Well, that was an interesting month in stocks. Anyone holding high flying growth stocks will be looking like they’ve just gotten off of a rollercoaster right now. My Australian stocks portfolio and my world stocks portfolio were both wacked as I hold stocks like Microsoft in the US and REA Group in Australia.
The ETF portfolio was also hit but I didn’t see swings of more than 10% one way or the other on any given day. Individual stocks are so much more volatile than ETFs, especially when you’re playing with the growthy end of the market. Which is another reason why I’ll eventually transition most of my individual stocks to ETFs. It won’t be for at least a few years though as I still enjoy researching and following different companies.
ETF Dividend Payments in February
I had hoped that February would be my first $100+ month for the monthly dividend payers but that wasn’t to be. A combination of lower payouts and not being able to buy as many new shares as I wanted to were the reasons for not reaching my goal. I can’t be too disappointed though as February 2024 paid me a big fat Zero in dividends. March of 2024 was the first month I started being paid monthly from JEPQ so there will be no more Zero months.
JPEQ paid out $32.56, FEPI paid $38.70, and QQQI gave me $15.97, which is a total of $87.23 for the month of February.
I’ll be watching FEPI closely over the next few months as it is definitely struggling compared to similar ETFs like QQQI and JPEQ. Perhaps their extra high dividend yield is just too good to be true? My shares are down about 13% as I write this post and my total return is in the negative also.
The rolling 6 month, monthly dividend payment was $96.38 last month. It has grown by $7.28 per month with $103.66. This is the first month my average is above the $100 mark so I’m pretty happy with myself. Now to get that average to about $170 per month so I can reach my $2,000 per year dividend goal.
The ETF Dividend Portfolio for February
This month the ETF dividend portfolio has decreased to $22,504 down from $22,802 in January which is a decrease of about $298. New contributions were $784 which means that there was a $1,082 decrease in the value of the portfolio. I wish Mr. Market would be more cooperative with my ambitious 2025 money goals.
I added a new stock to the portfolio this month. The BetaShares S&P/ASX Australian Technology ETF (ATEC) with a PE ratio of about 45 and a dividend yield of about 0.36%. Australian tech stocks are generally super expensive but they keep growing each year so I went ahead and started a small position. It won’t help my dividend situation much but hopefully it will help with the value of the portfolio over time.
Just as a note, the ticker symbols ending in .AX are Australian listed ETFs and those without them are US listed ETFs. The US listed prices and average cost per share are in US dollars but everything else like market value and total dividend income are in Australian dollars.
Here’s what the ETF portfolio looks like this month…
See the ETF Dividend Portfolio from January.
What to Expect in March
I’m hoping that the market will behave itself and increase by a few percent. I want to see the portfolio above $23,000 by the end of the month!
I’ve still not added to the SCHD dividend ETF this year but I will definitely do that in March. The plan was to add at least 5 shares per month so I have some catching up to do. I want it to be in my top 3 or 4 ETF positions, along with JPEQ, IVV, and VHY.
How did your freedom making machine handle the bumpy month of February? What’s your 6 month rolling monthly dividend average for your ETFs? (total dividends paid over the last 6 months, divided by 6 equals your average).
Total ETF + REIT + Managed Funds Portfolio for February
Portfolio value inside the Vanguard website: $5,942 down from $6,090
Betashares ETF portfolio: $8,594 down from $8,722
US & ASX listed ETFs held in brokerage accounts: $7,966 down from $????
Total Index Funds portfolio value (VHY, VGS, GEAR, JPEQ, FEPI, QQQI, SCHD, NDQ, ATEC and IVV): $22,504 down from $22,802
Most recent dividend payment (February): $87.23 down from $185.42 in January (Monthly dividends from JPEQ, FEPI, and QQQI)
6 Month Dividends Monthly Average: $103.66 up from $96.38
Dividends paid in 2025 so far: $272.65 (this time last year it was $71.38)
Dividends paid in 2024: $725.85
All dividends paid in 2023: $102.68
All ETF dividend payments since starting the ETF portfolio: $1,133.07
ETF Dividends Goal 1: $2,000+ per year.
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