Monthly Update: January 2016

The markets started the new year with a blast. There are a lot of worries about China and other developing economies, talks about global recession and whatnot. Since I am planning to buy a house in the near future my deposits are and will continue to remain zero. However I do still receive dividends which in time can be used to invest. In the table below I have shown some benchmark indicators of general market indices and my own dividend growth portfolio. It wasn't really a good month, but hey.

Indicator	As of 31-12	As of 31-1	% change
S&P 500 Total Return	3.822	3631,96	-5,0%
Dow Jones Industrials Total Return	35.726	33.802	-5,4%
AEX GR	1.328	1.297	-2,4%
USD.EUR	0,9208	0,9174	-0,4%
Portfolio value	€ 22.570	€ 21.694	-3,9%

However, since I am in it for the long haul I am not too interested in these daily or monthly fluctuations. What matters is that I keep focused on buying high quality companies which provide me with a steady stream of growing dividends.

Purchases

None.

Dividends received
Four separate companies paid me dividends during this month.

• WMT: 20 shares @ $0.49 for a total of $9.80
• BAX: 22 shares @ $0.115 for a total of $2.53
• BXLT: 22 shares @ $0.07 for a total of $1.54
• PM: 17 shares @ $1.02 for a total of $17.34

Total: around €24 after tax, which is almost slightly lower than last year due to the dividend reduction of the combination BAX/BXLT. However, I did sell another (covered) TGH call which netted me €30. So total income including option premium is €54.

Dividend increases or decreases during this month

None.

Yearly forward dividend
My 12-month forward dividend rate is now €920, compared to €940 last month. Nothing changed except the EUR.USD rate.

Seeking Alpha articles
None.