01-30-2021, 11:46 AM
(01-29-2021, 07:07 PM)fenders53 Wrote: No matter what you do, use DEC 31 as a closeout point for the rule change and future tracking. I would definitely pool my dividends. The justification for DRP is now in the past. I stopped dripping quite some time ago. You have decent income now and it be fun to pick where to put the next share.
Don't beat yourself up for rimming your winners. You are viewing it through bull market glasses. What if you had trimmed a stock like BA just before they started crashing jets, or tech stocks before a hard tech correction?. I would stick to my general rules. Div cutters no longer fit the criteria. You could trim slow growers too but that cuts back on some growthier stocks and the CAP appreciation you've benefitted more from than income growth.
Just have fun, whatever you decide. Build something that won't get crushed in a protracted stagnant economy.
I'm thinking I will let my last two dividends for January reinvest, and then make the switch on Monday. I can then modify the spreadsheet so that going forward I will have another column after my price returns for dividends paid, which can then be used to calculate total return for each position.
From this point forward I plan to hold all the current positions in the portfolio, and then make monthly or bi-monthly adds to bring some of smaller positions up in size, and also to perhaps add some names like APD, AMT, NKE, SHW, TSCO, MED, LHX, etc. that I've watched or own in other accounts but haven't been able to add here.
While I still strongly believe the DRIP is a good way to build long-term wealth, I prefer to be more active and this allows me to do that while also leaving my existing positions alone to grow. No more trimming to rebalance, just let them grow where they may. I've sold off what's turned out to be 36 shares of AAPL and 8 shares of MSFT in the spirit of rebalancing, and that's turned out to be a mistake.