Building a stock portfolio can be as simple as buying one ETF or many stocks. The complexity of building a portfolio comes from your goals and comfort with defining your investment strategy.
The theories on building a portfolio are interesting and a starting point, but you need to discover your portfolio. Very few outside of index investors follow one strategy to the letter. Nearly all DIY investors will blend strategies.
My process has evolved since 2009; just be intentional about your investment decisions.
Dividend Income Tracking
| wdt_ID | Year | CAD Dividends | USD Dvidends | Gross Annual Dividend | Gross Monthly Income | Annual Dividend Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2010 | 3,785 | 0 | 3,785 | 315 | |
| 2 | 2011 | 4,674 | 68 | 4,742 | 395 | 25.28 |
| 3 | 2012 | 5,579 | 177 | 5,756 | 480 | 19.14 |
| 4 | 2013 | 5,948 | 347 | 6,295 | 525 | 10.96 |
| 5 | 2014 | 7,740 | 477 | 8,218 | 685 | 29.32 |
| 6 | 2015 | 9,777 | 792 | 10,569 | 881 | 28.45 |
| 7 | 2016 | 11,589 | 1,081 | 12,670 | 1,056 | 19.64 |
| 8 | 2017 | 13,694 | 2,015 | 15,710 | 1,309 | 24.20 |
| 9 | 2018 | 16,089 | 2,923 | 19,013 | 1,584 | 21.21 |
| 10 | 2019 | 16,924 | 7,711 | 24,635 | 2,053 | 24.25 |
| 11 | 2020 | 19,446 | 9,613 | 29,059 | 2,422 | 21.37 |
| 12 | 2021 | 18,151 | 7,883 | 26,034 | 2,170 | -7.96 |
| 13 | 2022 | 23,999 | 8,763 | 32,763 | 2,730 | 25.85 |
| 14 | 2023 | 29,136 | 9,300 | 38,436 | 3,203 | 17.32 |
| 15 | 2024 | 29,905 | 12,336 | 42,241 | 3,520 | 9.90 |
| 16 | *2025 | 46,422 | 3,869 | 9.90 | ||
| 17 | *2026 | 55,351 | 4,613 | 19.23 |
Portfolio Breakdown by Accounts
During the accumulation phase, dividend growth and total return drive my stock selection process. As such, you will see very low-yield stocks that I may not hold in my retirement years.
I put the table below together to give a clear view of my holdings. If you have a high yield, then you have a retirement income portfolio. There is nothing wrong with that if that’s what you need, but know your income growth to keep up with inflation.
| wdt_ID | Dividend | No Growth | < 6% Growth | > 6% Growth | > 10% Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | None | 6.90 | 0.00 | 0.62 | 0.00 |
| 3 | Yield < 2% | 5.49 | 0.00 | 13.19 | 47.54 |
| 4 | Yield > 2% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 11.71 | 4.64 |
| 5 | Yield > 4% | 0.00 | 0.00 | 6.26 | 0.00 |
| 7 | Yield > 6% | 2.53 | 0.00 | 1.12 | 0.00 |
The accounts below represent holdings across my stock porfolio and the spousal equivalent. For now, my accounts are with RBC Direct Investing and Questrade.
The annual ROR is calculated using a portfolio tracker for a money-weighted return comparison. If your broker provides you with a money-weighted ROR, you can compare yours to my return.
| Accounts | ROR | Yield |
|---|---|---|
| Computershare | 12.52 | 5.62 |
| Portfolio | 13.30 | 2.10 |
| RBC | 9.64 | 14.83 |
| RBC-S | 12.94 | 4.69 |
| RRSP | 17.13 | 0.71 |
| RRSP-S | 13.60 | 0.90 |
| TFSA | 12.75 | 0.71 |
| TFSA-S | 15.16 | 2.30 |
The details of my stock portfolio are outlined below, and you can easily see the sector exposure.
As you know, I don’t put much weight on sector diversification as there are too many businesses now overlapping. Take Disney for example, it’s a communication services company now. Visa is a financial company but it’s really a technology company at the end of the day. Industries are more representative of risk. Check out these dividend income reports for the details.
Updated: April 6, 2025