My latest financial news

The TSX closed this past Friday session slightly below the 22,000-point mark, leaving my non-registered portfolio at $134,175.97, my US portfolio at $5,730.56 USD, my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $63,924.75, and my TFSA portfolio at $138,752.39. These days, I have been more focused on paying down my margin account debt, which is currently sitting at $6,800. Otherwise, I don't actively follow what's going on in the stock market, but I do check the TSX multiple times a day during weekdays, as usual.

Time is passing by quite quickly; it's quite strange to suddenly realize that we are already at the end of April! Time goes by quickly when you work full-time, and if I ever finish my day at 6 p.m. or later on some days, that really doesn't leave me much time to enjoy my evenings. Lately, I have been trying to go for some evening walks whenever I have the chance. If I have checked correctly, the month of May is going to be a very special one. I am expecting three paycheques, which are more than welcome. I will do my very best to bring my margin debt down to $5,000. I have been in Montreal for a couple of weeks now and I loosen up a little when it comes to my expenses, but I try to keep them under control. Many things that I like to do in Montreal are free anyway. Let's just say that I don't deprive myself of absolutely anything these days, especially not espressos, but only one a day - sometimes two but not very often.

When I look at my non-registered portfolio, I only have two stocks that are in the red zone: BCE Inc. (BCE) and New Flyer Industries Inc. (NFI). My investment in BCE was done not too long ago. I was thinking about proceeding with a contribution in kind with those BCE shares to have them transferred over to my TFSA portfolio with the other BCE shares that I hold. That way, all of my BCE shares would be together. I believe I still have contribution room left in my TFSA to proceed; I will have to verify that. Currently, my BCE investment in my TFSA portfolio is down by 30%. Currently, BCE's dividend yield is ultra-appealing, at 8.95%. In my opinion, I hold enough shares of BCE in my portfolio, and I am not looking to add more, even if that yield is quite something.

Last week, I recently invested in a few shares for my RRSP portfolio using the money coming from dividend distribution. I invested in JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN), Parkland Corporation (PKI), TMX Group Limited (X), and Topaz Energy Corp. (TPZ). PKI and TPZ are old picks from Jean-François Tardif. I always enjoy adding some new stocks to my portfolio, even if I already hold many of them, in multiple sectors and businesses. What do I have to lose, if not "just" money, by trying out a new stock with just one single investment? Personally, I find it to be quite fun. When it comes to X, it's a stock that I hold in my non-registered portfolio (+190.79%), TFSA portfolio (53%), and RRSP portfolio (+13.54%).

Back in October 2023, I invested a very small amount in a very special stock named Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (IVN). Currently, my investment in IVN is showing a beautiful gain of +91%! Trust me when I say, I only wish I had invested more in this one! I didn't know anything about Ivanhoe Mines until I heard Rick Rule talk about it on BNN Bloomberg's Market Call. I really enjoyed what he had to say. I usually don't invest in mining companies, but I certainly don't regret this investment. So thank you, Rick Rule. What a cool name, don't you think?

Also, in my RRSP portfolio, one stock that I feel is unknown and has performed well for me is Taiga Building Products Ltd. (TBL) (+24.81%). I am not especially a fan of gold, but I know it has its place in a portfolio. That's why I invested a little while ago in Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) (+16%).

In my TFSA portfolio, one stock that I didn't have any real hope for has performed quite well, and that's the Hamilton Enhanced U.S. Covered Call ETF (HYLD) (+14%).

Overall, I would say that I am doing alright.

My net worth is now at $407,032.02!

I updated my investment portfolio earlier this weekend just to find out - right on time for Easter - that my net worth is now at $407,032.02. Since the beginning of the year, my net worth has grown by over +$27,000. I reached the $400k milestone earlier in March, and ever since, it's been a bit difficult to realize that I finally reached the $400k net worth. I guess it's because I feel I had been waiting for this for way too long. Once it finally happened, it was a bit of a shock. It came as a surprise because I wasn't expecting it to arrive so early this year. I don't think hitting $500k will happen this year, but I think I may be able to reach $420k. Those kinds of things are always difficult to predict anyway, at least for me.

I arrived in Montreal from New Brunswick just last week. It's kind of nice to be enjoying the early months of spring here. The weather is much colder in New Brunswick, and we still have a lot of snow. I am enjoying myself a lot more here in Montreal. I haven't gone downtown yet or visited the Old Port. I cannot wait to go. I just want to do a bunch and go shopping :-)

Otherwise, I invested this past week in a few shares of BCE. I also just received some good dividends from Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PPL), which I reinvested (DRIP) to create more shares. With all of that good stuff, I am now earning an equivalent of $920 per month in dividend income from my non-registered and TFSA portfolios. I am getting very close to the $1k mark in income.

I recently made an interesting discovery. From time to time, I like to check on the composition of JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN). I hold some JFS.UN units in my RRSP portfolio. To my surprise, JFS.UN holds some Data Communications Management Corp stocks!

I have a disastrous history when it comes to Data Communications Management (DCM). Even though it's part of the JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN), I do not recommend holding onto any of those DCM stocks. I don't understand why that stock is in JFS.UN in the first place. It doesn't make any sense to me. It's the same situation with Colabor Group Inc. I used to hold some Colabor stocks a long time ago, and it didn't turn out to be a good investment. I am very surprised that a fund as stable as JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN) holds onto such poor investments. I feel like Mattr Corp. (MATR) is also a poor investment. I don't know much about those stocks, but I don't understand why they're in JFT Strategies Fund Class A Units (JFS.UN).

I don't know about you, but I've already booked my vacation for this summer. I'll be spending 10 days at the beach. I've already paid for the accommodation; it's something like $2,000 after taxes! It's outrageously expensive. Between now and the summer, I will try to control my expenses, but at the same time, there are many things I am looking forward to doing. We'll see how it goes.

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