I created my portfolio with the help this fantastic tool: portfolio visualizer. The tool allows you to back test stocks and mutual funds. I wanted to create a portfolio that could payout dividends, without being cut, during downturns. Dividend Aristocrats was an easy place to start, companies that paid rising dividends consecutively for the last 25 years.
I used these companies as a good starting point but I didn’t like the idea of having just companies that paid dividends for the last 25 years. I wanted to add companies that I thought would get there over time. So I hand selected a few others that had low pay out ratio’s.
The biggest downturn in my lifetime was the financial crisis. So I backtested all of the stocks during that time period. They all had rising dividends. I already knew the Aristocrats did fine in the after math of the dot-com bubble. So most of these stocks continued to pay and increase their dividends through multiple recessions.
I started the portfolio through M1Finance in August of 2019. I was really curious how this portfolio would hold up during the next recession. Only 1 stock cut it’s dividend (See Addendum below). The rest maintained or raised their dividend.
Here is my list of the stocks I own in my rising dividend portfolio.
| Name | Target | Aristocrat | |
| O | Realty Income Corp. | 4% | X |
| MMM | 3M Co. | 3% | X |
| AOS | A. O. Smith Corp. | 3% | X |
| ABT | Abbott Laboratories | 3% | X |
| APD | Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. | 3% | X |
| AMT | American Tower Corp. | 3% | |
| T | AT&T | 3% | X |
| ADP | Automatic Data Processing, Inc. | 3% | X |
| BDX | Becton, Dickinson & Co. | 3% | X |
| CVX | Chevron Corp. | 3% | X |
| KO | Coca-Cola | 3% | X |
| COST | Costco Wholesale Corp. | 3% | |
| CCI | Crown Castle International Corp. | 3% | |
| DLR | Digital Realty Trust, Inc. | 3% | |
| ECL | Ecolab, Inc. | 3% | X |
| EMR | Emerson Electric Co. | 3% | X |
| XOM | Exxon Mobil Corp. | 3% | X |
| HRL | Hormel Foods Corp. | 3% | X |
| JNJ | Johnson & Johnson | 3% | X |
| JPM | JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 3% | |
| LOW | Lowe’s Cos., Inc. | 3% | X |
| MAIN | Main Street Capital Corp. | 3% | |
| MA | Mastercard, Inc. | 3% | |
| MKC | McCormick & Co., Inc. | 3% | X |
| MCD | McDonald’s Corp. | 3% | X |
| MSFT | Microsoft | 3% | |
| PEP | PepsiCo, Inc. | 3% | X |
| PG | Procter & Gamble Co. | 3% | X |
| ROP | Roper Technologies, Inc. | 3% | X |
| HD | The Home Depot, Inc. | 3% | |
| SHW | The Sherwin-Williams Co. | 3% | X |
| UNP | Union Pacific Corp. | 3% | |
| V | Visa | 3% |
If you want to look at this portfolio in more depth, check out my M1 Finance Dividend Growth Portfolio.
Addendum: I had 1 stock that cut its dividend: Welltower, a long timer care facility. I replaced it with MainStreet capital.
There are several other stocks that I would like to have chosen. If any of these stocks cut their dividends then I’ll examine them at that time.
What are your stocks in your dividend portfolio?
