Six Month Review!

Happy Easter weekend to everyone!  

It was six months ago I began this investing journey and started Dividend Town!

I had always liked the idea of a dividend growth strategy and wanted to try it out myself. With all the great online resources, I felt very comfortable that I wasn't doing anything 'wild and crazy' and would manage it responsibly. Thankfully my wife was supportive as well.

So after six months, how is the Dividend Town portfolio doing? 

Overall Performance: (Tracked at Weekly Progress Tracker) 

• Total Performance from Portfolio Inception: 5.88%
• S&P Performance from Portfolio Inception: -1.76%
• DJIA Performance from Portfolio Inception: -2.39%
• NASDAQ Performance from Portfolio Inception: -10.38%

From October to mid-January the portfolio beta was ~0.80 - 0.85 and then down shifted to more energy, consumer defensive and utilities with large risk on the horizon. Currently the portfolio sits at ~0.59 beta, and I'll reevaluate sector / asset class weighting more during a rebalancing later this month. I do not expect much to change however.

Projected Annual Dividend Yield: Started at $7,944 and currently sitting at $9,279. 

Cumulative Dividend Income:

In six months we've made $3,640 in dividend income. This is roughly ~0.9% of the value of the portfolio. I know it seems silly, but it's pretty cool that in six months I've paid for almost 1% of the portfolio value. 

Cumulative Option Income:

I'm positive that I can get into the black in another 2-3 months with consistency. If I look back at the options history, the times I've done poorly were when I made stupid bets or got greedy. Overall, selling covered calls work so that's where I'll focus in the future. Currently underwater $1,429.  

Top 5 Equities (Tracked at Portfolio):

• $CVX: Up 56.3% (Yield on Cost 5.17%)
• $KR: Up 49% (Yield on Cost 2.15%)
• $ABBV: Up 46.9% (Yield on Cost 5.10%)
• $SRE: Up 32.5% (Yield on Cost 3.54%)
• $PFE: Up 28.3% (Yield on Cost 3.87%)
• Other notable stocks with over 20% growth are: $COST, $LMT, $DG, $ALL, $NJR & $ATO

Bottom 5 Equities:

• $SHOP: Down 59.3%
• $NIO: Down 51.7%
• $DOUG: Down 33.2%
• $WSM: Down 27.8%
• $TROW: Down 23.1%

Dividend Growth Pace:

If we look at the historical Dividend Growth over the last few years, we see ~7.0% growth per year. The majority of the portfolio is invested in high-quality companies that routinely raise their dividend each year. So while the past doesn't project the future, this gives a good indication of the portfolio's historical ability to generate dividend growth reliably.  

I mentioned to my wife today how much I enjoy doing this. There's a certain comfort of managing your own investment decisions and producing results. I also enjoy being transparent and tracking the results. I spent a lot of time on Div Gro prior to starting, and his transparency and accountability have been inspiring. Over the next 10 years, I hope the transparency of my portfolio and everything I learn helps others as well.  

Enjoy your weekend!