For over 30 years, I tried several different investing strategies, as suggested by various financial experts and advisors, however my results were always disappointing. In 2010, 14 years ago, as of 2024, I implemented a focus investing strategy, with the objective of maximizing by annual dividend income. The strategy requires a minimum of my time, is stress free, achieves predictable results and, most importantly, achieves much higher returns than the majority of managed mutual funds or exchange traded funds.   

The 10 Canadian public companies listed on this table are the only companies I have held in my portfolio since I implemented the focus investing strategy in 2010 and continue to hold at the present time (August, 2024). The only reason I would consider selling shares in one of these companies is if I see compelling evidence that the company might stop growing their dividend payments, or if I find a company that has much better prospects than one of my current holdings. 

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I have never held any other types of investments in my portfolio, such as preferred shares, shares in foreign companies or fixed income investments such as GICs, T-Bills or Bonds. 

My Results

​It is certainly worthwhile to have a simple investing strategy, but only if you achieve outstanding returns.

The adjacent chart shows the dividend income generated each year, to the end of 2023, for every $1000 invested in my focus investing portfolio in 2010 (red line). For comparison, I have also shown the annual dividend that would have been generated each year if I had invested $1000 in XIU, the iShares S&P/TSX 60 Index ETF (blue line). This fund seeks to track the the S&P/TSX 60 Index, which contains 60 large, established Canadian companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

The results presented on the foregoing chart assume that after the inital investment of $1000 in 2010, no additional funds were contributed to either portfolio. However, in both cases, any dividends paid into the portfolios were assumed to have been reinvested in the same funds as the initial investment. 

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For example, $1000 invested the Focus Investing Portfolio had an average yield of 5.5% in 2010, so that the cash dividend paid in that year on every $1000 investment was $55, while the same $1000, had it been invested in XIU, would have paid a dividend of $22. By the end of 2023 (13 years later) the same $1000 invested in the Focus Investing Portfolio paid a cash dividend of $220, while the dividend paid by XIU had only grown to about $52.  ​

There are two reasons why the cash dividends paid into my focus investing portfolio grew at a rate of 11.2% per year, as compared to the dividends paid by XIU, which increased at a rate of 6.7% per year:

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1) The 10 companies in my portfolio were selected because they had a relatively high dividend yield (5.5%) when purchased in 2010, as compared to the dividend yield for XIU (2.2%) that same year.

2) The 10 companies chosen for my portfolio grew their dividends at an average rate of 4.7% per year, from 2010 to 2023, resulting in a combined growth in the dividends of 10.3% (5.5% + 4.7%) per year. In comparison, the approximately 60 companies in XIU grew their dividend at an average rate of about 4.0% per year during the same period, giving a combined growth in the dividends of 6.2% (2.2% + 4.0%) per year.  

The market prices of the companies in both portfolios fluctuated significantly during these years, in response to Mr. Market's ever changing and unpredictable mood swings. These price gyrations caused the total market value (share price times the number of shares) of the portfolios to fluctuate signficantly. These fluctuations in the market value of the companies in my portfolio were never of concern because the changes in share prices had no effect on the dividends paid by the companies held in my portfolio. Moreover, I had no intention of selling any of them, as long as their future dividend payments appeared secure. In fact, significant drops in the market price of one or more of my favourite companies, presented an opportunity to purchase more shares when the dividend yield was near its maximum. What, me worry?

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