Increased a little again.

Today I would like to introduce a stock that plays a very special role in my portfolio - not because of its huge price potential, but because of its constant monthly cash flow: AGNC Investment Corp. $AGNC (-1,09%)

I am invested here and am even considering adding more. For many, AGNC is too special or too risky - for me, it is a targeted component of my dividend strategy that delivers exactly what I expect from it: monthly income with a dividend yield of over 13%.

What does AGNC do?

AGNC is a so-called mREIT (mortgage real estate investment trust), specializing in agency-backed mortgage-backed securities - i.e. mortgage securities that are backed by the US government (e.g. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac). Compared to other mREITs, the risk is therefore somewhat cushioned because the state is liable in the event of an emergency.

AGNC earns money through the difference in interest rates between short-term financing and long-term mortgage securities - basically like a bank, but highly leveraged.

Why I consciously hold AGNC:

🔸 Monthly dividend

This is a real plus point, especially for income investors like me: cash flow every month - predictable and regular. It almost feels like a small salary bonus.

🔸 Yield currently over 13 %

Sure: dividends like this don't come without risk, but I see AGNC as a controlled income generator in the portfolio. It is important to be aware of where the yield comes from - and to understand the business model.

🔸 Agency bonds = government-backed

A crucial point for me: AGNC invests almost exclusively in mortgages guaranteed by the US government. That makes a huge difference compared to many other mREITs that go into high-risk securities.

🔸 Many years of experience & management

AGNC has been around since 2008, survived the financial crisis and has been paying monthly dividends ever since. Experience counts in this asset class - and it is available here.

What you need to know:

Of course, AGNC is not a defensive stock. Prices can fluctuate, especially when the FED changes interest rates. Therefore: For me, this is not a basic investment, but a strategic income component that I deliberately combine with more stable stocks such as Unilever, J&J or Pepsi.

📈 My conclusion:

AGNC is certainly not for everyone - but if you're looking for regular, high distributions and keep an eye on the interest rate landscape, you could have an interesting income tool in your portfolio here.

I'm staying invested here, taking the monthly dividend with me - and taking the opportunity to buy more when the share price falls.

What do you think of mREITs like AGNC? A strategic addition or a red rag? I look forward to your opinions!

#dividend
#dividendetf
#dividende
$VICI (+0,4%)
$MAIN (-3,1%)
$AGNC (-1,09%)

Short Put: How I build my own entry price and make money in the process.

Reading time: 3-5 minutes

Many people think of options as a wild gambling instrument - but they can be used in a wonderfully down-to-earth way to cleverly manage your portfolio. A perfect example of this is my current short put on Arbor Realty ($ABR (+0,26%) ), which you can also see in the embedded screenshot from my Swissquote account.

At the beginning of May, ARBOR stood at around USD 10.24. It was clear to me that I only wanted to buy more if the share fell below USD 8. Instead of placing a classic limit order, I preferred to sell a plain vanilla put option - without any frills. This was my signal to the market: If ARBOR falls below 8 dollars by mid-July, I will buy the shares at that price. I received a premium of USD 0.34 per share for this promise, which amounts to USD 34 for one contract (100 shares). (You can find out what the buyer of the option thinks at the end of the post).

If you look at the screenshot, you can see under "Last price" the current value of the option - just USD 0.01. This means that it is extremely unlikely that the option will go into the money. It will expire worthless. The volatility is also exciting: at 97%, it is extremely high - which benefits me, because the higher the expected fluctuation, the higher the premium paid by the buyer. So I got more money for my promise thanks to the high level of uncertainty. After all, when I sold the option, it was 20% away from the strike (option price / market price = ~3% for 2.5 months)

In the screenshot you can also see the current price of ARBOR (10.99 USD) - well above my strike at USD 8. As long as this remains the case, my put option will expire worthless on July 18 and I can keep the entire premium. If ARBOR does fall below USD 8, I will have to buy - but even then, thanks to the premium, I have effectively only paid USD 7.66 per share.

This is how I use short puts: On the one hand, I control my desired entry priceon the other hand, I earn a little extra while I wait. This is exciting for me because I want to stay invested for the long term anyway. I don't want to gamble away this share, but rather add to my holdings when the price is good.

If you look closely, you can also see the key figure in the screenshot Leverage 17.29 - which shows how strongly the option reacts to price movements. For me as a seller, however, this does not play a major role because I am not speculating but "selling" the leverage: I collect the premium because someone else buys this leverage. Furthermore, the leverage is invalid at the end of an option, shortly before the practically worthless expiry.

So a plain vanilla put option is anything but complicated: fixed strike, fixed expiry, no barriers or special rules. This is precisely what makes them so easy to plan for strategies like mine: either I buy at my price - or I simply take the premium.

If you already own shares or are planning to add to them in the long term, you can cleverly boost your cash flow with short puts. Important difference to gambling: I only sell puts on shares that I really want. This keeps the risk manageable - even if the share price drops sharply.

Current puts in my portfolio:

$MAIN (-3,1%) AUG25 49.7P & SEP25 44.4P

In the past I have successfully $HELN (-2,23%) stocked up. With $MPW (-3,34%) selling the puts even made up for large parts of my book losses.

So options don't have to be wild or complicated. With a simple short put, you can practically build the purchase price yourself and get paid for waiting. This is exactly what you see here in black and white in the Swissquote account.

Finally, if you're wondering whether it's worth it because of the "small" USD 34: I deposit via Lombard credit and have no liquidity to deposit as collateral. So it doesn't restrict me personally. I pay nothing for the part of the Lombard loan blocked by the option, as it is not actually used. Selecting an option doesn't take me 5-10 minutes. So it's worth the time for me. At times it was 100-150 per month as an "extra". However, as I only want to buy fewer shares at the moment, or the targeted entry prices are too far below the market price and the premium is correspondingly unattractive, there is less activity on my part. :-D

SO - What do you want to know and should I also shed more light on the put's long position? (The entry point is at the end of the post).

• The "loss" described here results from the purchase (strike 8-.) and the possible market price of e.g. 7.50 - but the option premium still has to be offset.

The buyer of the option:

The buyer of the put expects - or wants to hedge against - the price falling below $ABR (+0,26%) falls below 8 dollars by July. For him, the put option is something like an insurance policy. If the price falls significantly below 8 dollars, he can still sell the share at 8 dollars, even if it is only worth 6 or 7 dollars on the market. This limits his downside risk. Some also buy puts purely speculatively in order to profit from falling prices without owning the share itself. In the best case scenario, the buyer then sells the put later at a higher price if the price really does fall and the option is worth more. In any case, the following applies: I receive the premium because the buyer wants either security or speculation - and I make this option available.

----

Happy investing!

GG

Hello everyone and have a nice Sunday. I would like to hear your opinion, hard-hitting and honest, on my current portfolio.

I would like to emphasize up front that I have only been investing money since the beginning of 2023. My journey started directly with the tough crypto market. But good thing... As a result, I am very much in the plus with BTC and some altcoins... and very much in the minus with others... that's life 😁

I got into the stock market and my ETF savings plan in May 2024.

Since then, I've been investing in these 3 ETFs every month:

1) $IWDA (-2,43%) 50% - currently + 6.1%

2) $EIMI (-2,15%) 30% - currently + 6.6%

3) $RBOT (-3,39%) 20% - currently + 8.6%

Also bought some individual stocks such as $MSTR (-10,12%) , $COIN (-12,93%) , $PLTR (-3,18%) , $RIOT (-11,92%) and many more. I am also strongly up on the majority of them.

I monitor the markets on a daily basis and am increasingly looking for opportunities to pick up good and interesting ETFs or, in some cases, individual stocks (focus on dividends)

I have now made the following adjustments or added stocks (ETFs) in recent months:

4) $JEPQ (-2,19%)

5) $JEGP (-1,21%)

6) $TDIV (-1,49%)

I have included the two from jpmorgan as distributing etfs to generate additional cash flow. Getting money every month is just a good feeling and I thought I'd rather do it with these etfs than look for additional individual stocks.

The $TDIV (-1,49%) I have read a lot here and then decided to include it because it is doing really well and looks very interesting 🔥😎

So I now own 6 Etf's and sometimes I have the feeling it would be better to only have 2-3. But I find the 3 new distributing etfs really appealing due to the monthly or quarterly cash flow.

Individual stocks with a focus on dividends and which I have bought heavily in the last few months are :

1) $PEP (+0,15%)

2) $O (-0,7%)

3) $MAIN (-3,1%)

4) $RIO (-2%)

And brand new since last week

5) $ALV (-3,47%)

I would like to say goodbye to the following values in the near future:

$STAG (-0,67%)

$JNJ (+0,05%)

$TXN (-1,48%)

So there would be 11 stocks or securities in my long-term portfolio that I would like to save monthly or via DCA over the next 20-30 years.

I'm still new to the world of investing. Just under 2.5 years is nothing I would say. I would therefore be grateful for any tips on what I should possibly change or improve.

The dividends from the individual shares and ETFs always go into the $IWDA (-2,43%) because I want to increase its share, which alone should make up at least 50% I would say!

Unfortunately, I currently only have €350 to invest each month. But I currently have almost 100k in the markets. Most of it is in cryptos... but at the end of the year everything will be completely liquidated and then I'll have some cash to invest again!

Now it's your turn.

Thanks in advance.

Best regards

Chris 👋🤝😎

Hello everyone,

Since I and my portfolio have recently exceeded the €50,000 mark, I wanted to take this as an opportunity to present my portfolio and my strategy to you. I look forward to your opinion, assessment, criticism and potential for improvement.

About me: I am still 29 years old and work as a team leader in an industrial company in the building materials sector. In terms of education, I feel I've been through all the stages - from a qualifying secondary school certificate to A-levels and a bachelor's degree to a master's degree. The only thing missing is a doctorate 😌

About the overall strategy: My assets are divided between my share portfolio, a condominium and a call money account. I live in your apartment myself. I wouldn't consider renting or real estate as an investment because I think the risks of having to invest money again are too high. You can also suspend the savings plan in your portfolio from time to time. So the apartment is held for as long as it is occupied and then sold when I buy a house.

About the equity strategy: I'll try to summarize this briefly

• Allocation: core-satellite strategy. So core for me is any ETF, satellites are the individual stocks. Core should make up about 80 percent, the individual stocks 20 percent. The buy-in for the individual stocks is always 2000 euros.
• Selection: Dividend strategy - the dividends of the ETFs are reinvested in them, the dividends of the individual shares go into an ETF.
• Buy and hold
• Special feature: I received a loan from a close relative for my apartment, which is repayable on maturity after 8 years. Due to some lucky coincidences, I had the money back together one year after the purchase. So instead of letting it sit in an overnight deposit, I invested it at the beginning of 2024 - with very good timing.

Stock selection and savings plan:

• $VHYL (-1,46%) The big core - I think the ETF is good because it is broadly diversified and has a good, reliable distribution. I am not currently saving in the ETF. Only the remaining shares from the beginning of 2024 are transferred from the second custody account (I transfer cash to a separate account and make a custody account transfer from the second custody account to mine. The loan amount will then accumulate there).
• $VWRL (-2,4%) Will be my new second large core and therefore currently saved with 500 euros per month.
• The following individual securities are currently fully saved: $ALV (-3,47%)
  $BAS (-2,63%)
  $EOAN (+0,09%)
  $BATS (+0,8%)
• As soon as the core share is over 80 percent, further shares are transferred from the second portfolio. $SIE (-4,69%) shares are transferred from the second portfolio. The total buy-in is therefore also EUR 2000.
• The following stocks are still included in the second portfolio and are transferred bit by bit - whenever there is money and depending on the core share in my portfolio: $VHYL (-1,46%)
  $VWRL (-2,4%)
  $PEP (+0,15%)
  $SIE (-4,69%)
  $DHL (-3,07%)
  $VOW (-2,58%)

Further strategy:

At the moment I feel comfortable with the strategy and until all individual stocks etc. have been transferred to the main portfolio. It will take some time before all the individual stocks etc. are transferred to the main portfolio. In the long term, I am considering $TDIV (-1,49%) with a 10 percent share. I will then select individual stocks in the future, but e.g. $RIO (-1,13%) , $MUV2 (-1,83%) or $MAIN (-3,1%) I could well imagine.

Looking forward to your comments on this boring strategy 😌

I love selling options, so I "sell to open" a call option.

Currently I have short call options on $MAIN (-3,1%)
$ABR (+0,26%) only, but used to sell calls on $MPW (-3,34%) , $HELN (-2,23%) and $NVDA (-3,86%) .

My reasoning: They are expensive at current price X, but i'd love to take them at PRice X - 20% for example. So I receive an option premium, and if the stock does tank like 30%, a buyer is happy to make the margin trade in between, the Market Price X - 30% and the Option PRice of X - 20% (= ~ 10%).

That does generate income if the options does expire worthless. But for GetQuin I can only insert the wins by creating a buy-order for an investment vehicle "other", and then sell it on the expiration day for the options premium I got.

This creates the problem of having the income at the wrong date as well as "exaggerated" single-trade-returns. Also slightly tedious...

It's not a huge amount. It's not a major effect on the performance. However, it's rather annoying. I'm curious if I'm the only one doing it, since most people prefer to buy structured products rahter than buying the option straight.

If I'm not the only one, I'd dare to tag customer support to ask for a development of enabling selling short.

Happy Investing

GG

------------DE:

I love selling options, so I "sell to open" a call option.

Currently I only have short call options on $MAIN $ABR, but I used to sell calls on $MPW , $HELN and $NVDA regularly.

My reasoning: they are expensive at current price X, but I would like to buy them at price X - 20%. That way I get an option premium. If the stock falls by 30%, a buyer is happy to margin trade between the market price X - 30% and the option price of X - 20% (= ~10%).

This generates income when the options expire worthless. But with GetQuin, I can only insert the profits by creating a buy order for an "Other" investment instrument and then selling it on the expiration date for the option premium received.

This leads to the problem that the income is received at the wrong time and the returns for individual transactions are "exaggerated". It's also just a bit more time-consuming ^^

It is not a large amount. It doesn't have a significant impact on performance. It is quite annoying though. I'm curious if I'm the only one doing this, as most people prefer to buy structured products rather than buying the option outright.

If I'm not the only one, I would venture to contact customer support to request a development to allow the short sale.

Peanuts... but still tastes good.