This is the sixth bonus deposit I've made since starting DivGro. Its been a while since my last bonus deposit in March 2014 ($5,000) and even longer since my previous $10,000 bonus deposit (December 2013).
I prefer to allocate about $2,500 to new buys. Since that is exactly the amount of my regular monthly deposits, normally I have enough cash available to buy one stock per month. However, I've set some fairly aggressive goals for 2015. To reach those goals, I'll need to take some extraordinary action!
Earlier I revealed that I'm in my dream-career, working as an effects artist at the best animation studio in the world! The animated films we make are seen and enjoyed by millions of people all over the world – it is an amazing privilege and a blessing that I get to do what I love to do and that I get paid for doing it... One of the ways I get paid is through film bonuses. There was no film bonus last year because we didn't release a film in 2014. (This year we're scheduled to release two!)
Another way I get paid is through long-term incentives. These are structured in a way to compensate employees that stick around and help to make the company successful. We used to receive stock options as a long-term incentive, but after Disney's acquisition the incentive scheme changed to one that depends more directly on the financial success of our films.
This month, the final batch of stock options expired – the end of an era! So the source of this month's bonus deposit is cash received from exercising my final batch of stock options...
It is exciting to have funds available for several new purchases! In addition to buying more shares of IBM, I've initiated two new positions. Look for posts on those buys soon.
Of course, I'll be looking to buy more fair-valued dividend growth stocks in the next few weeks. It would be great if readers would share their favorite candidates in the comments. Who knows, maybe I'll buy one of your suggestions!
Which dividend growth stocks do you think are fairly valued right now? What are your top three candidates?
Boom, $10k into the pot! Congrats on your hard working paying off in more ways than one, both now in receiving the cash and going forward as you invest it in assets that will continue to reward you with increased income. Some companies I am watching now are EMR, GE, T, VZ, JNJ, and some others. You've already snagged IBM which is another on the list.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing where you invested the cash!
Hi w2r -- thanks for your kind words. Yes, "spending" some bonus income in this way is a privilege! Thanks for that list of candidates -- all of them seem to be presenting good entry points. I particularly like EMR and T here.
DeleteTake care!
Congrats on the bonus, FerdiS. Looking forward to see where you put that money to work.
ReplyDeletecheers
R2R
Thanks R2R -- I'm a bit behind with my posts about new buys. And I'll be processing Dave Fish's updated CCC list to see which candidates provide the best opportunities now. Then I'll jump on more stocks.
DeleteAwesome Job Ferdis. It's great to find a great career. Makes working to invest that much more easier. A great job is half the battle. Obviously the oil and gas sector is on sale. I will be purchasing for February. CVX / HP / CAT / XOM / COP. I know i'm heavy into oil but over time, things will even out as I put in more money. I have over 30 years timeline.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your journey. Much Love.
Thanks, Dividend Hustler -- its a pleasure to blog about my DGI activities. Keeps me engaged and I really enjoy the interaction with like-minded investors. As you may know, I've added to my CVX shares just recently. And I'm considering adding to my HP shares, too. I also own shares of the others on your list, so I'll need to see if those present good opportunities.
DeleteThanks for sharing that list!
Cheers
FerdiS
Congrats on the bonus! That will go a long way to building up a great stream of passive income!
ReplyDeleteThanks, American Dividend Dream -- I'm happy to be in a position to do these bonus deposits. And investing in dividend growth stocks is a great way to "spend" the money...
DeleteFor US dividends, BLK, GRMN and GPC are on my top. Apple as well, even with the last drop (which could be good for a new buyer! ;-) ). For Canadian, NA, IFC and AGI should be considered! Oil is hitting me hard but there are surely nice stocks picks to make from them right now. Keep us updated!
ReplyDeleteThanks, DivGuy -- those all look like interesting candidates. I think Apple has jumped too high now after that amazing quarterly earnings report. I'm a little behind with my posts, but I'll try to catch up as soon as possible.
DeleteCheers
FerdiS
Very motivating FerdiS! Thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteI really look up to you, not only for the relentless cash depositing, but also your stock choices! I went with BBL and HP last month, but all your other choices are looking also very good! I'm very new to the FI game and I've a lot to learn and I'm thankful for all your insights and posts :)
Small side note: I found your previous Spreadsheet a lot clearer in terms of where are your positions (P/L) at the moment.
Thanks for your comment and kind words... really appreciate them.
ReplyDeleteThere's a very good reason that I changed the spreadsheet -- I want to focus on total return, not on current P/L. DivGro is a longterm investment portfolio. I found myself thinking about and spending too much time concerned about the current state of each holding, rather than looking at each of them from a long term investment perspective point of view.
Certainly, the spreadsheet is more elaborate now. For that reason I'm considering hiding several columns and publishing just the most relevant columns.
Thanks for letting me know how you feel! Appreciate it!
Congrats on the bonus and it is great to see you are going to invest all of it.
ReplyDeleteCheers!
BeSmartRich
Thanks, BeSmartRich -- not really a bonus and not really all of it; nevertheless, its a privilege to be in a position to add capital to DivGro beyond my regular monthly deposits...
DeleteCheers
FerdiS
Wow, nice to have an extra $10k to invest! Fair value stocks on my current wish list are: GE, JNJ, HCP, GSK, ok a top 4 :) Will come back to see what you will decide upcoming weeks.
ReplyDeleteBest Regards!
Hi, Rich Neighbour! Thanks for sharing your choices -- I should have new candidates figured out in about a week. I'm still behind on my posts, so I've got catching up to do.
DeleteCheers
FerdiS
If you are OK investing in MLPs I would recommend you to look at LGCY. It normally traded around 27 a share. Because of oil it dropped to $8 a share and now it is recovering back up again. Compare their distribution and price action during 2008 price drop and during these days drop (in 2008 oil went from $147 to $35 and LGCY from $30 to $6.5, they didn't cut the dividend; today, oil went from ~$120 to $45, LGCY from $32 to $8.5 and they announced they wouldn't cut the dividend). Great deal.
ReplyDeleteLGCY looks interesting (18% yield!) but perhaps is a little to risky for me at this stage. In DivGro, I'm already pretty heavily invested in the energy sector, so I'm a little weary of adding more weight.
DeleteI've invested in a few MLPs for DivGro, and I prefer to double-up on my regular buy amount ($5,000 instead of $2,500) for MLPs. That feels like too much of a commitment on a somewhat risky venture, I think.
Thanks for bringing LGCY to my attention -- its not in the CCC list yet, though it could enter this year with a dividend increase.
Cheers
FerdiS