March 2025 Dividend Income Update
Hi again, and welcome to my latest: our March 2025 dividend income update.
As many readers will already know, this series is a monthly update related to our hybrid investing approach followed for the last 15+ years:
- We invest in Canadian and U.S. dividend paying stocks – about 25-some stocks that collectively deliver income and growth over time…and
- We invest in some low-cost equity ETFs – that deliver (hopefully) long-term growth for extra diversifcation.
You can always read a bit more about what we own, why and where (i.e., in what accounts) on this dedicated My Dividends page here.
March 2025 Dividend Income Update
A few months ago I wondered:
“What will the investing year bring?”
Maybe I have my answer: drama and trama!
Dedicated readers will know I wrote this about my investing plans and decisions for 2025:
Well, still no changes to that plan above during some very trying investing times of late.
What calms my investing nerves a bit is some higher dividend income – by staying invested.
In March, without buying anything new:
- Power Corporation (POW) increased their dividend by 10%.
- One of my top-holdings Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ) increased their dividend by 4%.
- Tourmaline (TOU) not only increased their quarterly dividend by a whopping 43% last month, they also delivered a special dividend to shareholders like myself too – with potentially more special dividends on the way in 2025.
That said, it’s going to be a tough investing year I think. I would be happy if there were no dividend cuts in our portfolio.
While many of the stocks and ETFs we own remain WAY up over the last five (5) years, some of our holdings are taking a beating in 2025 year-to-date:
- My low-cost tech kicker ETF QQQ is down almost 20%!
- My favourite ex-Canada global ETF XAW is down close to 13%.
Ouch.
But, I’m in this for the long-haul. I started this hybrid investing approach 15+ years ago and it’s no time to change my overall approach now.
And…since I’m not Warren Buffett, I believe there are a few key ways to manage your portfolio if you haven’t already done so during some trying market times.
- Not all types of investments perform well at the same time. Stocks from different sectors will raise dividends sometimes when you least expect it!
- Different types of investments can be affected differently by factors such as interest rates, exchange rates and inflation rates. Interestingly, some Canadian utility stocks have held up rather well in 2025 despite the drama and trama.
- If your portfolio is not diversified, you could be taking on unnecessarily risk. To compound that, you may or may not be compensated with returns for accepted this unnecessary risk. Can you imagine going all-in on tech stocks / QQQ in your portfolio? Again, ouch.
March 2025 Dividend Income Update
Thanks to these dividend raises last month, coupled with a few more units of HEQT DRIPped inside my small LIRA, our income moved higher this past month – doing nothing and buying nothing – despite tariff wars triggering stock market havoc.
Our *projected annual dividend income trend for the 2025 calendar year is now:
*Recall these all PADI updates focus on 1. our non-registered accounts, 2. our RRSPs, and 3. my small LIRA from a former job years ago. I have reported things this way since January 2023 since these are the first accounts I will use to fund semi-retirement along with part-time work: live off taxable dividend income, live off RRSP withdrawals and live off LIRA/LIF withdrawals.
I share this information not to brag. Hardly. I know folks that earn much more income from their portfolio than I do. Rather, I share it to tell part of our overall investing journey – to keep me honest, motivated and accountable for my investing decisions. I hope this transparency and what I share helps you too.
To put this monthy income update into perspective:
- That’s averaging about $4,150.92 per month without our TFSA assets.
- We’re earning over $136 per day every day.
A big part of being a successful long-term investor is keeping your wits about you / sticking with your plan while others around you might be deviating from their plan.
If and when we can afford it this year, we hope to buy more equities if they continue to stay on sale. If I do buy more XAW or any individual stocks I will let you know in my next update.
Onwards and upwards for your investing journey too. Stay well!
Mark
Hi Mark, for a comparison to your portfolio mix, what would you estimate the dividend payout to be for an ETF portfolio – e.g. VEQT or VGRO if one held it for the same time as yours? I do not suppose you could hit the same payout as with holding dividend paying stocks, correct?
Well, it depends on your ETF portfolio. The dividend payout ratio normally calculated by dividing dividends paid by earnings after tax and multiplying the result by 100%. It represents how much of a company’s earnings after tax are paid to shareholders.
Most ETFs don’t work like that.
If you own an all-in-one ETF, like VEQT, the yield is very easy to look up.
https://www.vanguard.ca/en/product/etf/asset-allocation/9692/vanguard-all-equity-etf-portfolio
The last cash distribution I see is $0.7133 so if you own 10,000 units of VEQT then = $7,133.
Current price of VEQT is about $44 bucks for $44 x 10,000 = $444,000 that generates $7,133 per year give or take.
This seems to be a decent tool and site but I haven’t used it.
https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/accounting/dividend-payout-ratio-formula/
I hope that helps a bit?
Mark
Thank you for the reply Mark. I just made it back to the question…life got in the way.
I understand what you are saying and I guess the very basic answer is no, you cannot generate the same payout you see with your dividend paying stocks. I wish I had done the format you followed way back when I started, but I have done well too. I just see the same dividends with my hodge podge of investments (the old Couch Potato system in US/CDN holdings and some individual stocks). I am trying to decide now if it makes sense to cash all of that out and move to one of these balanced funds. Would that be risky? I am getting older and a simpler portfolio is attractive, but not absolutely necessary either yet.
No worries!
I can’t speak to your investing journey and goals, I can only speak for mine, but I have and will continue to use a hybrid approach to achieve our income and growth goals.
Some stocks favour deliver more income, less growth. Low-cost ETFs like VEQT, XGRO, etc. in those all-in-one formats tend to favour growth over time. So, with the latter, less yield but hopefully higher growth.
Witih any Couch Potato approach, you will absolutely need to sell ETF units to fund your retirement income needs unless you have a bundle saved/invested whereby you live off those lower distributions – but that’s not the point with global ETFs – the intent is you sell those units strategically over time to feed your lifestyle. That approach may or may not appeal to all investors as you well know. It doesn’t for me: I like a mix of income and growth in my portfolio and always have.
You don’t have to own individual stocks for income. There are literally hundreds of income ETFs out there and I keep my fav. list of ETFs on this dedicated page based on how I invest and think.
https://www.myownadvisor.ca/etfs/
I hope that offers some personal insights!
Mark
To help keep our investing more hands free I usually have buy orders in place for 90 days to pick up stocks on dips for our TFSA’s . ARX, ALA, EQB , MFC and VIU ETF were on this order . Most set at a 10 % discount to the current price the day they were started a month ago . I had thought the price decline with Trump in charge would be more gradual given he is a “genius” . Only ALA and NTR haven’t hit the target price yet .
I put in more buy orders yesterday morning thinking the market was still in a free fall and if the market recovery holds I should have done market price buys instead of limit price . However I do have confidence DJT will tank the market further though just like his casinos .
On the other hand my buy order may be the cause of the market rally, not the tariff pause so you are welcome .
Seems like a good plan. I know of a few DIY investors that like and have purchased VIU in recent months in particular.
I own MFC and EQB here in your list.
I have no doubt Orange Man is going to tank things further. He’s a piece of work (insert tame words here…).
All my best to you in navigating what is next!
Mark
“I would be happy if there were no dividend cuts in our portfolio.”
With no way of knowing how fast the ship will be driven into the iceberg and the damage resulting from said collision, I’d be ecstatic with that. Not holding my breath though.
A plus factor is that next year’s minimum RRIF/LIF withdrawals will now likely be lower reducing the level of distributions needed to fund them. 😉
Same, Lloyd. We shall see. Every few minutes there is a new tweet and a new idea how to manage things.
The U.S. population voted a clown. Welcome to the long-term circus.
Mark
I saw a video last night showing a portion of the speech Barak Obama recently made. One comment that really stuck out for me was to imagine what would have happened to himself if he were making these comments and moves when he was President. I imagine it would have been very nasty. For some reason, now everyone is shutting up and getting in line to follow the orange idiot.
Watching the market value of my portfolio take the hits is tempered by the continuing income I receive. Fingers are crossed that dividends don’t get cut.
Nice to hear from you, Jan.
Yes, I think I saw the same clip. Wild how much tolerance the Orange Man gets. Mindblowing in a very bad way. 🙂
Yes, I also hope my dividends don’t get clipped!
Mark
“Every few minutes there is a new tweet”
Jeez! Run up town to grab some scripts and I come back to what seems to be a completely different day!
Ha. Things change by the hour with Orange Man!
Mark
Hi Mark enjoy reading your posts. Like most people who are invested these are trying times. We have a very similar investment model, we do pull out monthly our dividends from our TFSAs and Non registered accounts for income as we are both retired. This is averaging about $7,700 per month. In January we pulled out cash from my LIF and both of our RIFs to give us enough of a cash wedge for the year. We have about two years of RIF withdrawls left at our present rates. Our largest holding is SU and thankfully as of today I’m still in the black. The only things that make me nervous is how low the market will go, for how long, dividends cuts and what is going to be the fallout from all of this. We have been putting all withdrawls from our TFSAs back in with the annual contribution. One fallback we do have is that we have not been collecting OAS and CPP yet. I’m in for the long haul.
Thanks, Denis!
Very trying times…
Makes sense I think – spend the dividends for sure.
In my order, I will:
1. Spend the dividends and distributions from RRSPs in the early retirement years, along with starting my LIRA > LIF at age 55, and
2. “Live off dividends” from the taxable accounts. That’s the plan. 🙂
I haven’t calculated everything for 2026 yet, not there yet, but figure with part-time work in 2026 (?) we could be spending about $6k per month after-tax. That would be good.
Like you maybe, I have instructed my parents to start their RRIFs in Jan – get x1 RRIF withdrawals each Jan. such that they can use the $$ for CRA taxes, max out their TFSAs, or just spend the money.
Yes, SU coming back! I used to own SU many years ago but sold and started to go after more CNQ as my major O&G holding. I also used the money to buy more low-cost XAW too a few years back.
Are you buying anything this year?
Incredible work in that if you have yet been collecting OAS and/or CPP, you should be set.
It is my hope that some CPP and OAS is some icing on the cake for me/us in a few decades. Time will tell!
I appreciate your contributions.
Mark
Thanks for the feedback Mark. Further to your question, rightfully or wrongfully I’ve been buying covered call ETFs. My focus has been on income, I’ve purchased HDIF, HDIV, HMAX and XEI this year topping up our TFSAs.
We own HDIV, and also ENS, FTN and EIT.UN. I consider these my Go-Go phase enhancers. I have no expectation of them raising the dividend / distribution but they are/will accelerate my income for the first few years of retirement. That they won’t keep pace with inflation is okay with me, given that they will start us off with an income boost that we wouldn’t otherwise get.
I have a general rule of not allowing the total market value of them to exceed 15% of the portfolio. With the current downdraft (even with todays green market) they’re sitting at 13.94%. They may yet end up around 15% over the next 12 months again, but if they don’t I may top one or more of them up a bit.
Interesting. What gravitated you to the covered call ETFs/Hamilton ETFs?
I don’t own XEI but I do own many of the top-15 holdings and have done so for many years.
Cheers,
Mark
At the time it was the returns. I was happy until Trump came into power. I still hold about 75% stocks and 25% ETFs.
That seems like a good (hybrid) balance.
Mark
I’ve been upgrading my spreadsheets to better forecast my PADI in the future with some new formulas. In hindsight, I picked good opportunities to trim some companies and open up new positions in 2024. No regrets. I bought some more CNQ yesterday and now it’s a 3.96% weight in the portfolio. I will add to this position once I receive my next round of income from my contract (in about four week’s time).
We’re sitting at a PADI of $75.5k across all our accounts. It’s starting to feel very real, although the forthcoming BCE cut (I’m now resigned to the fact it’s coming, it’s only a matter of when) will put a good sized dent in that. For now, if I ignore that pending cut, we will easily exceed our PADI target of $84k by mid-2027 without any further investments based on current prices, yields, and my dividend increase projections. That includes turning off our non-registered DRIPs by January 1, 2027 to build up a cash position. At the end of last March we were at $54.5k so we have made amazing progress over the past 12 months.
I consider us well on track with a good plan and we will most definitely continue to invest (assuming I continue to get work) which will only serve to bolster our projections (but also offset potential dividend cuts or the lack of dividend increases in the future). We probably won’t sell BCE. One nice thing about the market drop is the cost of replacing those BCE dividends is going down.
Old me would have been freaking out at what’s going on but now I just update my spreadsheet with my DRIPs and continue to watch our dividend income growing. Sub-optimal or not, it’s keeping me from getting in my own way.
Good stuff on CNQ. Big fan of that one here.
Wow, very good = “We’re sitting at a PADI of $75.5k across all our accounts.”
That’s very real income but yes, if you own lots of BCE I would think that income $$ will be going down.
That said, it all depends on your risk and goals. Seems you have made some amazing progress…
Dividend income/rising dividend income can be tangible and psychological too. Tangible in that I know some DIY investors now earning > $100k per year from their portfolio. Yes, they have a couple $M in the bank but they like it that way. Kudos to them. Psychological in that they ignore the market noise and buy more equities via DRIPs if they don’t need the income for spending or gifting to family.
Heckuva of a position to be in; earning >$100k per year from your portfolio = cashflow for life.
That seems pretty optimal to me in a few ways.
Mark
What a way to start semi retirement, huh?
You and I have very similar looking timelines Mark. I’m supplementing retirement with some part time work with clients that I enjoy since I’m not intending to collect any government pension income for at least four more years. We’re down substantially in our portfolio over the last week (that seems like a ridiculous timeline) but like you we have our dividends to keep us going as well as my wife’s pensions. We’re now at just over 50k/year in dividends with increases from several of our core companies. Hopefully we’ll see a V shaped recovery this year but we’ll manage if we don’t. It can be scary to see the total value of your portfolio drop so precipitously but we’re hopeful that we’ve selected resilient enough companies that we’ll see future highs again some day. See you on the other side. 👍
Really, eh? Ha.
I’m sure my portfolio will see ATHs again, I just don’t know when?!
Excellent stuff, Paul re: got some part-time work with your clients. Nice to have a bit of income and purpose and fulfillment.
I told folks on my social media channel; X/Twitter, that I recently bought some XAW so assuming the dividends nor distributions are cut – since I added to XAW in April that should increase April’s tally a bit beyond March 2025 reported here.
I don’t like seeing my total portfolio down 10% or more but it’s what you sign up for when you invest in stocks/equities.
Stay in touch to compare notes!
Mark
Hi Mark,
The only dividend increase for us in March was Power Corporation. Income is still an inflation beater from this life insurance company.
The only company we added more shares to in early March was Magna for the long term. Canadian auto parts manufacturers aren’t exactly on other investors bucket lists right now though.
Cheers
Ya, but I think you have some stocks I don’t like capital gains grower CSU. 🙂
All good. Hopefully not many dividend cuts in 2025 but we shall see. Wild times.
Mark