Friday, August 7, 2020

August 6 2020. Back to Where I was in February 2020

It has been a hard six months.

I did not think in early April when my  stock portfolio had plunged by 30% that my recovery would be this quick.
a stack of used $100 bills
Cash

O.k. At the lowest lows I backed up the truck. Pulled out of bonds in most cases and bought either Single stocks. Apple, Microsoft, Johnson and Johnson and Costco mostly.

I did not believe that I would come back to being within $100 of my portfolio value on February 19th, a total of $103,000 in August. today just over $102,950.

Off course I have lost most of my regular monthly income. The bonds paid out monthly cash flow, but falling yields put pay to that. Some have such a low yield today that I earn less than one cent per month. Horrible for someone who loves cash flow.

Some of my REITS also suspended their dividends. They also lost up to 50% of their value. Eeek!

My rescue has come in the form of the likes of Apple and Microsoft. Apples balistic rise in the last two weeks has paid me back. Now a stock split too, will see my average cost per share for Apple fall from $160 per share to $40 per share. One reason to love a stock split that is never mentioned on YouTube.

I have lost about $1,000 in expected dividend income this year. That hurts, a lot.

But I reckon with some  careful buying I can build a stronger cash flow regime.

I have also put a little cash to one side, just one percent of my total portfolio in Gold, in the form of the GLDM exchange traded fund.







The GLDM fund does not pay a dividend but the gold is there for some stabilization if we suffer another rapid fall in the market. Not as a means of generating cash.


For some cash generation I have taken a small position in investments that sell covered calls. My largest position is in QYLD, a monthly dividend payer, that has a reasonable payout, about 15 cents per share on average. I received a nice payout last month for a one percent investment. So I will hold that stock which invests in covered calls on the NASDAQ top 100. I am looking for an S&P 500 equivalent too.







So there it is. Six Months to come back to where I was at the beginning of the year.

How have you done this year. Let us know with a comment or if you like this post, shre it with your friends on Twitter, Facebook or Pinterest.

Oh. By the way I also added a little position in Pinterest (PINS) too. So a share on Pinterest helps my prtfolio too.

All the best.