April was here and it's already over again. Trump's liberation day was not as liberating as we now know. Nevertheless, a lot happened and the stock market remained very volatile in April. After initially falling sharply, it stabilized towards the middle of the month and ultimately rose again, leaving the S&P500 at -3.62% at the end of the month.

In April, I recorded a loss of 3.68%. Given the size of my portfolio, this corresponds to a value of almost €4,000.

Thanks to the dividends, which are gross here in the picture (net = €272.65), this amount is then reduced to just under €3,700.

The Dax (+0.80%) has beaten me again, but compared to the HSBC MSCI World (-4.24%) I am doing better again.

Over the year as a whole (YTD), I have lost ground again to the DAX, which has risen again. At the same time, however, I was able to further extend my lead over the MSCI World. However, as can be seen above, the MSCI World caught up considerably towards the end of the month.

April again showed that my portfolio is quite stable. That's the price you pay if you give up positive returns. Of course, everyone has to decide for themselves how well they can sleep.

My high and low performers in April were (top 3):

Nintendo ($7974 (-2.75%) ) +15,32%

Eon ($EOAN (-0.02%) ) +10,42%

Tesla ($TSLA (-2.92%) ) +8,87%

Pepsi ($PEP (+0.03%) ) -14,93%

UnitedHealth ($UNH (+1.54%) ) -20,62%

Petroleo Brasileiro ($PETR4 (-1.36%) ) -20,89%

Interesting that UnitedHealth was the second-worst stock in February, the second-best in March and now the second-worst again. A very volatile stock at the moment. Understandable, however, after the recent events.

Dividends:

In April, I received €272.65 net from a total of 15 distributions.

Compared to March 2024 (€182.13), this was an increase of 49.7%.

I now expect another increase in May before it falls sharply again afterwards.

Investments:

As in February and also in March, I am still building up my nest egg again. This was actually planned to be completed in April or May at the latest. But now the car is broken and the repairs will cost a lot. So the replenishment continues.

The special payment in April went into the $XEON (+0%). I also treated myself to a South African government bond, which will also mature in the year the first loan is due. I'm happy to take the 8% until then and if I don't see the money again, then it was a try and I can cope with it.

Buying and selling:

I sold Monster with a plus of 12.3%. Simply because I want to reduce the size of the portfolio, Monster does not pay a dividend and we were very close to the all-time high in April.

I bought or increased Gladstone Investment (I'm happy to take the special dividend in June), Texas Instruments, LVMH, Rio Tinto, United Health, Lockheed Martin and Waste Management.

Savings plans (125€ in total):

• Cintas ($CTAS (+1.71%) )
• LVMH ($MC (+0.1%) )
• Microsoft ($MSFT (+0.62%) )

Target 2025:

My goal is still to have € 130,000 in my portfolio at the end of the year. The goal is to be achieved by reinvesting the dividend, making payments and, of course, increasing the share price. The share price increase is of course impossible to predict in any way, so the motto is: if the share price falls or does not rise enough, more cash is needed.

This comes from selling useless stuff on eBay, additional income from e.g. "neighborhood help" etc.

The worse the share price, the more additional cash has to be raised.

Target achievement at the end of April 2025: 22.22%

I'm slowly lagging behind the average. It's definitely going to be very sporty this year.

Let's see what else is coming. Now that Trump has probably signed a commodities deal with Ukraine, the share price will rise again somewhat, at least in the next few days. After that it will be uncertain again.

How was your April? As the getquin monthly report for March was not published, I am now looking forward to the April report.

If you liked the report and would like to read more, feel free to follow me,

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Atlas Copco $ATCO B (-0.87%)

BAE Systems $BA. (+0.02%)

Rollins $ROL (+0.84%)

Cintas $CTAS (+1.71%)

Waste Management $WM (+1%)

Parker Han$PH (-0.17%)

Which companies do you see as particularly promising for a long-term investment?

March is already over, daylight saving time is on and by the time you read this, it will be "liberation day". Let's see what Mr. Trump does today at noon. But that will probably be the subject of April.

For now, let's take a look back at my March 2025.

I posted a loss of 3.09% in March. With my portfolio size, this corresponds to a value of almost €4,000. The Dax (-1.72%) beat me again, but compared to the HSBC MSCI World (-7.88%) I am still doing very well.

Over the year (YTD), I lost ground to the DAX, which remained fairly stable, but at the same time I was able to extend my lead over the MSCI World. After all...

Overall, however, I am also satisfied in March. As in February, my portfolio is quite stable compared to the MSCI World. Yes, in good phases I forego profits, but I don't have so many losses now. Volatility is supposed to be a real mental challenge for some people. I'm just glad that things are a bit more subdued for me.

My high and low performers in February were (top 3):

$EOAN (-0.02%) EON +13.45%

$UNH (+1.54%) UnitedHealth +7.15%

$ALV (+0.45%) Allianz +6.60%

$RACE (+0.11%) Ferrari -12.35%

$LLY (+2.9%) Lilly -13.04%

$MC (+0.1%) LVMH -17.71%

Funny that UnitedHealth was the second worst performing stock in February and now the second best.

Dividends:

In March, I received a net €165.60 from a total of 22 distributions.

Compared to March 2024 (€128.38), that was an increase of 28.99%

Investments:

As I mentioned in February, I am still building up my nest egg again. This is also not yet complete.

A special payment is due in April, but this will go into the $XEON (+0%) as I am saving all the special payments for the loan repayment in 5 years' time.

I have actually stopped some savings plans in order to have more money for individual purchases or to build up cash. More on this later.

Buying and selling:

There were no sales this month.

I bought Ferrari, and there is still room here until the position is full.

As I mentioned above, I stopped some savings plans. Realty, STAG, Gladstone Investment and Hercules Capital have been stopped. I would like to add to Realty again to fill the position (I'm still €300 short). The price of the others is moving sideways, so I imagine that I will be able to buy them at a later date at the same price.

Savings plans (total €175):

• Cintas ($CTAS (+1.71%) )
• LVMH ($MC (+0.1%) )
• Monster Beverage ($MNST (+0.36%) )
• Microsoft ($MSFT (+0.62%) )

Goals 2025:

My goal is to have €130,000 in my portfolio at the end of the year. The goal is to be achieved by reinvesting the dividend, making payments and, of course, increasing the share price. The share price increase is of course impossible to predict in any way, so the motto is: if the share price falls or does not rise enough, more cash is needed.

This comes from the sale of useless items on eBay, additional income from e.g. "neighborhood help", etc. The worse the share price, the more additional cash has to be raised.

Target achievement at the end of March 2025: 21.05%

So I'm on the right track (so far), although I would have needed a bit more in March to maintain the average. Well, everything is still open at the moment.

Now I'll wait and see what tariffs come in today (or not), look forward to the dividends and just wait and see. "Because doing nothing often leads to the very best of something."

How was your March? I have the latent hope that, for once, I did better in March than my usual 50% or so of the getquin community.

#washbaerreview

Source: reuters. com

$CTAS (+1.71%)

• Cintas Corp reported adjusted earnings of $1.13 per share for the quarter ended February 28, up from the year-ago quarter when the company reported earnings per share of 96 cents.The average expectation of seventeen analysts for the quarter was earnings of $1.06 per share. Wall Street expected earnings of between 1.03 and 1.10 dollars per share.
• Sales rose 8.4 percent year over year to $2.61 billion; analysts had expected $2.60 billion.
• Cintas Corp's reported EPS for the quarter was $1.13.
• The company reported quarterly net income of $463.5 million.

The second month of 2025 is already over. Time is flying by again at breakneck speed and one event or statement follows the next this year. It's crazy what's going on at the moment and at the same time the market is somehow saying "I don't care".

Up down, up down, the markets are becoming more volatile and yet, or precisely because of this, my February was almost at +/-0.

But one thing at a time.

In February I achieved a plus of 0.8%. With my portfolio size, this corresponds to a value of almost €900. Not particularly good compared to the Dax (+3.77%), but still very respectable compared to the HSBC MSCI World (-2.49%).

Unfortunately, things do not look any better over the year (YTD).

The Dax is running away with 13.3%, while the MSCI World is bobbing along at 1.6%. Here, too, I was at least able to beat the World, but I still lag miles behind the DAX.

Overall, however, I am still very satisfied. As I don't have a lot of tech in my portfolio and my stocks are (mostly) rather stable, there is often no outperformance of the stocks and if there is, it is only marginal.

My high and low performers in February were (top 3):

$HSY (-0.11%) Hershey +15.63%

$T (+1.62%) AT&T +14.07%

$NESN (+0.5%) Nestle +13.10%

$ADM (-0.26%) Archer Daniels -8.57%

$UNH (+1.54%) United Health -13.16%

$TSLA (-2.92%) Tesla -27.59%

Dividends:

In February, I received a net €123.62 from a total of 10 distributions.

Compared to February 2024 (€99.26), this was an increase of 24.54%

Investments:

Due to the construction work on the house last year, the focus continues to be on building up the nest egg and saving up a "leisure account" again, as everything was really used up completely last year and only the custody account remained.

The savings plans will of course continue unabated, but individual investments are probably not possible for the time being.

Purchases and sales:

I have parted with Mercedes ( $MBG (-0.38%) ) and Medical Properties ( $MPW (-0.63%) ).

I then added to Lockheed Martin ( $LMT (+1.84%) ), Hershey ( $HSY (-0.11%) ) and Petroleo Brasileiro ( $PETR4 (-1.36%) ).

My savings plans remain unchanged, but it is quite possible that I will stop them for the time being in order to build up investment cash again.

Savings plans (350€ in total):

• Realty ($O (+0.67%) )
• STAG Industrial ($STAG (-0.71%) )
• Gladstone Invest ($GAIN (-0.09%) )
• Hercules Capital ($HTGC (+0.51%) )
• Cintas ($CTAS (+1.71%) )
• LVMH ($MC (+0.1%) )
• Monster Beverage ($MNST (+0.36%) )
• Microsoft ($MSFT (+0.62%) )

Goals 2025:

My goal is to have €130,000 in my portfolio at the end of the year. The goal is to be achieved by reinvesting the dividend, making payments and, of course, increasing the share price. The share price increase is of course impossible to predict in any way, so the motto is: if the share price falls or does not rise enough, more cash is needed.

This comes from selling useless stuff on eBay, additional income from e.g. "neighborhood help" etc. The worse the share price, the more additional cash has to be raised.

Target achievement at the end of February 2025: 37.41%

So I'm on the right track (so far). I'm curious to see what else will happen in 2025 and hope that the crash, which seems to be getting closer and closer, will take a little longer (so that I can continue to accumulate cash).

How was your February? Are you happy so far? I think that, due to the volatility, the portfolios in February are far more spread out than they were in January or even at the end of last year.

My dividend portfolio will soon be one year old. It now consists of 8 positions, each of which is saved with €18 per month.

My latest additions are $CTAS (+1.71%) and $ABBV (+0.8%)

How do you like my portfolio composition?

The year 2024 is over in stock market terms and I would also like to review the year.

I started with a portfolio value of just over €53,000.

I knew that a reallocation of around €20,000 was still to come and had therefore set my sights on the target of €100,000.

This was very ambitious, as I naturally didn't know what the year would bring. After all, there were already enough economic and political uncertainties at the start of 2024.

As I only really started investing in 2021 and 2022 was therefore my first full year on the stock market, I made a lot of mistakes at the beginning, had fluctuations in my strategy (once one was in place) and of course also made a few losses.

That's why it was important for me to stay true to my strategy in 2024 and not throw everything overboard again. Because, as I always say, going back and forth empties your pockets.

Some of you may also remember my early days, when I had a lot of savings plans in place, but they weren't particularly high and were constantly being changed. At the beginning of 2024, my portfolio contained a total of 47 individual share positions and 3 ETFs.

My goals for 2024 were therefore

• Stay true to the strategy
• No new stocks in the portfolio, rather clear out
• 100,000€ portfolio value
• 2000€ net dividend
• Investment of €17,000 (without reallocation)

2024 went as follows for me:

January: +4.0%

February: +1.3%

March: +3.0%

April: -0.4%

May: +0.5%

June: +1.7%

July: +1.7%

August: +0.9%

September: +1.0%

October: -0.4%

November: +3.4%

December: -1.7%

TTWROR 2024: +15.8%

Dividend (already in the performance): € 1956.56

Invested: €24,900

Reallocation: €21,700

Thanks to a special payment from my old employer, to which I was still entitled, I was surprisingly able to invest around €5,000 more than I had originally thought.

Did I achieve my goals?

Not all of them.

With the dividends, I'm ~€43 below my target. That's a shame, but it motivates me to step on the gas even more and crack the €2400 net dividend in 2025. That would be €200 net per month, which corresponds to an increase of 22.66%. Again, very ambitious, but you should set yourself ambitious goals.

However, I was already able to break the €100,000 barrier in September. This was of course due to the strong market. I ended the year with just over €111,500. I have remained true to my strategy, but a few new stocks have slipped into the portfolio (and a few out).

The cheering contribution to the €100,000 was here:

https://app.getquin.com/de/activity/XGtdQzCdYF

New in the depot:

$NESN (+0.5%) Nestle

$CTAS (+1.71%) Cintas (savings plan)

$RACE (+0.11%) Ferrari

$D05 (-0.46%) DBS

$UNH (+1.54%) United Health

$V (+1.04%) visas

$CSNDX (+0.07%) Nasdaq 100 (savings plan)

$XEON (+0%) As an overnight money substitute for fixed planned money for loan repayment in 6 years or special repayment if the interest rate on the balance falls below the loan interest rate of 0.75%. Is topped up with special payments from the employer during this period.

Left my securities account:

$AAL (-0.61%) Anglo American PLC (+37%)

$IBM (+0.34%) (+26%)

$BAC (-0.21%) Bank of America (+45%)

$UKW (+0.74%) Greencoat UK Wind (0 to 0 due to dividends)

$SBUX (+0.1%) Starbucks (+10%)

$BIGG (+0%) Bigg Digital Group (-95%)

Unfortunately, I sold IBM and Bank of America too early, but I am still satisfied.

What else has happened?

• I bought Bitcoin from TR to estimate the costs. Conclusion: savings plan is always around 3-4% higher. Not worth it, if at all then individual purchases
• Weingut Dürnberg: First dividend received and prospects look reasonable. Depending on how the grape harvest turns out next year, a dividend will be paid again and investments can still be made.
• The conservatory and paving the courtyard are done. The house construction is more or less finished, everything else will take time and are small things, but now I have to start saving again as I only have a small nest egg and my deposit. All other funds have been used up as the costs were twice as high as originally planned.
• Podcast with @Koenigmidas is running rather slowly this year due to personal time constraints. You can find the latest episode here: Link zur Folge (also available on Amazon)

Outlook for 2025

So what are my plans for 2025 in terms of finances?

• Investment of €15,000
• Net dividend of €2,400
• One slightly greater focus on high dividend stocks (e.g. to increase $HTGC (+0.51%) to increase the cash flow a little faster)

What are your targets for 2025? Did you reach your 2024 targets and to what extent did you change your targets after reaching (or not reaching) your 2024 targets?

Feel free to let me know in the comments, as I always find it very exciting to see how ambitiously others set/change their goals.

I wish you a good start to 2025 and every success with all your plans and goals.

As with everything, of course, if you're not interested, feel free to keep scrolling and/or use the block function. 😊