September 2020 Dividend Income

Summer ended nearly 2 weeks ago and it has become abundantly clear as we just experienced our first overnight freeze here in Central Wisconsin.

In just a few more weeks, we'll likely be experiencing our first snowfall, which will usher in 5 months of unpredictable winter weather!

With that aside, I'll be delving into the intent of this blog post, which is to examine the dividends that I collected during the month of September.

Analysis:

During the month of September, I received $139.46 in net dividends against the $136.28 in dividends that I collected in June 2020, which represents a 2.3% quarterly growth rate.

Even more impressive, is the fact that the $139.46 in net dividends received during the month represents a 99.2% YoY growth rate compared to the $70.00 in dividends collected in September 2019.

Delving into more detail, I received $64.03 in dividends from 20 companies within my Robinhood portfolio net of the $5.00 in Robinhood Gold fees and $2.75 in Robinhood Gold margin costs. I collected $11.30 in dividends from 6 companies within my Webull portfolio. I also collected $63.66 in dividends from my CAIBX mutual fund holding within my employer-sponsored retirement account. Finally, I received $0.47 in dividends from 24 companies within my M1 Finance portfolio.

The additional $3.18 in net dividend income from June 2020 to September came as a result of the following activity within my portfolios:

The dividends that I received from my position in BP Plc (BP) declined $3.46 as a result of BP's recent dividend cut.

I also received an additional $0.04 in dividends from my position in J.M. Smucker (SJM) due to its recent dividend increase.

I received $3.28 less in dividends from my position in Wells Fargo (WFC) as a result of its recent dividend cut.

I received $6.98 in additional dividends as a result of continued contributions to my CAIBX mutual fund holding within my retirement account.

I benefited from $2.91 less in Robinhood margin costs as a result of my commitment to reducing my Robinhood margin used down to $1,000 (as the first $1,000 of margin used is interest free).

My M1 Finance dividend income fell $0.01, which was as a result of BP's dividend cut.

Concluding Thoughts:

September marked yet another record month in terms of dividend income, which is really what the harnessing of DGI in the pursuit of financial independence is all about!

Despite the challenges that COVID-19 have posed for me from a dividend standpoint and the fact that dividend announcements this year have resulted in roughly a 7% decline in my annual forward dividends, my annual forward dividends are currently at a record $1,270 at the time that I am writing this post.

This just goes to show how powerful the DGI strategy is when the three aspects of it are utilized (i.e. fresh capital investment, dividend growth, and dividend reinvestment) even in the middle of the most challenging business environment arguably in most of our lives.

I am looking forward to soon once again resuming my ~$1,500/month capital deployment schedule beginning next month, which I am confident will really begin to advance my annual forward dividends in the most meaningful way since I began investing in September 2017.

Discussion: 

How was your September in terms of dividend income?

Did your portfolio's dividend cuts show themselves for the first time in September as was the case for mine with BP and WFC?

I'm grateful for your readership and welcome your comments in the comment section below!