I keep a copy in PDF of my portfolio every quarter, and have a deeper dive at 12/31, but this also provides a blog’d example of where I stand, so I can always refer back on the site the historical position of my portfolio. As we have done in the prior years, this post will be an overall recap of my portfolio, the contributions, dividends going forward, dividends received, what I can analyze from the current position, etc.. It’s always fun to see what the year compiled into one snapshot of all of the hard work that goes into the dividend engine. I am excited to see where it stands and what can be done going into this new year! Let’s dive on in.
Last year’s post on the portfolio review, I was talking about the difficulty in finding a solid investment, given the overall market increased almost 10% in 2016. Guess what? No real change there, as the S&P 500 increased almost 20% in 2017! This is interesting. 2015 to 2016 brought two different market environments. Then 2016 to 2017 brought more appreciation in the stock market with Donald Trump elected into office and the official approval of Tax Reform. It’s what keeps the investing portion of life interesting – no predictions accepted : ) I’ll provide the brief snapshot of 10 attributes on my portfolio, as you’ll see below, and then do an even more analysis surrounding my thoughts of how that came to be and what will 2018 bring from an actual action stand point. Here comes the 2017 review of my portfolio:
Portfolio Review
For this analysis – you can find the the portfolio page to follow along.
- Contributions (Including Retirement, H.S.A., dividends reinvested) YTD 2017 (not including 401(k) match): $47,189.95 (2016 Amount: $45,229.41; Average of $3,932.50 per month, up from 2016’s $3,769.12 per month)
- Portfolio Market Value as of 12/31/17: $328,262.83 (Up from $235,056.30 or $93,206.53 or 39.65%)
- Portfolio Estimated Income for 2018 as of 12/31/17: $9,732.01 (Up from $8,066.87 or $1,665.14 or 20.64%)
- Portfolio Yield (Overall): 2.96% (Down from 3.43% or down 47 basis points from 12/31/16)
- Portfolio Yield Individual Account: 3.05% (Down from 3.50% or 45 basis points from 12/31/16; talk about appreciation)
- Portfolio Yield Retirement Accounts: 2.92% (Down from 3.40% or 48 basis points from 12/31/16)
- Portfolio Yield on Cost (Overall): 4.63% (Down 6 basis points from 12/31/16)
- Positions in my Individual Account: 43 (Up 6 net new positions)
- Positions, including 3 mutual Funds and 1 ETF, in Retirement Account & HSA: NO CHANGE! – Remains at 13
- Total Dividend/Distributions Received in 2017: $9,228.26 (Up from $7,406.43 or $1,821.83 or 24.60%)
What does all this information mean – one may be asking? Well, I figured I can start from the top and work my way down. Total contributes were up, year over year, but not by much. I actually got engaged this year, and, well, the hardware isn’t inexpensive : ) However, I am still up overall. This partly has to do with a raise from work, my full automation tax-strategy of maximizing my 401(k) and my Health Savings Account (HSA). Further, more dividends were received & put to work – the power of dividend reinvestment, was in full effect. Further, I paid my car off in August and this was a byproduct of having more cash flow to invest!
Ah, then you have market value. The market value of my portfolio compared to the year end last year is up a WHOPPER $93,207… are you kidding me? I’m closing in on $400K and it’s becoming quite alarming how fast this is ramping up. This year I wrote about me crossing over $300,000 and I am already/almost $30K beyond that point. When I calculated my performance this year and backing out my 401(k) match from my employer, I had a 16.30% performance on the year. See below, the S&P’s YTD performance of +19.42%. I was not able to achieve the market’s return, but came close. I out paced the S&P last year. I was 3.12% off, which is actually quite a bit.
Another tough year on finding the right investment front, with the increase in the stock market. I was able to make 6 new positions this year actually, as it was very difficult to invest in companies I had already owned. New Investment Purchases:
- CVS Health Corp (CVS)
- Grainger (GWW)
- Cisco Systems (CSCO)
- Kroger Grocery (KR)
- Delta (DAL)
- Hormel (HRL)
Even with adding over $47,000 of capital into the portfolio, I did not achieve my $10,000 goal. I added $1,665.14 to my forward income. This is an interesting take – the $47,189.95 yielded 3.52%. However, this is not an actual case, as dividend growth also caused quite a bit of that yield/increase. To conclude, dividend added was at a yield lower than what I am typically used to, due to the appreciating stock market, lower growth rates on dividends and new investments typically had a lower yield with higher dividend growth prospects. Damn you 2017!
My yields overall have decreased. This is very easy to point out – stocks just increased that much more this year, however, I will note that dividend increases weren’t quite as strong, again. And actually… when going to multpl.com… it was only a “resounding” 5.87% (through 9/30/17(, when it was much higher in the past. Further, due to my purchases in S&P 500 mutual funds, with their lower yield, my Yield on Cost, decreased.
2017 Portfolio Conclusion & Summary
How do I conclude in my portfolio of 2017? My portfolio grew the most it ever has, the dividends added were more than I ever had done before and damn I’m tired. The market appreciated almost 20% and I know my portfolio benefited tremendously from the momentum. My goals for 2018 are interesting and still constitutes capital to be infused. However, more dividends going forward should assist/take the burden of some of that. The 401k & HSA max increased for 2018, however, the federal tax benefit isn’t quite as much as it has been, but still very relevant in this journey. Further, I should have unlocked more capital with a small decrease in the tax rate, with the exception of saving quite a bit for the wedding this year (haha). Either which way, I’m pumped to place my portfolio in the best position possible, using the dividend diplomat stock screener to review companies for investment, keep a keen eye on the aristocrats that are a foundation staple in a portfolio, or pushing myself to new heights when setting lofty goals.
With all this being said – what do you see in my portfolio? How did you do? What actions will you take into 2018 going forward? Looking forward to hearing from everyone and thank you again for coming by! Hope everyone is having a great start to the new year and are ready for the horizon of the upcoming year. Good luck and talk soon!
-Lanny