Portfolio - Dec 2013

We are coming close to year-end and like for every dividend blogger out there, it is also time for me to review my portfolio and draw some conclusions:

- Total collected dividends in 2013: EUR 406
- Expected dividends for 2014: EUR 539
- Current book value: EUR 9,842
- Current gain in market value (MV): EUR 539.

There have not been any changes to the portfolio in comparison to Jun 2013 except for some trading activity on part of K+S and Realty Income. Realty was added to the portfolio in early December and in my view, it was attractively priced at EUR 29 (see latest post). My K+S exposure was reduced yesterday as it represented the largest position of the portfolio and was simply over-weighted given its price collapse in 2013. I sold 17 stocks at a price of EUR 22.25 and incurred a loss of EUR 189.

One can always argue whether waiting for a full recovery is the better strategy, but I concluded that I do not have any clear insight into the fertilizer market and that the chances of the market to find back to its cartel-like structure are difficult to assess. The fact that the conflict between Uralkali (Russia) and Belaruskali (Belarus) has also a political dimension does not make this assessment easier. I am convinced that the current exposure of EUR 1,000 fits much better to my overall portfolio.

I can well imagine following the same approach for E.on as well, but at the moment I still see more potential for this one, even if it might take considerable time to unlock it.

Intel is another candidate which could be worth selling. Not only would I incur a profit of +17%, but I could also replace it with a more stable company with similar yield like Philip Morris for example.

Clear winner this year is Deutsche Post which almost doubled (+91%) in value since beginning of 2012. I expect the dividend to be raised from EUR 0.70 to EUR 0.75 which is well in line with the concept of dividend growth investing.

Overall portfolio yield stands at 5.48%, slightly lower compared to the 5.69% as per June 2013. This is mostly due to the forecasted reduction of the K+S dividend and the USD/SGD/GBP depreciation against the EUR which had some negative impact on dividend distributions of Intel, TICC, SingTel and Royal Dutch Shell.

What are my goals for 2014? This is simple:

1. Write more articles
2. Closely monitor the market situation
3. Further grow the portfolio by 3-5 investments
4. Be patient and wait for the right investments

Happy new year to everyone! :-)