Weekend Reading – Selling my U.S. stocks
Hello!
Welcome to some new Weekend Reading about selling some of my U.S. stocks!
In case you missed other recent posts….
I believe income investing works well.
I have some proof of that income oriented approach in this latest dividend income update here.
Weekend Reading – Selling my U.S. stocks
Related to my Weekend Reading theme, a recent Vanguard article is suggesting you sell most of your stocks as well. From the article:
- “Vanguard suggests a 70/30 bond-to-stock allocation for better long-term returns.
- Stock valuations are high, making bonds more attractive despite elevated bond yields.
- Vanguard predicts US equities to return 3.3%-5.3% annually versusus 4%-5% for bonds over 10 years.”
The article goes on to say while a typical pension-like 60/40 portfolio can still work…
“…investors might be better off taking a much more conservative approach in the 10 years to come, having 70% of their money in bonds and just 30% in stocks”.
Well, not for me.
While, at the time of this post, I have sold off almost every single individual U.S. stock in recent years (one more to go!!!), overall, I’m still about 90% equities and 10% cash/cash equivalents at the time of this post.
I have decided to own most of our ex-Canada assets via ETFs vs. individual stocks for simplicity.
Curious, readers, what is your asset mix these days? Why is that mix helpful to you?
From the oldie but goodie file, I re-read this post: 10 things you shouldn’t care about as an investor.
(Totally agree with #6 on the list by the way.)
What is the BIG secret to long-term investing success? Read on.
Dividend Growth Investor loves individual dividend stocks. Here’s a list of 20 U.S. stocks rewarding shareholders of late.
Here are some important, reflective questions to answer – once you’ve built wealth – given the transition from wealth building to wealth preservation is essential for retirees.
From the article:
- How do I generate income without exposing myself to unnecessary risk?
- How do I preserve capital in a volatile, uncertain world?
- How do I structure my portfolio to support my lifestyle—and my legacy?
- How do I avoid the emotional traps that derail even the most experienced investors?
“Once you’ve built wealth, the real work begins: protecting it, growing it wisely, and using it to live the life you’ve earned. That requires more than market knowledge. It requires clarity, discipline, and a calm voice in the storm. Because in the end, the greatest threat to your portfolio isn’t inflation, interest rates, or even a market correction. It’s abandoning your plan when it matters most.”
Would you agree?
I’ll be back next week with a few more reader questions to answer. I appreciate your emails and questions. I enjoy getting them. 🙂 If you have a question you want me to answer, I am happy to consider it – so leave that in the comments section here or contact me anytime.
Have a great weekend.
Mark
Put the order in this afternoon to sell all our TDB803 (Dow Jones e-series fund). No specific reason. Will likely re-deploy into XDIV. Another step in simplification.
Well done, Lloyd.
You’re a model ETF investor. 🙂
Stay well my friend.
Mark
An interesting article by Vanguard. They talked about the US equity vs bond market over the next 10 yrs, expecting bonds to do a bit better than equities due to the current high stock valuations. But over a longer 30 yr they still expect equities to out perform.
I don’t share that perspective for the Canadian market as our stocks aren’t valued as high and i expect our interest rates (bond yields) will continue to be lower than the US.
That said, I’m not really concerned about equity prices anymore. I’m 95% in on Canadian dividend growth stocks and as long as the companies I hold continue to do well enough not to cut dividends, I’ll have a stable dividend income that more than meets my needs and wants regardless of stock prices. An added bonus is the dividends have typically grown at a rate that meets or exceeds inflation and such a portfolio, once established, is fairly low maintenance.
Mark, my wife and I were in Ottawa for the Ironman last weekend (my son, NOT ME, was in it). Had a fabulous meal at a restaurant called Ember in the Biward Market area.
Cheers
Yes, interesting, right? They don’t know though – although I didn’t write as much.
They are simplying guessing based on current valuations but there is no accuracy to their work. I’ve seen articles like this for 15+ years – they are rarely correct even though this could be correct. Hindsight will reveal all. 🙂
Agreed:
“I don’t share that perspective for the Canadian market as our stocks aren’t valued as high and i expect our interest rates (bond yields) will continue to be lower than the US.”
I’m keeping my mix of CDN stocks for now. No reason to fix what isn’t broken.
It is my hope we will surpass $53k per year soon and potentially even $54k per year by the end of 2025.
That should set us up well for retirement if we choose to go there in 2026.
How many stocks are in your portfolio these days? To make up that 95%?
I watched a bit of the Ironman last weekend. Impressive.
Congrats to your son in participating. No small feat = my goodness.
🙂
Mark
I have 33 stocks at the moment but plan to get that down to about 25 in the next year or two. About half my TFSA is still invested in growth stocks just to keep things a bit interesting but I plan to divest myself of them in favour of the dividend stocks I already own thus further simplifying our portfolio and increasing our annual income. That’ll push us past $100k in dividends.
Excellent.
We range between 25-30 individual stocks = most from Canada and only have a few from U.S. now after selling a bunch based on my recent post over the years.
I figure that’s a sweet spot for us.
Jeepers, $100k per year in dividends is outstanding. That’s good living. I suspect provides all your spending needs and wants and then some?
Once I invest my wife’s LIRA later in 2025, I suspect after all accounts are added up we’ll be close to $80k or so per year in our early 50s now. I’ll write about that when the time comes.
That should provide a good start to full retirement for us given our spending needs will be about $72k-$75k in 2026 and rising from there.
Mark
That’s outstanding for you and your wifes age. I’m about a dozen yrs older and retired 4 yrs ago.
Thanks very much, Paul.
I figure if we can get to about $80k per year, all accounts only without my small upcoming DB pension that turns on at age 65 in about 14 years or so….we will be fine.
$80k per year at the end of 2025 is a nice target.
For now, what I report = X2 RRSPs + X2 Taxables + x1 LIRA are close to earning $53k per year this year and that’s a great start given some assets are in very low-yielding securities = I own a mix of income-oriented assets + growthy stuff.
https://www.myownadvisor.ca/july-2025-dividend-income-update/
Keep you and others posted! Always great to chat about stocks and ETFs and income. 🙂
Mark
Hi Mark,
I agree that once you have achieved a pool of investments to fund your retirement (your goal), the next thing for me was to ensure (when I can) to simplify things. My RRSP still only has three ETF’s (plus a few GIC’s).
I have always had XAW in my RRSP and as a result of reading your blogs have added QQC in my TFSA for growth.
Steve
Ya, simplification is good – more to come!
QQC is a good ETF for the TFSA = growthy tax-free stuff. 🙂
Have a great weekend,
Mark