One last Stock purchase in 2020

Stock Purchase – Nexus Reit

Today I made what will most likely be my final stock purchase of the year. I wasn’t planning on buying anything today but had a bit of cash in the TFSA and decided to take a look at a REIT I had been following on and off for a while. The price had fallen into my target price range, and I thought what the hell, let’s end the year off with one last stock purchase.

Nexus REIT

Nexus REIT was formed when two former reit’s merged (Edgefront & Nobel). It currently trades on the TSX Venture exchange. The reason I started following Nexus was because I was actually a holder of Edgefront Reit for a couple of years before they merged. I sold off my shares before Nexus was created. If I recall correctly, I bought the Edgefront shares when they dipped to about $1.50 and sold them for $2.00 after a couple of years. Over those years I also collected the 8% dividend. Not too shabby.

Much like it’s predecessor Nexus has been trading in the $2.00-$2.20 range, and recently dipped to $1.90. It pays a hefty 8.37% dividend which is fully covered by AFFO even during the pandemic. The last time I checked the payout ratio was 82.4%. Recently Nexus Reit has made a couple of acquisitions paid for partly with cash, and partly with shares (with the shares being valued between $2-$2.20 on these deals). Morningstar also gives it a fair value of $2.12.

Nexus Reit has both office, industrial and retail spaces but plans to focus more on industrial going forward. This should help the stock price as well, as industrial Reits are all the rage right now. I believe the stock price has been beaten up because they are being labelled/priced mostly as a retail/office REIT instead of industrial. That said, over 60% of their retail spaces are occupied by solid tenants such as: Canadian Tire, Metro & Dollarama. They have also maintained occupancy rates close to 95% during the pandemic. I don’t expect huge capital appreciation of the stock price, but a slow and steady climb back to $2.00 and beyond is okay by me, especially as I can sit and collect the 8.37% dividend. Nexus Reit also has a conservative debt/total asset ratio of 47.7%. They have grown their total funds from operations year over year as well. I expect this to continue as we come out the pandemic hopefully by the end of 2021.

One last reason I purchased this stock is that they have recently been approved to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Once they get moved over they could get some support/noticed by a few of the bigger institutional investors who don’t typically (or aren’t allowed) to buy stocks on the venture exchange. They’ve been approved for a 4 to 1 stock consolidation for when they move over to the big boy exchange. That said, even if the move to the TSX doesn’t give the stock price a bump – I am completely happy to hold it and collect my dividend until the stock price gets back to fair value.

Stock Purchase & Future Dividends

I picked up 1087 shares of Nexus Reit at a price of $1.90 per share. This purchase will add $173.49 to my annual dividend income (Tax Free) and at the current share price allow me to drip 7 new shares each month. At the end of the day, this wasn’t a huge purchase, but every little bit helps get closer to achieving the goal of having dividends cover all my expenses.

Pisco Sour

Cocktail Recipe Ideas

It’s Friday night, I just put the kids to bed and I am flipping through the Death & Co cocktail book to see if I can get inspired. My go to drinks lately have been Boulevardier’s and Negroni’s (likely because I recently got a bottle of Carpano Antica vermouth which is so god damned delicious).

I remembered we had some lemons I needed to use up, so my first thought was either a Sazerac or a Whisky Sour, but then I flipped the page and saw “Pisco Sour” and I remembered my brother had brought me back a little mini bottle (2 oz) of Soldeica Pisco from his trip to Peru a few years ago. The bottle has just been sitting on my bar shelf, so I figured what the hell, let’s do it!

Pisco Sour Recipe

The recipe itself I used is my go to whiskey sour recipe, I just swapped out the Whisk(e)y for Pisco.

-2 oz Pisco
– 0.5-0.75 oz simple syrup – depending on how sweet you like it
-Juice from half a lemon
– Egg white (1 oz)

Dry shake (no ice). Add ice and shake again. Strain into whatever glass you prefer – I like the coupe for most shaken drinks without ice cubes. Add a few dashes of Angostura bitters on top.

Drink & Enjoy.

Being a bourbon man, I still prefer the classic Whisky sour – but this was a nice change of pace, and I’d definitely make it again – all I need is my brother to take another trip to Peru and bring me some Pisco back…haha

Cheers

Top investment sites for 2021

Another year has come and gone – although this particular year feels like it’s dragged on for a decade. I think I speak for most of the world when I say I cannot wait for this dumpster fire of a year to be over. Although I don’t expect 2021 to be a complete return to the norm – I am hopeful we will start to see things slowly open back up, and there is definitely a lot of promising news on the vaccine front.

Two years ago I created a list of some of my favourite Canadian investment blogs, which a lot of people seemed to like. I didn’t do one last year, but decided I’d create a new list (with some familiar names, and a few new ones). This year has been so ridiculous that I haven’t put nearly as much time into updating this site, or reading other sites, but I still spend a lot of time on twitter which I believe is a great way to consume a lot of info a short period of time. On that note -I’ll include twitter accounts to follow that I highly recommend as well.

While this year will still be quite heavily focused on Canadian Investing websites(since the majority of my investing/research is focused on Canadian Equities) – I will be including a few friends from down south and overseas as well. Okay enough blabbering. Here is my list (in no particular order) of the top Investments sites & twitter personalities to follow in 2021!

Top Investing Websites for 2021

My Own Advisor:

Great for both beginners and advanced investors. The site is largely focused on building wealth over time, does in depth reviews of ETFs & Stocks and shares his portfolio/journey. Mark has been around for quite some time and was one of the first Canadian Investing Sites I started reading. He is also very active on twitter, and like me enjoys beer, whisky and hockey!
Website: https://www.myownadvisor.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/myownadvisor

All About The Dividends

Matt from All About The Dividends is another Canadian investor about the same age as me. What I like most about Matt is his openness in sharing his portfolio and thoughts behind his investment decisions. Matt may also be the most positive and encouraging person you will ever find on twitter.
Website: https://allaboutthedividends.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AllAboutTheDivi

Dividend Diplomats

Bert & Lanny are the two diplomats behind the site. They are the first non Canadian investors on my list, but they deserve to be mentioned. I enjoy reading their site for a few reason:
-to get some ideas on non Canadian dividend (USA) stocks
– to check up on their portfolios (which they share freely)
– to read my favorite posts each month- when they highlight other investors passive income journeys
They have also recently launched a youtube channel.
Website: https://www.dividenddiplomats.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DvdndDiplomats

Fi Garage

The boys in the garage are great fun. They discuss everything from personal finance, investing, tax efficiencies and more. They do this on their website, twitter as well as their podcast (they had me on as a guest earlier this year). You can check out that episode HERE. Another reason I love listening to these guys, is they are very down to earth, and along with discussing finance on each podcast, they also have a beer (or bourbon) and discuss those as well.

Website: https://figarage.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/FI_Garage

Cheesy Finance

Another non Canadian site to add to the list. Cheesy Finance chronicles the journey of a young dutch as they pursue F.I.R.E. The site has sections in both English & Dutch, and they are very active on twitter as well. Cheesy also enjoys beer – and likes to taunt us on twitter with his superior beer collection.
Website: https://cheesyfinance.nl/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CheesyFinance

Stock Trades

If you are looking for info on some of the top Canadian Dividend stocks to invest in – look no further than StockTrades. Dan & Mat continually put out quality articles, Canadian stock picks and more. They are also both super active and helpful on twitter as well. Give the site a read – and give the boys a follow!
Website: https://www.stocktrades.ca/
Twitter(s): https://twitter.com/matlitalien & https://twitter.com/StockTrades_CA

Koneko Research

This is a site I was just recently introduced to, but I am glad I was. The in depth coverage on Canadian REITS is fantastic. They first got my attention when I read their pieces on Sandpiper/Artis Reit. They don’t post new updates as often as I’d like, but when they do they are very in depth. They are active on twitter as well.
Website: https://konekoresearch.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KonekoResearch

The Stinky Stonk Market

Need a laugh? Look no further than the Stonk Market. Picture the onion if it only focused on investing and finance. Admittedly I don’t visit the website that often – but I laugh out loud to myself a few times a week just reading their tweets. So if you need a break from doing stock screeners, fundamental or technical analysis of stocks – then give them a read.

Website: https://thestonkmarket.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/thestinkmarket

GEN Y MONEY

Gen Y makes the list again for good reason. Her site focuses a lot more on the personal finance side of things (credit card rewards, budgeting, etc and is also a great resource for new investors starting out). We also own a lot of the same stocks and I like to have friendly competitions with her about who is earning more in dividend income. *Spoiler Alert* She is kicking my ass!
Website: https://www.genymoney.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/genymoneyca

Cut The Crap Investing

Dale from Cut The Crap Investing is quickly becoming very well known in the Canadian personal finance space. He contributes to Moneysense, Million Dollar Journey and Seeking Alpha. He is a champion of low cost ETF’s (he probably cringes to know I pay 1.4% MER on a Canadian Mutual Fund) and is always willing to share his thoughts on stocks and suggestions on twitter.
Website: https://cutthecrapinvesting.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/67Dodge

Passive Canadian Income

Rob from Passive Canadian Income seems like one of the guys in the online personal finance community that I’d most likely wanna go grab a beer with. He is super down to earth, very open about his financial journey and has multiple streams of income including dividends, solar power & a private investment which pays him a nice sum each month. His taste in beer is definitely lacking – but I am sure he will grow up one day.

Website: https://www.passivecanadianincome.ca/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PassiveCndIncom

Canadian Value Stocks

Tyler from Canadian Value stocks is one of the few sites who continually puts out quality, in depth article and deep dives on specific stocks. One thing I love about his site is how clean/to the point it is – it’s just straight down to business. Nothing fancy – just quality stock analysis. He focuses on Canadian stocks, and is very knowledgeable about the Canadian REIT sector.

Website: http://www.canadianvaluestocks.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cdnvaluestocks

TAWCAN

Bob from TAWCAN (which is short for Taiwanese Canadian) is another Canadian finance site with topics ranging from dividend stocks, ETFS, F.I.R.E and more. His website is another great resource for people wanting to learn more about investing in Canada. He also shares his monthly dividend income – which is very impressive!

Website: https://www.tawcan.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tawcan

Although I am not superstitious….I dont think I’ll leave the list at 13 – instead I’ll add a few more dividend investing & personal finance twitter accounts you should definitely follow!

Dividend Investor: https://twitter.com/DividInvestor
Million Dollar Journey: https://twitter.com/FrugalTrader
Dividend Growth Investor: https://twitter.com/DividendGrowth
The Dividend Guy: https://twitter.com/TheDividendGuy
Dividend Growth Investing & Retirement: https://twitter.com/DGIandR
A Lawyer Her Money: https://twitter.com/alawyerhermoney
Roadmap 2 Retire: https://twitter.com/Roadmap2Retire
Nelson/Canadian Dividend Investing: https://twitter.com/thenelsonsmith

I am always looking for new content to consume – so if you have any recommendations of investing blogs or twitter accounts that focus on Canadian Dividend Stocks, or Canadian Equities – please let me know in the comments.

Cheers!

November 2020: portfolio milestone & Unicorns edition

Dividend Income & Portfolio Update

Personal Highlights – November 2020

My city of Winnipeg is officially in lockdown. Gatherings outside your household are not allowed. Truth be told this hasn’t changed much for us, since we weren’t doing any socializing for the last 9 months or so (besides the occasional grandparent visit)
I’m not sure why but I’ve gotten on a bit of a fitness kick lately. Starting slowly, but I’ve been running about 5-7 km each day, doing some light weights and eating better. It’s only been a couple of weeks but I’m down 5lbs already! I’ve also drank more water in the last 2 weeks than I think I have in the last 4 months.. I’ve greatly reduced my alcohol intake this month as well – as I am trying to just drink on the weekends now…we will see how long that lasts.
November was my daughter’s FIFTH birthday. I cannot believe how fast she is growing up…Unfortunately due to Covid 19 we couldn’t do any sort of party, but we had a lot of outside visitors stop by and drop off presents..and as always my sister in law made an absolutely gorgeous cake which she dropped off. Holland said she wanted a rainbow unicorn cake – so VOILA:
Speaking of Unicorns…I found one too (or should I say two)! As I mentioned last month the Manitoba Liquor Mart held its yearly fine & rare whiskey release lottery. I couldn’t believe my luck when both my mom and brother won a bottle for me! The crazy thing is they won the SAME bottle! For the uninitiated George T Stagg bourbon is insanely rare/hard to find and super sought after. In fact you need to win a lottery just for the chance to buy it. The MSRP was “only” $175, but it resells for in 6-10 times that. That said, I have no intentions on selling these and will definitely be saving them for a special occasion or two.

Financial Highlights for November:

November marks the second straight month with no new purchases. I have continued to contribute bi weekly into both my TFSA & spousal RRSP. I am okay with holding onto a bit of a cash position right now as things seem insanely overvalued.
November is a very slow month as far as dividends go. I was paid dividends from 5 companies, and 1 fund this month. I dripped a total of 35 new shares/units.
On the plus side, my portfolio hit an ALL TIME HIGH this month and cracked $400,000 for the first time!
Some more positive news: A few of my longer term holdings are finally starting to show their value. All of; Intertape Polymer Group, Transcontinental and Artis Reit are getting closer to their true value. I also hope/expect Western Forest to reinstate the dividend in 2021.
December should be a relatively small month as well before a big January (when XAW pays its distribution). I am hopeful that my RBC Canadian Equity Fund & RBC US Equity Funds will both pay a year end distribution in December.

Passive Income Update For November 2020.

TFSA’S:

Artis Reit: $36.50 (dripped 3 shares)

European Residential Reit: $7.78(dripped 1 share)

Plaza Reit: 30.84 (Dripped 8 Shares)

Diversified Royalty: $23.89 (dripped 10 new shares)

Interrent Reit: $4.29

TFSA’s Total: $103.30

RRSP:

Canadian Equity Income Distribution: $360.46(dripped 13 shares)

Total Passive Income November 2020: $463.76

Portfolio Update:

My portfolio increased a whopping 12.05% in November to: $418,576.77! My previous portfolio high was back in January when it was $377,000. It’s nice to see almost everything in the green and some big gains, but I am still expecting some sort of pull back to numbers that make sense. That said, I’ve been expecting that for a while now, but they keep printing money and lowering rates..so who knows what will happen.

Since January 1st, I’ve earned $9967.82 in passive income. Assuming no dividend cuts or increases, my current Forward 12 month dividend income is $12,157.85. My goal for the year was finish 2020 with a forward dividend income of $12,000 – so assuming no more cuts, mission accomplished! I’m still working on a goal that is large but attainable for 2021, I am leaning towards $15,000 in dividend income.

Cheers.