Portfolio

This portfolio page shows the current holdings in our retirement and taxable brokerage accounts. I also share our forward 12-month investment income, total combined asset allocation, and a chart showing our progress toward financial independence.

Data is current as of June 30th, 2020.

Retirement Account Assets

We have six different retirement accounts, all with Fidelity. They include two traditional IRAs, two Roth IRAs, and two employer-sponsored retirement accounts (a 403(b) and 401(a) with my current employer). 

I select index funds based on cost and finding funds that satisfy my target asset class with the broadest coverage (highest number of holdings). 

Speculative stocks that I own in our retirement accounts are typically long-term growth stocks sourced through research and supplemental subscriptions services such as the Motley Fool Stock Adviser. Read my Motley Fool Stock Adviser review here. 

Here’s a consolidated look at the retirement assets in our six retirement accounts (mobile users, scroll right).

Here’s the same list of assets broken out by retirement account type. Many funds are held among multiple accounts. 

 

Here’s the breakdown of index funds vs. managed funds, cash, and individual growth stocks in our six retirement accounts:

This is another chart further breaking down the asset types:

I prefer to make these charts in Excel. But I do also keep track of my asset allocations in Personal Capital. The software categorizes certain assets differently, which is why the numbers don’t line up exactly. It considers my REIT index funds as alternatives. 

Taxable Dividend Stock Portfolio

My dividend stock portfolio is the primary account that I’ve blogged about since the inception of RBD. Though I’m no longer reporting all of the specific transactions every quarter, I continue to share my portfolio holdings. 

The bulk of this portfolio resides in a taxable account at Fidelity. When the cash balance reaches $1,500-$2,000, I make a new investment to increase shares in an existing holding or initiate a position in a new stock. 

I also own ten stocks in a taxable account at M1 Finance. I invest $500 per month in these ten stocks and reinvest all the dividends. M1 Finance holdings are marked with an asterisks * in the table below. Read my M1 Finance review to understand how pie investing works. 

I select dividend stocks using various lists and valuation metrics. Specific resources I use include the Sure Dividend Newsletter, the Dividend Aristocrats list, and the Dividend CCC list.

Sure Dividend recommends the most undervalued dividend stocks on the first Sunday of every month. I’ve been a subscriber myself for several years now because it helps narrow the universe of stocks I want to own and double checks my own research. 

Use the Sure Dividend coupon code “rbd31off” to save 20% on your annual subscription. 

For guidance on where to invest, see my guide Best Online Brokers for Dividend Reinvestment.

Here’s current taxable dividend portfolio as of October 31st, 2019 (mobile users, scroll right):

Here’s a history of the income my dividend portfolio has received going back to 2015. I’ve organized the data by income by month, per year. 

Forward 12-Month Investment Income (F12MII, aka Forward Passive Income)

Here’s a newly formatted table for calculating forward income. I use this number to measure my passive income investments.

If I stopped earning a salary today, I’d expect to earn the F12MII as passive income in the following 12 months.

 

And here’s the more familiar income received vs. project chart I’ve been updating and sharing since January 2015.

I’ve seen a significant drop in F12MII in the second quarter due to interest rate cuts on savings account. I also had a CD come due in June, reducing my interest on cash deposits from 2.6% down to 1.05%. 

Dividend income, on the other hand, had a strong increase in Q2 2020 thanks to the massive COVID-19 sell-off. 

 

Total Combined Asset Allocation

Combining both my retirement and taxable enables me to look at our broader exposure to the markets. I use these charts to better understand my portfolio for annual rebalancing purposes. 

My target allocation is around 75%-80% stocks, 10%-15% bonds, and 5% (or less) cash.  

Here’s a shot of my current Personal Capital allocation quilt. This view includes alternatives and college savings, so the proportions are off compared to the pie charts above. It consider’s investments such as traded REITs and real estate crowdfunding assets as alternatives. 

Financial Independence Number

Lastly, I measure progress toward financial independence by tracking our annual expenditures and subtracting F12MII. 

Read more about the financial independence number here. 

I multiply that number by 25 to give me a target financial independence number. Once our invested assets (which excludes the equity in our home and college 529 savings) surpass our financial independence number, we’ve reached financial independence.

I also calculate our FI number against net worth. 

Based on the latest numbers, we are 68.70% of the way toward reaching financial independence, a slight increase over Q1 2020. Despite a decrease in F12MII, my retirement accounts are growing, which has increased the red line. 

I recalculate my annual spending in December. Due to COVID-19, I expect a big reduction in spending for 2020, which should help the red line jump in relation to the purple line. 

Photo by lutfi nur fauzi via Unsplash