These are the stocks that I own or have recently sold in the ETF Dividend Portfolio. I’m just going to list them in order of value but will not include prices or how much I hold. See the monthly portfolio updates for the most recent amounts held.
For now I just want to list the stocks and give a brief description of what it is and maybe why I hold it. A few people have asked about different ETFs that I hold so I’ll direct those questions to this page so I don’t keep repeating myself.
I’m including dividend yields but these are approximate numbers as I don’t plan to update them every time they change.
Important: This is in no way a recommendation of any kind. You do you and I’ll do me.
Current List of Stocks Held
- JPEQ – JPMorgan US 100Q Equity Premium Income Active ETF
Holdings: Large cap U.S. stocks like Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple and Amazon (Nasdaq 100 Index)
Listed in Australia and Issued by JP Morgan
Ticker: JPEQ
Dividend yield is roughly 9% and dividends are paid monthly.
First bought in February 2024 ($57.69) and currently buying about 5 shares each month.
Produces a monthly income with dividends and selling options on the Nasdaq 100 and other U.S. large cap growth stocks. This is the Australian listed version trading on the ASX which simply holds the US listed JEPQ. Being listed in Australia means that I pay zero brokerage using BetaShares Direct so I can buy as little as one share each week (or even less as they offer fractional shares). - VHY – Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF
Holdings: Sixty or seventy large Australian yield focused companies like Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Macquarie Group, Rio Tinto and Telstra (FTSE Australia High Dividend Yield Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by Vanguard
Ticker: VHY
Dividend yield is roughly 5% and dividends are paid quarterly (Jan, Apr, Jul, and Oct)
First bought in August 2023 ($66.33) and currently buying a few shares per quarter.
My Australian individual companies portfolio definitely outperforms VHY and VAS but ETFs are easy and I’ll continue to hold this while I live in Australia (probably forever). - IVV – iShares S&P 500 ETF
Holdings: 500 largest listed companies in the United States with names like Microsoft, Tesla, Google and Berkshire Hathaway (S&P 500® Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by iShares
Ticker: IVV
Dividend yield is roughly 1% and dividends are paid quarterly (Jan, Apr, Jul, and Oct)
First bought in September 2022 ($562.67 and was split 15 to 1 in December 2023) and currently buying a few shares each quarter.
Over long periods of time it is hard to beat the performance of the S&P 500 so holding IVV makes sense. Unfortunately the dividend yield is very low so it’s not a great income stock. I can’t think of a portfolio that shouldn’t be holding a S&P500 ETF. - GEAR – Geared Australian Equities Complex ETF
Holdings: 200 largest Australian companies with gearing of between 50-65% (S&P/ASX 200 Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by BetaShares
Ticker: GEAR
Dividend yield is roughly 2% and dividends are paid twice each year (Jan and Jul)
First bought in November 2023 ($23.42) and currently buying at least a few shares per quarter.
A little bit riskier as this ETF uses leverage but definitely not as risky as using a margin loan myself. So GEAR will go up faster than a plain vanilla ETF but it’ll also go down faster as the gearing amplifies the good and the bad. - VGS – Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF
Holdings: Around 1500 of the largest companies in the developed world with the likes of the Mag7, SAP, Nestle, ASML, and Novo Nordisk. (MSCI World ex-Australia)
Listed in Australia and issued by Vanguard
Ticker: VGS
Dividend yield is roughly 3% and dividends are paid quarterly (Jan, Apr, Jul, and Oct)
First bought in August 2023 ($107.97) and currently buying a few more every quarter.
There’s a lot of overlap with the S&P500 but I’m fine with that as it’s an index that usually goes up and to the right! I do keep forgetting to add to this position but it’s an ETF that I’ll probably hold forever. - QQQI – NEOS Nasdaq-100® High Income ETF
Holdings: Large cap U.S. stocks like Microsoft, Nvidia, Apple and Amazon (Nasdaq-100® Index)
Listed in the United States and issued by NEOS
Ticker: QQQI
Dividend yield is roughly 14% and dividends are paid monthly
First bought in May 2024 ($50.66 USD) and currently buying a few shares most months.
NEOS uses a data-driven call option strategy to produce a monthly income. I like how they produce a steady income that doesn’t fluctuate wildly and I like how they have come through the recent tariff turbulence. All covered call ETFs went down but they haven’t all come back up like QQQI and JEPQ. Time will tell obviously but for now I’m liking what I see. - FEPI – REX FANG & Innovation Equity Premium Income ETF
Holdings: 15 tech focused companies like Google, Tesla, Netflix, and Micron Technology (Solactive® FANG Innovation Index)
Listed in the United States and issued by REX Shares
Ticker: FEPI
Dividend yield is roughly 25% and dividends are paid monthly.
First bought in May 2024 ($52.89 USD) and I haven’t bought anymore since December 2024.
FEPI has been on my naughty list for a while now and I’m seriously thinking about selling it. Dividends have been decreasing for about 6 months and the stock is also down. I’m much more comfortable owning a covered call ETF like QQQI or JEPQ. A dividend yield of 20 or 30 percent is nice if the net asset value stays steady or increases but that’s not what FEPI has done while I’ve held it. - SCHD – Schwab U.S. Dividend Equity ETF
Holdings: 100 large American companies like Coca Cola, Lockheed Martin, Home Depot and Abbvie (Dow Jones U.S. Dividend 100™ Index)
Listed in the United States and issued by Charles Schwab Asset Management
Ticker: SCHD
Dividend yield is roughly 3% and dividends are distributed quarterly.
First bought in November 2024 ($29.12 USD) and I have a goal to own 100 shares in 2025.
I want this to be a very long term holding as I like what they’re doing with the ETF. There has been some noise about the poor performance over the last few years but I like that the dividend growth rate is still very healthy. A 10 percent CAGR for dividends sounds good to me. - NDQ – BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF
Holdings: The Nasdaq 100 with companies like Microsoft, Broadcom, Costco, and Meta Platforms (Nasdaq-100® Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by BetaShares
Ticker: NDQ
Dividend yield is roughly 2% and is paid out twice per year (Jan and Jul)
First bought in December 2024 ($51.69) and currently buying a few shares here and there.
The plan is to make this a top 5 holding but I have been neglecting it in favour of JEPQ or QQQI as I’m trying to increase my dividends. Eventually when my portfolio is large enough I won’t bother adding to any covered call ETFs, I’ll just add to ETFs like NDQ who simply hold the index. - ATEC – BetaShares S&P/ASX Australian Technology ETF
Holdings: About 40 tech-focused Australian companies like Wisetech, Pro Medicus, REA Group, Carsales.com and Life360 (S&P/ASX All Technology Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by BetaShares
Ticker: ATEC
Dividend yield is roughly .05% and dividends are paid out twice per year (Jan and Jul)
First bought in February 2025 ($31.96) and I add small amounts every month.
I want to invest more into some of the companies in this index but I have been a bit hesitant as the prices are eye watering for many of them. As an example the medical imaging software company Pro Medicus has a PE ratio of about 300! I’ve held the real estate classified website REA Group since 2016 and it’s up about 370% as I write this post. That sounds impressive but I only invested a few thousand dollars into it and haven’t added to it over the years.
Stocks That Have Been Sold
- VAS – Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF
Holdings: Index of the largest Australian companies listed on the ASX with stocks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia, BHP and CSL (S&P/ASX 300 Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by Vanguard
Ticker: VAS
First bought in June 2022 ($91.85) and Sold all shares in November 2023 ($88)
I decided to go with the slightly higher dividends of VHY. Either would be fine for holding an index of Australian stocks but I wasn’t going to hold both as there would be too much overlap with companies. - VBLD – Vanguard Global Infrastructure Index ETF
Holdings: Infrastructure in developed countries with the majority in North America and includes companies like NextEra Energy, Union Pacific Corp and American Tower Corp (FTSE Developed Core Infrastructure Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by Vanguard
Ticker: VBLD
First bought in August 2023 ($62.19) and Sold all shares in February 2024 ($62.02)
Thinking long term and thinking secure dividends, I figured infrastructure would be a no-brainer. I still think infrastructure is a good idea but I decided to move away from themes or industry niches and just stick to general regional indexes. If I like infrastructure so much I will research it more and buy individual companies, but so far, I haven’t. - QRE – BetaShares Australian Resources Sector ETF
Holdings: Largest Australian resource companies like BHP, Rio and Fortescue. (Solactive Australia Resources Sector Index)
Listed in Australia and issued by BetaShares
Ticker: QRE
First bought in December 2023 ($8.20) and Sold all shares in January 2024 ($7.57)
I didn’t really want to research Australian mining stocks so I decided to go with a mining ETF. Then I decided I would move away from themed ETFs and I never did like the cyclicality of the mining industry anyway. I had just started the ETF portfolio and I hadn’t really worked out what I wanted from it.
While writing this post I have had my pet chicken called Yappy sitting next to me. She is in a furry dog bed like it’s her nest. Here’s a cartoon depiction of her..
And here’s the real thing: My portfolio assistant, Yappy the chook. It’s not the best picture of her, but there she is, hard at work in the office.
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