Trying for Some Separation

One Degree of Separation

One item that has been interesting in my dividend portfolio is how closely it parallels the broader Russell 3000 Index. They have marched pretty much in lock-step since September. I right now have a mere 0.6% cushion... hardly seems worth the effort.

But I did read some studies that say as your portfolio approaches 30 stocks, that it becomes more and more correlated with the broader indices. That has also held true for the MFI Index, which has tracked extremely closely over 6 years (see chart below).



I did make a move the other day, I sold AXS as I mentioned over the weekend. I have not replaced them yet. I was thinking RIMG at first, but now I am thinking GCAP.

My dividend portfolio now has an annual IRR of a bit more than 10% since starting in early 2011. I did earn two dividends this morning, STD (I think about 16 cents) and FCX (a quarter). I have no more dividends coming in until early February with Intel.