Portfolio Sale: Catlin Group (LSE: CGL)

It's 20/12/2012 (at least the way we write it in the UK) and I've sold all my Catlin Group shares.

This was my biggest high-yield dividend shareholding - and I rated it a HOLD back in February. So, what has changed - do I think, perhaps, that the end of the world is coming?

Portfolio (Partial) Sale: BT Group (LSE:BT.A)

The Christmas decorations are up, the presents are bought and there's undrunken mulled wine in the fridge.

But before we hit the seasonal over-eating and lethargy, there was an opportunity for a little trimming of the portfolio.

Corporate Bonds: Going International?

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The DIY Income Investor portfolio is doing very well this year, with total return approaching 30%. This has been achieved by a high-yield portfolio equally invested in dividend shares and and various fixed-income securities, all quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

But this return is exceptional and indicates to me the need to review potential risks sitting in the portfolio. One of these is perhaps an over-reliance on the UK market.

Portfolio Review: Resolution (LSE:RSL)

I bought Resolution over a year ago, primarily for its high yield.

But yield is not everything: I also look for a sustainable market model and sound corporate management.

So, after a year, how is it doing?

Free Ebook Updated

As I have been developing the blog, I have been putting the best of the posts together to document the DIY Income Investor approach in an e-book 'Building Wealth as a DIY Income Investor'.

The latest pdf version can be downloaded for free here (Version 4 - updated 4th December 2012) - running to over 160 pages of text, tips and links to other resources. This is a great way to get up to speed on the blog if you are new.

Dividends and the S&P 500

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The DIY Income Investor portfolio is 50% invested in high-yield dividend-paying shares. But what proportion of equity market returns are due to dividends? And should that guide our investing strategy?

As it turns out, this is quite a tricky question to answer. Of course, dividends represent 'cash-in-hand' for investors - but this cash is taken out of the businesses that generated the cash. And most companies can get a better rate of return by retaining earnings and reinvesting in the business. So, logically, companies with higher dividend yields - on average - should show slower capital or market price growth.

So what happened in the S&P 500 in the last 20 years?