August 2024 Dividend Income Update

calendar Sep 14, 2024 · 3 min read · Dividend Income Update
Photo by Micheile Henderson on Unsplash

Regardless of all of the volatility at the beginning of August and now at the beginning of September, the markets have performed well. The S&P 500 is up 18.5% since the start of the year. Though that’s largely due to tech stocks. The S&P 500 Equal Weight Index is up 10.5% year-to-date.

Both inflation and interest rates have been in focus for much of this year. The Bank of Canada has cut interest rates 3 times this year, from 5% down to 4.25%. The Fed still hasn’t cut interest rates yet. The expectation is that rate cuts will start this coming week. As a result, I recently switched from short-term bonds to intermediate-term bonds. Prices for intermediate and long-term bond indices have gained about 10% since May of this year. I’m looking to ride that wave as interest rates decline.

As interest rates decline, share prices of companies that rely heavily on borrowing have increased. Recently, we’ve seen REITs, utilities, etc. increase in price. Hopefully that also applies to telecommunications because my position in Telus is underwater.

I completed my account transfers from Questrade to Wealthsimple last month. I’ve been holding off on writing a review until I have verified that everything is running smooth, that I am receiving all of the promotional interest, etc. I’m happy to share that it’s all squared away now. Expect a review of Wealthsimple soon! I also signed up for their Visa Infinite credit card, more on that later.

In August, I received a total of $5,944 in dividends and interest. I earned a cumulative passive income of $42,596 year-to-date. For comparison, I earned a cumulative passive income of $27,081 this time last year. At the end of 2023, I earned $46,079 in passive income. Of the dividends received this month, $5,582 was available to withdraw without penalty.

The cash portion of my passive income was higher due to a maturing GIC and promotional interest from Wealthsimple.

As a reminder, I convert any USD amount to CAD using the month-end exchange rate published by the Bank of Canada. For August 2024, I used an exchange rate of 1.3491.

Account Income
Cash $2,821
Margin $2,577
CA Retirement $184
US Retirement $362
Total $5,944



I received dividends from the following stocks and ETFs:

  • AbbVie Inc (ABBV)
  • Apple Inc (AAPL)
  • Conagra Brands Inc (CAG)
  • CT Real Estate Investment Trust (CRT.UN.TO)
  • Dollarama Inc (DOL.TO)
  • Emera Inc (EMA.TO)
  • Global X High Interest Savings ETF (CASH.TO)
  • Granite Real Estate Investment Trust (GRT.UN.TO)
  • Mastercard Inc (MA)
  • National Bank of Canada (NA.TO)
  • Realty Income Corp (O)
  • Royal Bank of Canada (RY.TO)
  • Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index ETF (BSV)
  • WisdomTree Floating Rate Treasury Fund (USFR)

I purchased shares of the following stocks and ETFs:

  • iShares Balanced Growth Core Index ETF (XGRO.TO)

How did your month go? Did you buy or sell any stocks or ETFs?

Dividend Income