January turned out to be a nice Canadian month of hockey and snowfall. I spent plenty of time on the ice and enjoyed the colder weather.
On the stock market side of the equation, I continued to collect a healthy stream of cash flow from my portfolio.
Table of Contents
Dividend Summary
Passive income flowed inbound from ten Canadian companies, along with one from the US.
CAD Dividends
| Company | CAD Payments ($) | Div Change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Toronto Dominion Bank (TD) | 192.00 | 7.87 |
| RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust (REI-UN) | 22.19 | |
| BCE Inc. (BCE) | 202.40 | |
| Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM) | 20.40 | 2.41 |
| Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS) | 103.00 | |
| TELUS Corporation (T) | 75.49 | 3.69 |
| Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI-B) | 27.50 | |
| Canadian Pacific Railway Limited (CP) | 9.50 | |
| Chartwell Retirement Residence (CSH-UN) | 5.10 | |
| A&W Revenue Royalties Income Fund (AW-UN) | 6.40 |
USD Dividends
| Company | USD Payments ($) |
|---|---|
| PepsiCo, Inc. (PEP) | 9.78 |
| Walmart Inc. (WMT) | 7.14 |
I earned C$663.98 and U$9.78, pairing up for a currency-neutral $673.76. It marks a January-high dividend total for my portfolio. Compared to my dividends from January 2022, this represents a 5.50% boost.
Year To Date Progress
As I add a new bar for tracking monthly progress, I am reminded that this is now my 15th calendar year of investing in dividend growth stocks. It all started with my initial purchase of TD in the midst of the financial crisis in 2009. Since then, I’ve continuously added capital, reinvested dividends, and let companies help out with their organic raises.
At this stage, it feels great to see the consistency of the cash flow across many phases in the market:
No matter what happens to the economy, I should be able to expect predictable, rising dividends.
Market Activity and Cash
I didn’t add any fresh capital in January. I was hoping to get something done, but the market is off to a hot start to the year. Consequently, deals have been less frequent to present themselves.
No matter. I can simply continue to add fresh powder on the sidelines and be ready if we get a pullback.
Interest Rates in Canada
As I write this, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Canada (BoC) just gave a speech on February 16 covering the BoC’s commitment to 2% inflation. In it, he articulated that although Canada’s path back to 2% inflation may look very different from trading partners, this should not be a cause for concern.
Overall, the message of the speech was that the BoC remains committed to hitting the 2% target. They want to get “all the way there”. All the same, other recent remarks do suggest that rate hikes may be on pause in the near term. This should allow some stability to see whether prior increases are having the intended impact.
This chart was provided to outline the inputs to price-setting behaviour for businesses:
We’re in a high-inflation environment, and so the cost pressures both internationally and domestically are weighing most on price-setting. The goal is to get back to a predictable 2% target so that expectations of stable inflation can lead to more predictable business decisions.
Conclusion
It has been a good start to the year. Adding +5% in dividend growth sets the stage for healthy growth throughout the year. I intend to continue reinvesting dividends and adding fresh capital as opportunities permit.
I hope all of you have been enjoying the first phase of 2023 and have plenty of investing of your own on the horizon.
– Ryan
Full Disclosure: TD, REI-UN, BCE, CM, BNS, T, RCI-B, CP, CSH-UN, AW-UN, PEP, WMT
Thanks for the reporting as always.
Appreciate you taking the time to read and comment, MD.
Ryan