[Freedom Fund] 2022 Monthly Dividend Income Update

Last Updated on August 5, 2022 by Chin Yi Xuan

In this post, you’ll see my monthly dividend income updates for 2022. 

My goal is to invest a portion of my funds to build a RM1,000/month passive income portfolio (and eventually RM4,000/month).

Through this journal, you’ll see my progress month by month – and I wish you will find inspiration to start your dividend investing journey too! Let’s go!

Related Post: If you like reading my journey, I’m sure you’ll like the posts below as well:

• The Freedom Fund: My whole dividend investing portfolio!
• Dividend+: Learn how to build a low-maintenance dividend portfolio!

If you enjoy following my dividend investing journey and would like to learn more, subscribe to my FREE newsletter and I’ll be sending you the most updated content every week! 

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July 2022 Dividend Income Update

 

 

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We are back with the dividend update for July! In July, I received RM53.10 in dividend income!

July closed on a positive note after months of bearish sentiment. That said, I don’t think the market is clearly bullish yet. Inflation is still high and interest rate hikes have not proved effective in pushing inflation down.

For the month, I’ve added more units of HTA, alongside 2 Ireland-domiciled dividend growth ETFs – FUSD and UDVD to the Freedom Fund. These ETFs:

• Provide exposure to the US market at a lower dividend withholding tax (WHT) at 15% instead of 30% from typical US-listed equities.
• They also have a history of growing dividends and should serve as a great long-term holding to the portfolio.

An interesting note on FX rate. So far in 2022, our beloved MYR has:

• Dropped more than 4% against SGD.
• Lost close to 5% against CAD. 
• Lost over 6% in value against USD.

If any, investors should absolutely consider diversifying their income into different major currencies (eg. SGD, CAD, USD) to hedge against a weak MYR. A dividend portfolio with foreign exposure is certainly the easiest way to do so.

You can check out my latest Freedom Fund portfolio HERE.

 

[Note] Rotate your screen if you cannot view the full table in portrait mode. Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• USD1 = RM4.45
• SGD1 = RM3.22
• CAD1 = RM3.48
• HKD1 = RM0.57

July 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (July): RM53.10
• Dividend Income (2022): RM869.50

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June 2022 Dividend Income Update

 

 

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We are back with the dividend update for June! In June, I received RM97.96 (update: RM106.48) in dividend income!

June was a pretty tough month for the market as a whole. We’ve entered a bear market, inflation is hitting hard across the globe, and measures to raise interest rate did not seem to be effective in cooling things down.

I was quite busy with some research and work in June, so I did not do anything crazy other than adding additional 2 units of SCHD.

That said, I’ve probably made a mistake with buying SCHD from the start due to dividend withholding tax reasons (where non-US residents are taxed 30% of their dividend income) – which makes the long-term prospect of this US dividend ETF less attractive.

Will decide what I’d do with this soon but it’s a good lesson nevertheless. You can check out my latest Freedom Fund portfolio HERE.

 

[Note] Rotate your screen if you cannot view the full table in portrait mode. Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• USD1 = RM4.41
• SGD1 = RM3.16
• CAD1 = RM3.42
• HKD1 = RM0.56

June 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (June): RM106.48
• Dividend Income (2022): RM804.17

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May 2022 Dividend Income Update

 

 

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In May, I received RM255.65 in dividend income!

May is generally a nice month for dividends as quarterly distributions from REITs come in.

While MYR weakened against other currencies, dividends from foreign currencies also increased in MYR terms.

If you live in Malaysia, it is important to expand your income streams into stronger currencies (eg. USD, SGD) and dividend investing is a great way to go.

Took the chance to add SCHD, a US-listed ETF into the Freedom Fund as well. 

 

[Note] Rotate your screen if you cannot view the full table in portrait mode. Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• USD1 = RM4.38
• SGD1 = RM3.19
• CAD1 = RM3.44
• HKD1 = RM0.56

May 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (May): RM255.65
• Dividend Income (2022): RM708.12

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April 2022 Dividend Income Update

 

 

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In April, I received RM73.32 in dividend income!

April is generally a slow month despite many REITs announcing their earnings. Reason being, the dividend ex-date for my MREIT holdings (Atrium REIT, Axis REIT, IGB REIT) is happening in May. 

 

[Note] Rotate your screen if you cannot view the full table in portrait mode. Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• SGD1=RM3.15
• CAD1=RM3.40
• HKD1=RM0.54

April 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (April): RM73.32
• Dividend Income (2022): RM448.69

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March 2022 Dividend Income Update

This month, I received RM152.78 in dividend income! 

I revamped my dividend portfolio by adding in new dividend-paying stocks & ETFs (3110). Unique Covered Call ETFs (HBF, HTA, BTCY, ETHY) that pay monthly dividends were also added. 

As a whole, this month’s dividend income is a fantastic 142.7% increase over March 2021 (RM62.94). That’s RM71.84 more dividend income than last March – not a lot by absolute means, but progress is progress!

 

[Note] Rotate your screen if you cannot view the full table in portrait mode. Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• SGD1=RM3.10
• CAD1=RM3.36
• HKD1=RM0.54

March 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (March): RM152.78
• Dividend Income (2022): RM375.37

March is when I decided to concentrate more funds to build up my passive income portfolio. Various incidents in my family led me to realize the importance of consistent cashflow – and dividend investing is one, if not the best way to build consistent cashflow. 

I will continue to focus more funds to build this Freedom Fund so you’ll certainly see more growth down the line!

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February 2022 Dividend Income Update

In February, I received RM211.71 in dividend income. 

Since it’s Chinese New Year break, I took the chance to ‘slim down’ my REIT portfolio by letting go of all my individual Singapore REITs (SREITs) and several Malaysia REITs (KIP REIT, Sentral REIT). For Malaysia REITs, I only sold them off after ex-date so I am still eligible for the dividends. 

I’ve been wanting to slim down my REIT portfolio as I have no capacity to manage individual REITs and now I finally got it done!

As a replacement, I transitioned to Syfe’s REIT+ portfolio, which is essentially something like a REIT ETF that tracks a basket of SREITs. I truly like the ease of automatic dividend-reinvestment without the hassle to deal with corporate actions (eg. rights issue, DRIP) etc!

 

[Note] Rotate your screen if you cannot view the full table in portrait mode. Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• SGD1=RM3.10

February 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (February): RM211.71
• Dividend Income (2022): RM222.59

February is usually a high dividend month as most Malaysian REITs announce their Q4 dividends in late January with the following month as the ex-date. Now that I’ve sold many of my individual REITs, things may change a little moving forward. 

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January 2022 Dividend Income Update

As a REIT investor, January has been a relatively slow month for me. All in all, I received RM10.88 from Keppel DC REIT, a small Singapore REIT (SREIT) holding in my portfolio.

I’ve received my dividends from many of my Singapore REIT holdings late last year and most Malaysian REITs have yet to pass their dividend ex-date after their Q4 2021 earnings report – hence the quiet month.

 

[Note] Dividends are considered received as per dividend ex-date.

Exchange Rate: 

• SGD1=RM3.10

January 2022 Wrap-Up

• Dividend Income (January): RM10.88
• Dividend Income (2022): RM10.88