How I’m Tackling My “Troublemaker” Investments - Part 2

You can read Part 1 of this post right here.

The TSX closed yesterday's session down -0.13% at 24,439.08. To my surprise, my stock portfolio gained over $2,000! I wasn’t expecting that. Today, the TSX closed in green territory at 24,561.20 points, up +122.12 (+0.50%). While keeping an eye on this, I had no choice but to update my investment portfolio, and when I did, I found out my net worth is now proudly standing at $460,391.55.

I personally update my portfolio whenever it registers gains. You just never know what tomorrow will bring, which is why I like to keep track of what’s going on. If a market correction happens and I lose a few thousand, I’ll know that I can recover to the $460,000 net worth because I’ve been there before. Once you’ve reached a certain amount, it's possible to get back there even after a downturn. Over the years, I’ve experienced multiple stock market corrections. It's never easy, but with time, you get used to it. It's during these tough times that it's actually the best time to invest your money.

My non-registered portfolio closed the session at $157,067.82, my TFSA portfolio at $152,710.73, my US portfolio at $6,297.03 USD, and my RRSP stocks-only portfolio at $73,839.60. I still have over $5k sitting in cash in my RRSP portfolio, waiting to be reinvested. I’m holding off for the next stock market correction before making my move. That money came from the exit of Park Lawn Corporation (PLC) from the TSX. The company no longer trades on the TSX as it became private. I benefited from that exit, but now I’m left with a lovely problem: I haven’t figured out yet what to invest in next. I definitely want to invest for the long term.

The stock market is a strange place. It’s not for everyone. Over time, I’ve realized that the best investors are often those who don’t overthink things. Personally, I started investing in stocks because I knew it was my only chance to "make it," if I may say so. I don’t earn a high salary—I’m not even at $30 per hour—so that gives you an idea of the income I deal with. The proportion of my earnings that I can actually invest is quite low. Because of this, I knew from the start that my only way to financial growth was through the TSX. It’s worked out pretty well so far. Along the way, some investments performed better than others. The stocks that have been more difficult and haven’t worked in my favor are what I call the "troublemakers" on my blog.

Previously, we discussed Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD), which is facing a multibillion-dollar fine in the US for money laundering. I would really like to know what exactly happened. We haven’t received many details on the case, but I’m curious. I hold TD stock in all my portfolios: non-registered, TFSA, and RRSP. It’s tough to predict the long-term effects of this debacle for TD investors. I’ve read that this will likely not impact TD’s ability to pay its quarterly dividend of 5.20%. Yesterday, TD seemed stable on the TSX, but it closed the day at $77.68, down -1.02%. If you’re a contrarian investor, you might see this as a buying opportunity. However, I’m not sure if TD’s stock has hit rock bottom yet. Can it go lower than $77.68 per share? It might.

Today at Market Call, for October 16, I asked Amber Kanwar the following question:

My question actually appeared on today’s episode of Market Call at BNN Bloomberg! Chris Blumas, a portfolio manager at Raymond James Investment Counsel, answered my query. You can watch today’s Market Call show right here. Not only is Amber Kanwar a fantastic host, but her hair is absolutely stunning—like a Disney princess!

It was quite insightful to hear Blumas' views on my question. I’ve thought about partially selling my TD Bank shares, but honestly, it’s a tough decision for me. I tend to get sentimental about my long-term holdings, and TD has been a core part of my investment portfolio for years. As a small investor, the situation with TD's several billion-dollar fine in the U.S. for money laundering is mind-blowing. Whenever there’s a stock market correction or one of my stocks faces challenges, my obsession is trying to figure out if we’ve hit rock bottom. Of course, there’s no way to know for sure, but I’m always keen to find out!

According to Chris Blumas, when it comes to the U.S. banking sector, all banks are involved in some form of money laundering; there are no banks that are entirely clean in this regard. TD Bank’s issues in the U.S. aren't new, and the stock has been on a decline for a while now. This suggests, as Blumas pointed out, that TD stock may have already reached its rock bottom—at least that’s how I interpret it.

I’ll be working on a Part 3 of my series, "How I’m Tackling My ‘Troublemaker’ Investments," as we haven’t yet discussed my TFSA portfolio.