General reflections
2023 was a januslike year: On the hand, after the weak 2022 at the stock market, predictably the stock market soared with teach companies, the very same companies who were struggling in 2022, leading the charge. On the other hand, this surge went along in spite of increased interest rates (and the ensuing endless debates how much they will be raised, if they should be raised, for how long they should be raised, etc.); almost comical discussions in the US senate about the increasing debt which always, despite the great commition, at the last second do get raised; a mini-meltdown of banks in both Europe and the USA at the beginning of the year; another ugly military conflict materialisting in Israel and the conflict in the Ukraine still raging as bitterly as the year before with no end in sight.
Almost every single major index (MSCI World, S&P 500, NASDAQ, etc.) was YoY up more than double digits. I, however, was sadly missing out on some of those gains as the sectors I'm currently dominantly invested in (financials and real estate) suffered heavily throughout this year and only mounted a comeback at the rally towards the end of the year. Therefore, my portfolio climbed only a miniscule and modest 4%. This is, of course, somewhat disappointing and somewhat sobbering. But there are two things to consider:
1) I don't need to beat those indexes (although it would of course be nice). My investment strategy is different to those indexes and hopefully (and to this day, it does, I feel) fulfills my needs.
2) While I missed out on the uptick this year, I also missed out on the downtick last year.
There were, unfortunately, some dividend cuts I had to deal with: intel, vonovia, sl green realty, gladstone commercial and wp carey did cut their dividend and at the beginning of 2024, wallgreens decided to join the party. There is no use getting up in arms about this and throwing in the towel: there is no perfect plan and in a rather large portfolio, there are inevitably some dividend cuts. These were, however, tiny compared to the amount of increased that also occurred. The only thing one can do is assess one's risk-tolerance, prepare as best as one can while reseraching the stock and following it quarterly or annually to make sure things are in order. There will be more in the future, I'm sure of that. You have to roll with them, one way or another, and I'm still trying to work out a analytical approach that takes the emotional part out of it (see here). Unfortunately, I haven't found it, so I'm stumbling along as best as I can.
The (dividend) numbers
In total, I received 5753.00€ in dividends after taxes, a very pleasing 43% increase compared to the year before in which I received roughly around 3300€.
On average, I received ca. 395€ every month, with May being the sweetest month (ca. 583€) and February the lowest month (ca. 236€) and one of the few months under 300€. February, August and November tend to be my weakest months whereas March, June, September and December are my better months.
My yield after taxes was 3,42 % and climbed to 4,19% this year. This was somewhat by design as I focussed on rather higher yields this year.
Last year's aim was as follows:
In general, I am quite pleased with the increase. My goals for next year are cracking 4000€ in total dividends and reaching an average of 300€ (or more) every month.
Looking back, I'm happy to say that I reached that goal and thus set the following goal for next year:
I want to average 450€ every month and in total receive 6500€ after taxes in dividends.
I know that this is very ambitious, but if you shoot for something, why not shoot for the stars ;-)?
Retrospective: The year in stocks
Looking at the best and worst stocks of the year, you clearly see the year we've just had. My biggest winners for the year are ...
1. Microsoft: 52%
2. Apple: 45%
3. Iron Mountain: 37%
Teach soared once again and if Amazon and Google were to pay a dividend, their names might have been on that list as well. Iron Mountain is a suprise, however.
Let's have a look at the steepest drops in my portfolio: They are ...
1. Medical Properties: -71%
2. Pfizer: -43%
3. NextEra Energy: -29%
Ouch, the first one hurts. There's no other way about it. It's a business that is stuck in the mud, with shady decisions and communications and ample debt to bury it. However, I'm so far down, I can't sell it just yet and hope that the only way now is somewhat up (which is silly because it could just as easily go bankrupt, but there you go ...). Pfizer suffered the predictable post-Corona blues and I unfortunately failed to sell at the peak. For now, I'll hold on and hope that their acquisitons from their Corona flush will result in increased earnings in the future. Utilities, just like REITs, were also badly hurt by the inreased rates, but I for one will hold on to NextEra Energy as I think it is a quality business which frankly was always somewhat expensive and for once in a long time sank to a PE which is approprriate for a utility.
Personal highlights
On a personal note, my non-financial highlights this year were every second which I got to spend with my family and my girlfriend, my good health (which I hope to have for a long time!), every time I stepped on the court for a basketball game and my trips to both Ecuador (this summer) and Finnland (this winter: -36 degrees, ouch!).
But enough about the nostalgia - 2023 is in the books: Good luck to you out there in 2024!
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