Portfolio Value Update - August 2018

Hello guys! It’s time to share my monthly update about my investment portfolio and dividend income. To be honest, it felt like the month of August was a bit stretched. For me, it didn’t pass as fast as the other months. I was counting the days to finally write this post. August was a great month. My wife and I celebrated our birthdays. We did a few cosmetic renovations around the condo. Daughter started fourth grade and newborn girl turned three months. I also published four blog posts, which is a lot, because usually I post once or twice per month. So I’ve been pretty active on my blog as well. Anyway, let’s talk the stock market. 

Portfolio Value

As of August 31, 2018 my investment portfolio balance stood at $63,463.74. That’s an increase of $2,938.70 from last month. This was the best performing month of all time. The main increase came from the buyout of Enercare (TSX:ECI). When the takeover was announced in the beginning of August, my ECI position went up by $2,000. The rest of the value increase came from my monthly contribution and dividends.

Dividends

In August, I received $260.18 in dividends vs $224.79 for the same period a year ago. That's an increase of $35.39 or 15% on year-over-year basis. My total year-to-date dividend income is $2,056.53. Last year, it took me ten months to exceed $2,000 in dividends. That’s the power of compound growth! Also, I just wanted to let you know that when I receive dividends from companies that pay quarterly, I split them in three parts and report them on monthly basis. It’s just the way I prefer to do.

Contributions

Every month I transfer $700 of fresh capital to my TFSA account. I plan to keep that pace until the end of the year. Next year I will adjust my contributions, depending on 2019 TFSA limit.

Transactions

August was probably the busiest month for capital relocation. I liquidated my Enercare position and bought Canadian Utilities (TSX:CU), Fortis (TSX:FTS), and Brookfield Property (TSX:BPY.UN). A few days later I sold Magna (TSX:MG) and bought Laurentian Bank (TSX:LB). In total, I relocated around $10,000 from one stocks to another. You can always refer to my previous posts to read more about those transactions.

Performance Charts

Thank you for your time and I’m looking forward to read your updates.