2,500 in dividends
  • I received $138.29 in dividends in November. So far I have received $2,470.84 in dividends this year. This represents 98.83% of my annual goal.
  • I will be able to achieve this goal by the end of the year based on projections.
• Achieve at least $3,200 in projected annual dividends
  • At the end of November , my projected annual dividends stood at $3,304.47. But of course, since then KMI has announced a dividend cut and the total has dropped. But still above $3,200 for right now.
• DO NOT have a portfolio of more than 45 stocks/ETFs
  • Currently hold 43 stocks/ETFs. This is one more than October due to HPQ’s split into two companies.

The goals page will be updated to reflect the progress.

Portfolio update – November 2015

At the end of November 2015, my portfolio stood at $106,069.99 across all my accounts combined. Comparing to my portfolio balance of $106,436.79 at the end of October 2015, this represents a decrease of $366.80 for the month of November which represents a 0.34% decrease for the month.

New investments accounted for $1,200.00, thereby giving a net portfolio decrease of $1,566.80 or 1.47% for the month. This decline follows a reasonable increase in October.

I continued my weekly sharebuilder purchases in November. I did not have any other purchases in the month.

Here is a graph showing the growth of my portfolio since 2009.

Disclosure: Long on all stocks mentioned above.

Goals update – October 2015

I like to review the progress at least once a month to determine where I am with respect to meeting/achieving my goals. This post is long overdue as it is almost the end of November.

These are the goals for 2015:

• Invest at least $35,000
  • New investments in October amounted to $1,869.37. In addition to the weekly purchases of $1,200, I had FRIP purchases for $669.37. did not make any purchases other than the weekly purchases.
  • Total investments in 2015 so far equals $24,269.30 which amounts to about 69.34% of my goal. I am still behind in this goal by a huge margin. I am probably not going to be able to meet this goal. 
• Receive at least $2,500 in dividends
  • I received $289.10 in dividends in October. So far I have received $2,332.55 in dividends this year. This represents 93.30% of my annual goal.
  • I will be able to achieve this goal by the end of the year based on projections.
• Achieve at least $3,200 in projected annual dividends
  • At the end of October, my projected annual dividends stand at $3,258.82.
  • I have already met my goal, but I am just not sure if there will be any dividend cuts between now and the end of the year. So just building a cushion in case some cuts happen.
• DO NOT have a portfolio of more than 45 stocks/ETFs
  • Currently hold 42 stocks/ETFs. I did not initiate any new positions in October.

The goals page will be updated to reflect the progress.

Portfolio update – October 2015

At the end of October 2015, my portfolio stood at $$106,436.79 across all my accounts combined. Comparing to my portfolio balance of $97,787.80 at the end of September 2015, this represents an increase of $8,648.99 for the month of October which represents a 8.84% increase for the month.

New investments accounted for $1,869.37, thereby giving a net portfolio increase of $6,779.62 or 6.93% for the month. After two months of declines, the market and the portfolio increased in October.

After being short of the $100K milestone for a few months, I crossed it this month. Just a couple of years ago, I would not even have imagined having over $100,000 invested in the market. Looking back, it is definitely a great achievement and I am really satisfied about it.

I continued my weekly sharebuilder purchases in October. I also had my quarterly Scottrade FRIP purchase.  I did not have any other purchases in the month.

Here is a graph showing the growth of my portfolio since 2009.

Disclosure: Long on all stocks mentioned above.