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FFJ Portfolio Holdings Review: April 2021

In my recent 13 Thoughts To Keep Investing Simple post, I indicated that rebalancing an investment portfolio should occur at least once a year. I last undertook such a review in August 2020 and disclosed my findings in my Portfolio Holdings Review – August 2020 post. Equity values and the CDN/USD FX rate have certainly changed since mid-August 2020. This is, therefore, an opportune time to complete my FFJ Portfolio Holdings Review: April 2021.

In August 2020 I used a foreign exchange conversion rate of $1.34 CDN = $1 USD. The conversion rate is now $1.2545 CDN = $1 USD.

FFJ Portfolio - Top 10 Holdings mid-April 2021

Our top 10 holdings are ~40.64% of our overall holdings versus ~43.1% in mid-August 2020 and ~42.5% in February 2019. The largest holding is held in an account for which I do not disclose details. It is ~7.88% of our overall holdings versus ~8.35% in mid-August 2020.

  1. Visa (V) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  2. Mastercard (MA) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  3. Church & Dwight (CHD) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  4. The Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  5. Becton, Dickinson (BDX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  6. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  7. Walmart (WMT) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose detail.
  8. 3M (MMM) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  9. Chevron (CVX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  10. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.

FFJ Portfolio - Top 10 Holdings mid-August 2020

  1. Visa (V) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  2. Church & Dwight (CHD) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  3. Becton, Dickinson (BDX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  4. Mastercard (MA) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  5. Walmart (WMT) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose detail.
  6. The Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  7. Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  8. Chevron (CVX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  9. 3M (MMM) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  10. The Bank of Nova Scotia (BNS.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.

FFJ Portfolio - Top 11 - 20 Holdings mid-April 2021

Our top 11 - 20 holdings are ~22.41% of our overall holdings versus ~20.3% in mid-August 2020.

  1. The Brookfield Group of Companies (BAM-a.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  2. Apple (AAPL) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  3. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  4. FedEx (FDX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  5. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  6. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-b) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  7. CME (CME) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  8. Lockheed Martin (LMT) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  9. The Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  10. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.

FFJ Portfolio - Top 11 -20 Holdings mid-August 2020

  1. Apple (AAPL) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  2. Canadian National Railway (CNR.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  3. The Brookfield Group of Companies (BAM-a.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  4. FedEx (FDX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  5. CME (CME) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  6. The Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  7. Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-b) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  8. Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  9. Automatic Data Processing (ADP) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  10. BCE (BCE.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.

FFJ Portfolio - Top 21 - 30 Holdings mid-April 2021

This group of companies constitutes ~14.16% of our entire holdings versus ~13.6% of our entire holdings as of mid-August 2020.

I very rarely exit a position. Regrettably, I had to sell Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) and W.W. Grainger (GWW) last year. The share price of both companies appreciated considerably in value from my average cost which triggered a capital gains tax liability.

  1. S&P Global Inc (SPGI) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  2. Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  3. BCE (BCE.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  4. Raytheon Technologies (RTX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  5. United Parcel Service (UPS) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  6. Moody’s (MCO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  7. FedEx (FDX) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  8. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  9. Nike (NKE) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  10. McDonald’s (MCD) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.

FFJ Portfolio - Top 21 - 30 Holdings mid-August 2020

  1. United Parcel Service (UPS) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  2. The Bank of Montreal (BMO.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  3. Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  4. S&P Global Inc (SPGI) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  5. Moody’s (MCO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  6. W.W. Grainger (GWW) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  7. PepsiCo (PEP) - shares are held in accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  8. McDonald’s (MCD) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and accounts for which I do not disclose details.
  9. Canadian Pacific Railway (CP.TO) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio.
  10. AT&T (T) - shares are held in the FFJ Portfolio and account for which I do not disclose details.

Dividend Income and Dividend Yield

A fixation on dividend income and the dividend yield is, in my opinion, extremely short-sighted. Overall potential return is my focus.

Although I only disclose the FFJ Portfolio dividend income monthly, the dividend income generated from our entire portfolio continues to appreciate nicely.

I do not chase dividend yield. My:

  • #1, #2, and #14 holdings have a sub 1 % dividend yield;
  • #3, #5, and #15 largest holdings have a dividend yield just above 1%;
  • #16 (Berkshire Hathaway) distributes no dividend.

The Brookfield Group of Companies (#11th largest holding) has a ~1.15% dividend yield; all the Brookfield-related holdings are lumped together to determine my total exposure to this group. Brookfield Asset Management (~1.15% dividend yield), Brookfield Renewable Partners LP (~3% dividend yield) and Brookfield Renewable Corporation (~1.95% dividend yield), Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (~3.75% dividend yield) and Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation (~2.8% dividend yield) make up ~54%, ~24%, and ~22% of my total Brookfield exposure.

I touch upon dividend yield because I can personally attest that it IS possible to build an investment portfolio that allows you to ‘step away’ without any consternation or fear of running out of money. It is, however, extremely important to start when young to build a well-diversified portfolio. Several of my recent articles provide suggestions on how to go about this process.

Other High-Quality Holdings

Our top 30 holdings comprise ~77.21% of our overall investments; this is comparable to the ~77% as at the time of my mid-August 2020 review.

I intend to increase my exposure under acceptable circumstances/valuations to my Top 30 holdings and other high-quality companies in which I currently hold a position. These, in no particular order, include:

  • Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CM)
  • Microsoft (MSFT)
  • Ecolab (ECL)
  • Stryker (SYK)
  • Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD-b.TO)
  • Intact Financial (IFC)
  • Enbridge (ENB)
  • Paychex (PAYX)
  • Goldman Sachs (GS)

I also monitor a few other companies to which I do not currently have exposure. These, in no particular order, include:

  • Thermo Fisher Scientific (TMO)
  • Danaher (DHR)
  • Thomson Reuters (TRI)

I need to be careful, however, because I do not want to become like some investors who are like a ‘fly in the bottle’. Rather than invest in a few high-quality companies, they invest a little bit in MANY companies.

FFJ Portfolio Holdings Review: April 2021 - Final Thoughts

A periodic review of the entire investment portfolio is essential. This is an opportune time since much has changed in the North American equities markets after my mid-August 2020 FFJ Portfolio Holdings review. Furthermore, I want to deploy 'dry powder' so I need to know the weighting of my holdings.

Currently, I think valuations are too rich. I, therefore, patiently wait for a long-overdue broad market pullback.

Stay safe. Stay focused.

I wish you much success on your journey to financial freedom!

Note: Please send any feedback, corrections, or questions to [email protected].

Disclaimer: I do not know your circumstances and am not providing individualized advice or recommendations. You should not make any investment decision without conducting your research and due diligence.

I wrote this article myself and it expresses my own opinions. I do not receive compensation for it and have no business relationship with the company mentioned in this article.