2017 Q2 is coming to an end and my mutual funds have payed out their dividends. It's time for me to take stock of the progress I have made in 2017 Q2 and the way ahead. Since, I own mutual funds my dividends are on quarterly basis. So, this post also doubles up for my June dividend update.
2017 Q2 dividends (from Vanguard):
| Fund | Dividend |
|---|---|
| S&P 500 Fund | $47.888 |
| Dividend Fund | $2.244 |
| High Yield Fund | $3.097 |
| REIT Fund | $4.781 |
| International Fund | $64.454 |
| Value Fund | $3.686 |
| Money Market | $0.150 |
| Bond Fund | $7.550 |
| Total | $133.85 |
My dividends hit the three figure mark (on a per quarter basis) for the very first time. I am super excited about this achievement. Secondly, I have been successful in diversifying my portfolio thanks to holding ETFs. I still don't own any stocks. I might start adding some next quarter.
Quarter On Quarter (QOQ):
| Quarter | Dividend | % Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 Q2 | $24.33 | 0.0% |
| 2016 Q2 | $73.29 | 201.23% |
| 2017 Q2 | $133.85 | 82.63% |
To be honest I had doubts about beating 2016 Q2, why? 2016 Q2 was by far my best quarter till now. I had 200% jump in dividends in 2016 Q2. At some point I realized that I might actually get more dividends in 2017 Q2, but I did not expect it to be up by 82.63%. Sustained investing helps for sure. Keep investing small amounts regularly and over a period of time you should start seeing your dividends grow up. Again, I am very happy with the increase in my dividends, could it have been higher? sure!. But, I am happy I am on the right direction.
Dividend Increase (QOQ):
Expected: I did an dividend estimation based on the dividends given out in 2016 Q2 for each of the mutual fund / ETF that I own.
Actual: Actual dividend I received in 2017 Q2.
Good news is that there was an increase in dividend from every fund / ETF I owned. Some where very small the others were more sizable. What matters is the direction and fortunately all of them have been going up.
Dividend Diversification
Interesting to note that in spite of my portfolio being predominantly in US mutual funds a sizable chunk of dividends have come from my international funds. International funds have an awesome yield. But, I am not sure about the reliability of the dividends. We will have to wait and see.
BTW, I shattered another goal on my way. My 2017 (Q1+Q2) dividends have now shot past my 2016 (full year) dividends. Woohoo!!
Wow, congrats on your achievements. Two huge milestones in the same month. Breaking the $100 in a month is impressive and halfway though the year beating out your whole last year is amazing. Keep that growth rate up! Nowhere to go from here but up!
ReplyDeleteThanks DD. Yup full steam ahead :-)
DeleteCongrats Geek. You definitely should be proud of crossing the 3 digit threshold. I haven't even made it to $200 a year let alone cross $100 for a quarter.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's awesome that your actual dividends exceeded the expected dividends for each fund in your portfolio. That's an impressive report.
The values don't matter as much as the direction. Getting started is very important. FYI, my dividend in 2015 was 135. Keep investing & saving ... Your dividends will start going up.
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