Dividend Update: September 23

 

 September on the whole proved to be a rough month (that is to say: if you didn't have to money to buy anything. If you had, it must have felt like a candy store). On the whole, my portfolio dropped by -1.4%. What's more troubling is yet another dividend reduction heading my way, once again from the deeply troubled real estate sector. But whereas you could see MPW's dividend cut coming from a mile away, I (and it seems like most investors) were somewhat blindsided by WP Carey's announcement to spin off their retaining office properties and reduce their dividend though it remains to be seen by how much. Of course, WP Carey was a very slow grower in the last years, but that's what you typically get from a higher yield so reading their quarterly reports, I was always sort of ok with the tiny dividend increases, which were still covered by their FFO. Now caution seems to have been thrown to the wind with this decision. I am - due to the recent sell-off - in the red now and still haven't made my mind up what to do with my shares. This decision somehow left a sour taste in my mouth and seems rather impulsive and poorly communicated. In cases like that I am always happy to be very diversified, but it still pains me as WP Carey was a bigger (and I thought safer) position in my portfolio. Despite the trouble and pains, I collected a very satisfying 506,40€ in dividends, finally (and soundly) crossing the 300€ barrier again after the paltry month of August.

1. Sequoia Economic Infrastructure: 9,64
2. Calamos Strategic Total Return: 3,41
3. BlackRock Science & Technology II: 4,07
4. BlackRock Utilities, Infrastructure, & Power Opportunities Trust: 3,36
5. Blackrock Enhanced Capital & Income: 3,94
6. Coher & Steers REIT and Preferred Income Fund: 2,29
7. Cohen & Steers Quality Income Realty Fund: 2,35
8. Aquila European Renewables Renewables: 7,64
9. Renewable Infrastructure: 7,03
10. Oaktree Specialty Lending: 6,45
11. Hanf Alerian Midstream Energy ETF: 13,87
12. Imperial Brands: 0,73
13. Sixth Street Speciality Lending: 6,44
14. New Mountain Finance: 6,59
15. Simon Property Group: 12,04
16. Golub Capital: 10,16
17. LTC Properties: 2,280,73
18. PepsiCo: 8,91
19. Ares Capital: 110,16
20. T. Rowe Price Group: 5,29
21. Main Street Capital: 34,23
22. Legal & General: 0,43
23. SPDR US Dividend Aristocrats ETF: 25,81
24. Waste Management: 1,13
25. BP: 3,94
26. Wolters Kluwer: 0,51
27. Rio Tinto: 17,54
28. FTSE Emerging Markets High Dividend Low Volatility ETF: 24,59
29. Linde: 0,16
30. Shell: 2,70
31. McDonalds: 5,25
32. Blue Owl Capital: 1,10
33. EPR Properties: 2,67
34. Stag Industrial: 0,42
35. SL Green Realty: 2,06
36. Clerway Energy: 3,23
37. Consolidated Edison: 5,04
38. NextEraEnergy: 3,56
39. Realty Income: 24,57
40. Microsoft: 4,70
41. VanEck MorningStar Developed Market Dividend Leaders: 75,92
42. AGNC Investment: 4,42
43. 3M: 6,23
44. ExxonMobile: 6,32
45. Johnson & Johnson: 17,23
46. Southern Company: 2,41
47. Pfizer: 5,06
48. Enbridge: 8,16

 

As I get deeper into the dividend strategy and as I grow older, I become both more of a fan of "passive" ETF investing as these decisions on what to do with those dividend cutters become harder and harder and and at the same time very jealous that there are no comparable ETFs to the ones available to the US (unless you write options, which I really don't want to do at the moment). Statistics (see below) tend do say that dividend cutters / reducers should be sold as they are poor investments going forward, but I on the whole find it still tricky to sell. In a portfolio with as many positions as I have, it is perhaps forgiveable to keep some positions in the hope of recovery, but there is still some mental turmoil involved in the business and I haven't found a rigid rule, which would automate this and remove the emotional part of it. As the markets fall further,  let's see what awaits us in the last quarter. Fingers crossed for no more dividend cuts this year ;-)