All About Interest

One man's journey to financial independence.

Portfolio Value Reaches $250,000

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My total portfolio value hit $250k Wednesday for the first time.  This is an increase of $50,000 in exactly 3 months.  While I’m not as concerned about my total portfolio value as I am about dividend income, it’s still nice to see the value increase with additions of new capital and capital gains.  In order for companies to keep paying higher dividends, their earnings also need to increase which usually causes the stock prices to go up as well.

I think most of us are expecting or hoping for some sort of correction this year.  These same feelings were there for me this time last year.  That correction never came.  Regardless of my feelings, I didn’t quit contributing fresh capital to my portfolio by way of new purchases each week.  I’m extremely glad I kept consistently contributing as you saw the markets rise significantly in 2013.  You see, nobody can predict the markets.  Instead of watching the DJIA or S&P 500 move up and down daily, I’m looking for companies that represent a good value at the current time. A process made substantially easier by utilising companies like Stocktrades.ca to get real-time advice and company profiling, making sure that you invest and diversify in an appropriate manner.

I’d like to keep my portfolio at around 40 positions.  My portfolio weight in energy is higher than I’d like but that’s where I’ve been finding value lately.  I’ve added a lot of capital fairly recently into BP, RDS.B, CVX, and ESV.  I expect this weight to come down as other sectors go in and out of favor.

I’m still shooting for a portfolio valued at over 1.7 Mil that yields an average of 3.5%.  This will produce 60k ($5k monthly) in income.  So I’ve got a long ways to go to reach my goal.

My next portfolio milestone will be $350k and $500k after that.  I hope to hit $350k sometime this year.   I appreciate everyone that has been supportive and that reads my blog.  I try to be as transparent as possible by posting all my trades, good or bad.

I keep a live updated portfolio on Google Docs that can be seen on my portfolio page here.

Comments

    • Hi Bryan,

      It was a large increase in a short amount of time. A lot was due to me making larger contributions towards the end of the year. I don’t expect the next 3 months to raise the value another 50k but we’ll see. Thanks!

      Take care

  2. AAI,
    That correction never came last year, and who knows about this year. We certainly are due for one, but we gotta be in the market. Congrats on this big milestone. Long way to go (I hear ya), but it feels good to get that capital appreciation AND dividends.
    -RBD

    • RBD,

      That’s true and the reason why I don’t pay attention to what the markets are doing every day. It is a great feeling but I get a better feeling every time I see those higher dividends coming in!

      Take care!

  3. AAI,

    Man, that’s some crazy progress. Really awesome stuff.

    You’ve taken some risks with starting your own business and what not, but you’re definitely reaping the rewards now. Congratulations! 🙂

    I’ve got a long way to go to catch up to you, and I hope you keep reaching for the stars. It’s inspiring me to give it all I’ve got.

    Best wishes!

    • Hi DM,

      Yeah, I’ve made more progress than I thought I would over these last 2 years for sure.

      I took a large risk and it’s starting to pay off with large rewards. Thanks!

      Don’t worry, with your spending habits you may be FI before I am. That’s something I need to work on more. I’d glad that what I’m doing is inspiring others to invest for their future. You’re certainly inspiring a lot of people yourself.

      Cheers

    • Hi J.A.,

      I’ve really been playing catchup these last couple of years. I’m contributing more and the dividends are starting to compound faster. I just wish I had known what I did now when I was in my twenties.

      Thanks for dropping by!

  9. Fantastic job! Keep plugging away. $50,000 in three months in unbelievable. I think you have the right perspective on the dividend income outweighing the overall portfolio value.

    DP

    • My Dividend Pipeline,

      Thanks, although I don’t expect that sort of pace the entire year, I will try to keep it up.

      I agree. I don’t plan on selling off the portfolio or follow the 4% rule so it’s the dividends I’ll be living off of one day.

      Thanks for stopping by!

  10. $250k is a huge milestone. And a $50k increase in 3 months is pretty amazing. I don’t think building cash is the worst thing to do, but there comes a time where you need to just put money to work. A lot of people were expecting a correction last year, but the worst we saw was something like 5% in the middle of the year. There’s no telling if 2014 will be the same or back to being volatile or a slow decline, so the best thing is to consistently put capital to work in spots where you see value. I’m also more heavily weighted to O&G but eventually other sectors will get out of favor and allow me to correct that.

    • Hey PIP,

      I agree with you. Regardless of what the market keeps doing I’ll be contributing. If the market has a big correction I’ll be buying as much as possible. If it keeps marching upwards I’ll keep buying as well but I might keep just keep a little more cash handy. I agree and I’m not too worried about balancing at this point. I’m not even at 1/4 of my target portfolio size so I’ve got a lot of time to get it balanced.

      Take care!

  11. Congrats on the $250K. I’m right behind you and could be up there with you in a few months. Receiving those dividends on a monthly basis brings a huge amount of joy. Keep at it!

    • $25000 Dividends,

      Thanks! I took a look at your portfolio and you have a lot of payers I’m not that familiar with. I’ll have to take a look at a few of them. I agree, receiving those increasing dividends each month brings a lot of joy! You are doing a great job building a passive income stream yourself.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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