Well, here we are…another year gone and new one begins. Happy New Year again friends.
For the last couple of years, just for kicks, I made some financial predictions by looking into my cloudy crystal ball. Here is a recap of what I thought would happen in 2016 and what actually went down:
- The Ottawa Senators will make the playoffs.
Nope. I didn’t come close to getting this prediction right, unfortunately. The Senators seem to be playing well this year, so I remain optimistic a playoff run in April 2017 is in their future. I have plans to attend a few games this winter with my dad.
- The Chicago Blackhawks will win The Stanley Cup.
Wrong again. Congrats to the Penguins and their win last year.
- Telus will increase their dividend by 5%.
In May 2016, the TELUS Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.46 Canadian per share. Then in November 2016, they announced another dividend increase to $0.48 per year. So, two raises last year for doing nothing but being a shareholder. I got this prediction right and then some. I predict two more small dividend increases in 2017 as well.
- Enbridge will increase their dividend by 5%.
Enbridge has paid dividends for over 63 years. Their annualized dividend is currently $2.12 per share, and has been increased in each of the last 21 years. However, no dividend increase! I will need to eat these words: Over the past 11 years the dividend has delivered an average compound annual growth of 14%. No dividend increase yet but it’s going to happen friends. Fear not but a dividend increase of 10-15% is in the works for early 2017. Update: As I was writing this post this week, Enbridge did in fact increase their dividend by 10%.
- The Dow will finish the year at 16,500.
It finished at 19,762. Wow, I didn’t see that coming.
- Coca-Cola will increase their dividend by 3%.
Bingo. Back in February 2016, Coca-Cola raised their dividend to $0.35 per share. This was the 54th consecutive year they raised their dividend. I’ll get another raise in a few weeks too.
- Bonds will have a positive return in 2016, returning 3%, to be measured by iShares ETF XBB.
ETF XBB returned 1.36% in 2016. It remains a poor time to be in bonds for returns but if you need them for diversification and portfolio stability then that’s good.
- The TSX will finish the year at 13,000.
It finished at 15,287. Apparently I was rather pessimistic on equity markets. Might have been Trump.
- Oil will finish at $45.
It finished at $53.72.
- Our dollar will be $0.74, against the U.S. dollar, by the end of 2016.
The dollar finished 2016 at, you guessed it, $0.74. Bang on.
- I’ll play more golf this summer (when compared to last summer).
Done! My game didn’t improve but I had fun and that’s what it’s all about.
- Royal Bank will increase their dividend by 5%.
Goal! Although Royal Bank missed street expectations in 2016 they still managed to raise their dividend, twice this year, now providing shareholders with $0.83 per share thanks very much.
The Summary
Some dividend stocks can be rather predictable. Other market guesses are like darts on a dartboard.
Hope you had fun following along in 2016. We’ll see what I can think of for 2017.
Mark
Those are some very bold predictions for 2016. Got any fund prediction for 2017?
I will have some next week!
My Own –
Very close, very close! Nice work on your predictions, love the dividend increases : )
-Lanny
Me too, love getting a raise!
Stick to the dividend predictions! They’re a lot easier to forecast with good companies.
I think my 2016 predictions were as bad or worse than yours. I didn’t make any for 2017- a true wildcard if there ever is one.
Yeah, I should. Much easier but I’ll still try 🙂
i can’t wait for your 2017 predictions mark so i know what to avoid – lol! jan. 20th could put a wrench into everyone’s predictions.
This year could be very messy!!!