There is quite a lot going on in my personal financial life here at the beginning of 2020 and as 2019 came to a close. At this time of year I like to review all of my investments, considering which I want to keep and which I want to sell. As I continue to read books and articles reaffirming the value of investing in index funds, I am pulling away from having a large portfolio of stocks in individual companies. Further, I am working to streamline my overall portfolio so that it is much easier to manage and keep track of my investments. I realized I can’t reasonably keep track of the business practices and ins-and-outs of so many different companies. I’d rather create diversification through owning funds and pare down the number of investments that need to be maintained and tracked.
Selling Stocks
For about a year, I worked with a Financial Advisor, and through her guidance, I ended up with stocks in quite a few individual companies that I probably wouldn’t have chosen on my own. As these purchases pass their one year marks, I am setting up limit orders to sell the stocks that I no longer wish to keep. My traditional IRA, my personal brokerage account, and the custodial accounts for both of my sons are all affected.
For an example, I had Facebook stock in my traditional IRA; I sold all my shares on Monday. I don’t like some of things the company has done on an ethical level (along with having a bad personal experience that I don’t think the company handled appropriately). As I no longer wanted to support them directly monetarily, it was time to get out.
I waited to sell until now so that I finally could make some profit on the shares. These shares were bought when my Financial Advisor was helping me diversify my account a couple years ago when the price was up at $192. They spent most of 2019 below $200; once they got over $200 in the last few weeks, I decided to sell at $212. Analysts predict that the Facebook share price is likely to go higher still, but I have no regrets pulling out now. Of course, I will still have a small percentage of exposure to Facebook in some of the funds I hold.
Buying Funds
As I sell off stocks I no longer wish to keep, while I collect some dividends that I am not automatically reinvesting, and as monthly deposits accrue, I am looking to invest the cash accumulating in my accounts. Therefore, I am setting up limit orders to buy ETFs in these accounts. Relating to the Facebook example above, my plan is to diversify the money that was previously in Facebook shares across a few dividend-paying ETFs. I’ll be adding onto positions I already hold in my IRA in funds such as:
- SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD)
- Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF (VYM)
- Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value ETF (SCHV)
- Legg Mason International Low Volatility High Dividend ETF (LVHI)
- iShares Core U.S. REIT ETF (USRT)
Each of these funds meet my investment requirements and have 3%+ dividend yields. All the dividends for these funds are set to automatically be reinvested.
Time to Make IRA Contributions
Speaking of IRAs, with the New Year here, don’t forget that it is time to deposit money in your IRA. You can contribute a maximum of $6000 annually into an IRA or $7000 if you are age 50 or older. I’m waiting for a couple months to make my contribution until after my taxes are completed. I will write an update post in the future as to which investments I decide to put that money into, though it may likely be very similar to the funds listed in the previous section.
Grow Your Dough Challenge Wrapping Up Soon
It’s been almost a year since I began participating in the Grow Your Dough Challenge. I started off a few weeks later than the 1st day of the year, so I am waiting until later this month to take my final readings on the six accounts I opened as part of the challenge. Last January, I deposit $1000 into each of my new accounts with Acorns, Capital One, E*Trade, Fundrise, Lending Club, and Robinhood. In the summer, I added another $1000 into an M1 Finance account, which I also like to compare with the initial challenge accounts. Find out which of these accounts and the investment strategies I chose earned the most money, when I make my Grow Your Dough Challenge update at the end of month! If you are interested in opening an account with one of these companies, check out my Resources page.
New WeBull Account
I eventually got tired of Graham Stephan nagging me on his videos to open a WeBull account with his referral link and feeling like I was letting him down for not doing it. So I opened a WeBull account in December. Here’s my referral link if you want to get a free stock for opening an account! No pressure, honest. The bonus stock I received on opening my account was for Sprint (S), then valued at $5.34. Coincidentally, I also got Sprint as my free stock when I opened my Robinhood account. WeBull is running a bonus until the end of January 2020 to get a second free stock for depositing money into the account. For making my initial deposit, I received a share of Investors Bancorp, Inc. (ISBC) valued at $11.98. WeBull also has a cash bonus based on the amount deposited, starting with deposits over $2000. I deposited $2,100 into the new account, so will get paid a total of $30 in bonus cash over the next 6 months. I’ll expand more on the investments I chose for this WeBull account in a future post. Hint: they are all ETFs!
ScholarShare 529 Accounts
I have ScholarShare 529 accounts set up for my two sons. I recently received an email with the following information:
| “This January, ScholarShare 529 will launch enhancements to its investment portfolios and transition to a new administrative platform. |
| Together, these changes will offer several benefits, including: |
| •Enrollment Year Investment Portfolios •Enhanced online account management” |
These changes will take place in late January and it will be interesting to see if they expand some of the investment choices and what exactly they mean by “enhanced online account management.” That’s one more financial thing for me to keep my eyes on as this year kicks off. If there is anything interesting to report, I will be sure to do so!
TD Ameritrade Account and Donations
Last year I opened a trust account with TD Ameritrade with the intention of donating half of the dividends I received from the account to charitable organizations. I’m glad to say that the investments have been performing well and the dividends have been flowing in steadily (with some being reinvested). I am excited to see the final total of dividends earned in 2019 when my 1099 form is released. I’m eager to pick out the charities I will make donations to this year and share them with you.
Free Financial Guide
There is certainly quite a lot of financial content to look forward to for 2020! Let’s get this year started off right by being mindful of spending and thoughtful about investing. To help you on your way, check out the free Beginner’s Guide to Building Financial Success, that I created at the end of last year.
Wishing all my readers the very best for this new year!
Disclosure: Information shared on Squintillions is based on the author’s own experiences, thought processes, and research and is not intended as professional advice. Please do your own research before committing to any investment! If you feel your personal challenges are beyond the scope of my suggestions or other self-help materials, please seek professional counseling. Further, there are some affiliate links and ads used in this website. If you purchase an item when following these links, I may receive a commission on your purchase.