I've been conspicuously absent here and neglectful updating this thread. Since there's been some changes around the edges, and we're not getting any younger, thought I'd add some notes on what was done.
First, my wife's portfolio. I'll just mention the changes and reasoning. I'm not going to bother with looking up the dates and actual pricing since I'm pretty busy in my new hometown. Before I write about it, I thought I'd add some background which may make my strategy(?) a little clearer.
This is the year my wifemourns celebrates her 60th birthday. Wow, that went fast. I think reality finally hit her when she got her printed Social Security statement in the mail. That showed 6 years and 6 months to "full retirement age" and, after she looked at her estimates on the statement, I think I've got her convinced to try to make it to that point before filing for SS. As a side note, I thankfully have got a couple centuries before I hit this point. 
On the plus side, her estimated benefit is higher that what I've been modeling in our retirement spreadsheet. On the negative side, we found the SSA didn't have the correct information for a couple years of earnings from a few years ago. It appears they never got the amended returns information and one year was totally missing. So, once the corrections are finally entered, I'm guessing she'll have a slightly higher estimated monthly benefit.
Note to everyone: if you're not old enough to get the annual statements in the mail (59+), go create an account at SSA.GOV and download your latest statement. Then check your earnings history.
Now to her portfolio ...
Shortly after I got rid of my BXLT, I did the same for her. I can't tell you specifically what I did with that cash. I'm pretty sure I spread it around with some current holdings and for one of the new purchases I'll talk about in a minute.
For several years, we both held INTC in our portfolios. QCOM was taking a battering about their loss of Samsung phone processor business and other parts of the business seemed under pressure. Since I've had an interest in QCOM since the dot.com days (and actually made a small profit of it in the late 90s), I thought I had an opportunity to add a little more growth to her portfolio and diversify our silicon/IP holdings in the technology sector. I felt QCOM was mature enough to not be forced on the ropes for long and with Mr. Market offering a 4+% yield, swapped out her INTC holding for QCOM. Accompanying the swap was a little bump to her income stream too.
I finally gave up on COP with the oil market not really offering any clarity on where we were heading for the next couple years. We had already taken a big hit with the dividend cut but didn't feel like it would be fair to her to continue holding when there were other opportunities around. That cash, along with some of her cash from the BXLT sale went into AMGN when the entire biotech sector went into the dumper.
Despite MSFT climbing above the $50 mark, I've really taken a shine to Nadella's refocusing of their primary strategy -- Azure & the cloud. They still have a good balance sheet, have goosed the dividend the last couple years and are continuing development of their cash cows; the Windows and Microsoft Office platforms. With that, I added MSFT to the portfolio when it dipped back to the $50 range. Not where I wanted it at but a fair price nonetheless.
Dividends and some contributions had built up and I needed a place to put it. Just like everyone else, I've pretty much run dry on finding bargains and even many fairly valued opportunities. So, I decided to add a cash machine to her portfolio that still is not grossly overvalued. T is still offering around a 4.5% yield and is making small moves in Mexico, pushing DirectTV to become the entertainment delivery system of choice and pushing the Uverse platform. Around my new home, judging by the WiFi networks default SSIDs (network names), Uverse is in the majority. With that, I added a partial position in T to bolster the income stream.
The latest move was exiting her position in HCP. I still like their diversification across medical sectors but the upcoming spinoff of the Manor Care properties has made the future a little more murky. Since I've already given her hits with COP and ESV, I didn't think it fair to subject her to a HCP hit with so few years in the accumulation phase left for her. I replaced it almost immediately with Welltower (HCN) when I put in a limit order slightly below where they've traded for the last 3 months. The swap barely put a dent in the income stream and I like HCN's focus more on private pay facilities versus the government pay issues.
Yes, we're still holding ESV. If we were to sell, the proceeds would barely be worth the trouble. We'll hold it for a little longer as the oil market seems to be slowly stumbling into a more stable footing.
I've taken most of her holdings off DRIP although there are a couple issues we're still reinvesting. The utility sector is slowly coming back down to realistic values but we're still waiting for better entry prices so we can add to LNT and SO. Still juggling on which ute will be added as a third position once the sector returns to the "real world".
Below is my standard graph to show where we stand today:
First, my wife's portfolio. I'll just mention the changes and reasoning. I'm not going to bother with looking up the dates and actual pricing since I'm pretty busy in my new hometown. Before I write about it, I thought I'd add some background which may make my strategy(?) a little clearer.
This is the year my wife
On the plus side, her estimated benefit is higher that what I've been modeling in our retirement spreadsheet. On the negative side, we found the SSA didn't have the correct information for a couple years of earnings from a few years ago. It appears they never got the amended returns information and one year was totally missing. So, once the corrections are finally entered, I'm guessing she'll have a slightly higher estimated monthly benefit.
Note to everyone: if you're not old enough to get the annual statements in the mail (59+), go create an account at SSA.GOV and download your latest statement. Then check your earnings history.
Now to her portfolio ...
Shortly after I got rid of my BXLT, I did the same for her. I can't tell you specifically what I did with that cash. I'm pretty sure I spread it around with some current holdings and for one of the new purchases I'll talk about in a minute.
For several years, we both held INTC in our portfolios. QCOM was taking a battering about their loss of Samsung phone processor business and other parts of the business seemed under pressure. Since I've had an interest in QCOM since the dot.com days (and actually made a small profit of it in the late 90s), I thought I had an opportunity to add a little more growth to her portfolio and diversify our silicon/IP holdings in the technology sector. I felt QCOM was mature enough to not be forced on the ropes for long and with Mr. Market offering a 4+% yield, swapped out her INTC holding for QCOM. Accompanying the swap was a little bump to her income stream too.
I finally gave up on COP with the oil market not really offering any clarity on where we were heading for the next couple years. We had already taken a big hit with the dividend cut but didn't feel like it would be fair to her to continue holding when there were other opportunities around. That cash, along with some of her cash from the BXLT sale went into AMGN when the entire biotech sector went into the dumper.
Despite MSFT climbing above the $50 mark, I've really taken a shine to Nadella's refocusing of their primary strategy -- Azure & the cloud. They still have a good balance sheet, have goosed the dividend the last couple years and are continuing development of their cash cows; the Windows and Microsoft Office platforms. With that, I added MSFT to the portfolio when it dipped back to the $50 range. Not where I wanted it at but a fair price nonetheless.
Dividends and some contributions had built up and I needed a place to put it. Just like everyone else, I've pretty much run dry on finding bargains and even many fairly valued opportunities. So, I decided to add a cash machine to her portfolio that still is not grossly overvalued. T is still offering around a 4.5% yield and is making small moves in Mexico, pushing DirectTV to become the entertainment delivery system of choice and pushing the Uverse platform. Around my new home, judging by the WiFi networks default SSIDs (network names), Uverse is in the majority. With that, I added a partial position in T to bolster the income stream.
The latest move was exiting her position in HCP. I still like their diversification across medical sectors but the upcoming spinoff of the Manor Care properties has made the future a little more murky. Since I've already given her hits with COP and ESV, I didn't think it fair to subject her to a HCP hit with so few years in the accumulation phase left for her. I replaced it almost immediately with Welltower (HCN) when I put in a limit order slightly below where they've traded for the last 3 months. The swap barely put a dent in the income stream and I like HCN's focus more on private pay facilities versus the government pay issues.
Yes, we're still holding ESV. If we were to sell, the proceeds would barely be worth the trouble. We'll hold it for a little longer as the oil market seems to be slowly stumbling into a more stable footing.
I've taken most of her holdings off DRIP although there are a couple issues we're still reinvesting. The utility sector is slowly coming back down to realistic values but we're still waiting for better entry prices so we can add to LNT and SO. Still juggling on which ute will be added as a third position once the sector returns to the "real world".
Below is my standard graph to show where we stand today:
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“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan
“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan
