Welcome to my first post of 2021. Again the investing world continues to surprise us with plenty of confusion. First we saw markets take off to start the month, followed by government printing, confusing gold prices and the small traders stick it to some hedge funds who are shorting businesses that more than likely are on the verge of bankruptcy. Pretty crazy times and I’ll get into my dividends, market opinion, purchases and what I’m watching closely as we enter into this year. Here are a couple things we have been up to even with the lockdowns going on.

  • I was able to accomplish reading 3 books in January which is more than I read in 6 months last year.
  • Got the little ones on the ice.
  • Wrapped up my staycation time and went back to work.
  • C & Z went back to School.
  • Z’s online dance started back up.
  • Set our 2021 goals, click here for a peak. We do this every year and really helps to stay on track!
Maria and Z enjoying some skating
C, well he’s working on it
Felt great to be on the ice

Portfolio details:

A good way to gauge your portfolio is against an index. I generally compare it to the TSX as most of the portfolio is part of that. The TSX ended 2020 at 17,433 at the end of January it was at 17,337. This is a slight decrease of 0.50%. Our portfolio increased 3% which is a great start. Currently were 66% Bluechip, 33% growth and only 1% cash. We will be starting to fund the TFSAs for the 2021 calendar year to give us some cash on hand as I see opportunity coming over the next little bit with Covid dragging on.

Quick trades:

Bought Solr.vn 2500@$0.20 sold 2500 @$0.28

Please note: I only do this with companies I’m comfortable holding for a long period of time.

Sold:

Sold full position in Brookfield Property Partners

Who is BPY-UN:

Brookfield Property Partners, through Brookfield Property Partners L.P. and its subsidiary Brookfield Property REIT Inc., is one of the world’s premier real estate companies, with approximately $88 billion in total assets. We own and operate iconic properties in the world’s major markets, and our global portfolio includes office, retail, multifamily, logistics, hospitality, self-storage, triple net lease, manufactured housing and student housing. Brookfield Property Partners is the flagship listed real estate company of Brookfield Asset Management Inc., a leading global alternative asset manager with over $540 billion in assets under management. 

My why:

Brookfield Asset Management and Institutional Partners Propose to Acquire 100% of the Units of Brookfield Property Partners Not Owned by Brookfield for $5.9 Billion. This was very telling to me, what it most likely means is if they didn’t go this route more than likely the juicy dividend would have to be cut. I didn’t want to hold BAM as the dividend isn’t no where near the same yield.

Bought:

Added to our Fortis position in the kids RESP by purchasing 25 shares @$51.18

Who is FTS.TO:

Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 429,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 97,000 retail customers in Arizona’s Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,143 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,041,000 residential, commercial and industrial and transportation customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 568,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 140 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 66,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 269,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John’s, Canada.

My why:

I personally believe that every investor should own Fortis in their portfolio. Over 95% of Fortis earnings are regulated which brings support to the stock price. They have increased the dividend for 48 straight years with their most recent increase of 5.8% in September 2020 , current dividend of 3.91%. With this purchase this will increase our yearly dividend by roughly $50.

Opened a position in Nuvei Corporation by purchasing 22 shares @ 66.39

Who is NVEI.TO

Nuvei Corporation provides payment technology solutions to merchants and partners in North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It provides Native Commerce Platform, a cloud-based platform for accepting payments across mobile or in-app, online, unattended, and in-store channels. The company offers its products through direct sales, independent sales agents, e-commerce resellers, independent software vendors, value-added resellers, payment facilitators, and online marketplaces. Nuvei Corporation was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada.

My Why:

Nuvei went public last year and the stock has been rising at an impressive rate. Their business model is very similar to LSPD. For those that don’t know Nuvei has over 50,000 clients operating across 200 markets. It supports 450 different payment modes and 150 currencies. With online payment taking the world by storm Nuvei has done a great job capitalizing on this, they also supports in-store and unattended payments. Over the past several months single sports betting is already legal in 3 states, (10 or more and Canada to follow sometime in late 2021) this will be big for Nuvei as they are already tied to many online Casinos. Although they went public in 2020 they are set to actually profit in 2021 which is impressive for any company that quickly. Covid is only helping a company like Nuvei as more and more businesses join the online world.

Opened up a position in Enbridge by purchasing 80 @ $41.60

Who is ENB.TO:

Enbridge Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company. The company operates through five segments: Liquids Pipelines, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Gas Distribution and Storage, Renewable Power Generation, and Energy Services. The Liquids Pipelines segment operates pipelines and related terminals to transport various grades of crude oil and other liquid hydrocarbons in Canada and the United States. The Gas Transmission and Midstream segment invests in natural gas pipelines, and gathering and processing facilities in Canada and the United States. The Gas Distribution and Storage segment is involved in natural gas utility operations serving residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Ontario, as well as natural gas distribution and energy transportation activities in Quebec. The Renewable Power Generation segment operates power generating assets, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and waste heat recovery facilities; and transmission assets in North America and Europe. The Energy Services segment provides energy marketing services to refiners, producers, and other customers; and physical commodity marketing and logistical services in Canada and the United States. The company was formerly known as IPL Energy Inc. and changed its name to Enbridge Inc. in October 1998. Enbridge Inc. was founded in 1949 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

My why:

Enbridge stock price has yet to recover to pre covid prices. In my mind they are being treated as an oil company and this isn’t exactly true. Enbridge gets paid for what goes through their pipeline regardless of the price of the product going through it, very regulated. My house like almost everyone is heated by Natural Gas and with new homes being built with the same plumbing I see this business not going anywhere for a very long time. Enbridge has gotten into the renewable sector and is also committing to eventually (10 years I believe) power their facilities by only renewable sources, this was one of my main reasons of buying into the company. When I purchased, the dividend was just over 8% which is covered by operating cash flow. This will add about $267 in dividends this year which will almost cover the drop from selling BPY.

Opened up a position in WELL Health Technologies Corp by purchasing 200 shares @ $7.75

Who is WELL.TO:

WELL Health Technologies Corp. owns and operates a portfolio of primary healthcare facilities. The company also provides digital electronic medical records (EMR) software services; and telehealth services. As of September 30, 2020, it operated 20 medical clinics; and provided digital EMR software and services to approximately 2,000 medical clinics across Canada. It also engages in developing digital health applications. The company was formerly known as Wellness Lifestyles Inc. and changed its name to WELL Health Technologies Corp. in July 2018. WELL Health Technologies Corp. was incorporated in 2010 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

My why:

For those that have been reading my blog over the past year you would already know how bullish I am in the Telehealth business model. I had gotten into CloudMD early on and now I’m a little late to the party in Well but never to late if you believe the future is bright for a company. Online doctors, electronic medical records and digital software is what the world has needed for quite sometime and it took a pandemic to realize that. I love that many seniors can now talk to a doctor in the comfort of their own home, get a prescription that they take monthly anyway and even have it delivered. Governments have come out and clearly stated that they support this and Well is currently leading the sector in Canada. They have acquired many companies over the past year and are setting themselves up to be a big player in the market.

Opened up a position in Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc by purchasing 80 shares @ $36.30

Who is ATD-B.TO

Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. operates and licenses convenience stores. Its convenience stores sell tobacco products, grocery items, candies and snacks, beer, wine, beverages, and fresh food offerings; road transportation fuels; and stationary energy and aviation fuels. The company operates its convenience stores chain under various banners, including Circle K, Corner Stone, Couche-Tard, Holiday, Ingo, and Mac’s. It is also involved in the sale of lottery tickets, calling cards, gift cards, postage stamps, and bus tickets; issuance of money orders; and provision of automatic teller machines and car wash services. As of April 26, 2020, it operated and licensed 12,124 convenience stores, which include 9,691 company-operated stores in North America, Ireland, Scandinavia, Poland, the Baltics, and Russia, as well as 2,350 stores, which are operated under the Circle K banner in Cambodia, Egypt, Guam, Guatemala, Jamaica, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macau, Mexico, Mongalia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam. The company was formerly known as Actidev Inc. and changed its name to Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. in December 1994. Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Laval, Canada.

My why:

Earlier this month ATD had put a bid into purchasing a grocer company called Carrefour. The ATD shareholders didn’t seem to like it. After the announcement the stock got hammered and dropped from $41.20 to as low as $36.07. That is more than a 12% drop in under 2 days. Keep in mind that ATD has been known for having one of the business management teams of any company. Well I saw this as an opportunity to get into a solid company and purchased close to the bottom before the recovery began. Days later the France government shutdown the deal before it really even got started. Meaning now they are back to where they were before the deal and I’m sure the stock price will follow as this company is cash heavy and knock earnings out of the park consistently. Pays a small yield of just under 1% but you don’t buy them only for the dividend, you buy them for capital gains and because they run the business very well!

Dividend increases and decreases

  • No decreases.
  • Alta gas increases dividend by 4%.

2016 – 2021 Dividends received

January dividends came in at $336.63 which is a an increase of 37% YOY. We set a 2021 goal of receiving $3,100.

Dividends received

Stock ListDividendDripAccount
TD.TO$79.79No, take cashTFSA 1
POW.TO$63.99YesTFSA 1
FRU.TO$2.34NoTFSA 1
EXE.TO$7.32YesTFSA 1
CSH.UN$15.96YesTFSA 1
ALA.TO$5.58NoTFSA 1
PLZ.UN$10.08YesTFSA 1
NPI.TO$14.10NoTFSA 1
SIS.TO$5.40NoTFSA 1
EIF.TO$6.84NoTFSA 1
EFX.TO$1.60NoTFSA 2
IMO.TO$19.36NoTFSA 2
CM.TO$61.32NoTFSA 2
AQN.TO$19.34NoRESP
KL.TO$23.49NoTFSA 1 & 2
ARX.TO$0.12NoTFSA 1
Total:$336.63

My thoughts moving forward

Current economy conditions

Canada unemployment rates are starting to improve by going from 12.3% in June to 8.5% in December. We are still waiting to see january numbers arrive but I’d imagine they may creep up a bit with the holidays over with and Covid still affecting lockdowns all over the world.

Markets have been tough to read lately as they continue to stay strong even with all the red flags out there. You have global lockdowns, government spending, housing market still fairly strong and low interest rates that probably help that. We’re starting to fund the TFSA’s and will continue to look for solid companies that show a good entry point. As our blue chip companies overall percentage is now in the high 60’s we will be looking in the growth sector first and maybe even adding to one that we already own.

Sectors I like

  • Financials
  • Communications
  • Healthcare
  • Technology
  • Utilities
  • Basic metals

What to look for

We saw many companies completely take off in 2020, from Telehealth, communications/technology such as Zoom to basic metals. How much of this will continue remains to be seen. 4th quarter results will be key to determining which companies are ahead of themselves and which ones are solid value plays. Here are a few things to look for:

  • What do 4th quarter current revenues look like in comparison to last years 4th quarter? How about quarter over quarter?
  • Have assets dropped?
  • Whats forward guidance look like going into 2021?
  • Have liabilities taken a turn for the worse? Any additional debt taken on? If so at what interest rate, short term or long term?
  • How do assets compare to liabilities?
  • What is shareholder equity vs. market cap and current growth plans?
  • Did you read the full report? This is important so you don’t miss something, it’s your hard earned money your investing so you want to be sure there are no bad apples in the small print.

Keep an eye on earnings vs analysts expectations. Look for any forward guidance in the report that can help you better understand what management expects over the next few quarters. When checking if the dividend is in good shape focus on three metrics, Free Cash Flow %, Operating Cash Flow % and Payout Ratio %, these metrics can help determine the health of the current dividend.

Current companies I’m watching, which I’ve added 5 to the list. I own many of these but don’t have a full position that’s why they are still on the list.

NWH.UN.TO, FTS.TO,CPX.TO, AQN.TO, T.TO, NFI.TO,BCE.TO, POW.TO, DOC.V, REAL.TO,SCR.TO,NVEI.TO,KL.TO, ABX.TO,WELL.TO,NEXE.V.

Thanks for reading and feel free to leave a comment!

Invest in yourself

Brian

Disclosure:  I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. Please ensure you do your own research.

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Money While You Sleep 2021 January Edition


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4 thoughts on “Money While You Sleep 2021 January Edition

  1. nice Brian

    Great yr over yr growth.

    Got to love Enbridge. Welcome to the club.

    That couche tard deal was too hard to pass up. nice buy

    Unemployment will probably fly this month though. Schools were closed so lots of people had to quit their job or stop working and we also are in lockdown.. arg!

    keep it up
    cheers

    1. Thanks Rob!

      Not sure how much growth I will have this year from new funds as I try to balance the portfolio to a 60/40 dividend to growth position. I still have set a goal and hope to hit that with the help of some increases outside of the banks and insurance companies who have been told not to raise.

      Enbridge has not caught up with the market and it seems it is being treated unfairly, i see this changing this year as they are very regulated.

      The couche tard drop was unwarranted and in a way it felt like it could be the money made if you jumped in, which it looks like both of us did. Not sure if i will hold it long term however being up already 10% is a nice feeling.

      Take care,

      Brian

  2. Great update! Just found your blog today and enjoyed reading it. I’m not familiar with Nuvei so I will be looking into that company. It’s always great to see what companies other investors like / own.

    1. Thank you, appreciate the kind words from a like minded investor like yourself. I just read you last post and it looks like you are hitting some huge growth in dividend income especially in January., Well done. I have now subscribed and looking for to reading your posts. Nuvei is definitely under the radar and happy to own moving forward. All the best!

      Brian

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