Here is the dividend income report for June, 2023.
The monthly dividend income came out to $2925.48. The yearly income total for 2023 through the end of the month was $5806.11.
The income for June 2022 was $3154.20, and the yearly income for 2022 through the end of June was $5703.41.
The second-quarter VPU payment did not come until July 5th. Again. I have no idea why Vanguard cannot make all the payouts on time. If it had, then the monthly total would have been 3188.21 and the yearly total would have been 6068.84. I know Vanguard loves to brag they are cheaper, and that costs can have an affect over time, but on the other hand these funds are for when I am too old to work. I would prefer the income be predictable.
The fund I have now is the Vanguard Utilities ETF (VPU). If I were to replace it with another utilties fund, my choices are the iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (IDU) from BlackRock, or the Utilities Select Sector SPDR® Fund (XLU) from State Street (second page here). As much as I hate the payouts being late, VPU in many respects is a better fund: more companies, lower costs, higher yield:
| IDU | VPU | XLU | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Num Companies | 44 | 65 | 30 |
| SEC 30-day Yield | 2.61 | 3.24 | 3.06 |
| Expense Ratio | 0.39 | 0.10 | 0.10 |
| Net Yield | 2.22 | 3.14 | 2.96 |
Perhaps I will just stick with VPU. Or put more into SDY, since there might be a lot of overlap with that fund anyway. As it is, my twelve-month moving average has been above $1000 for an entire year. This would not even cover my rent, and that is before taxes (some of my accounts are tax-free, some are tax-deferred).
Here is a table with the year-to-date amounts, the monthly amounts, and the three- and twelve-month moving averages for each June from the beginning of my records through 2023:
| Month | YTD | Amount | 3MMA | 12MMA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-06 | $5806.11 | $2925.48 | $1140.38 | $1024.04 |
| 2022-06 | $5703.41 | $3154.20 | $1190.56 | $999.37 |
| 2021-06 | $4662.40 | $2162.36 | $861.08 | $899.68 |
| 2020-06 | $4407.77 | $1957.12 | $778.78 | $885.91 |
| 2019-06 | $4251.15 | $2244.44 | $959.55 | $753.16 |
| 2018-06 | $2185.04 | $863.49 | $319.68 | $551.12 |
| 2017-06 | $3108.53 | $761.91 | $539.42 | $536.73 |
| 2016-06 | $2744.28 | $684.76 | $464.00 | $483.42 |
| 2015-06 | $2415.32 | $612.21 | $411.83 | $409.95 |
| 2014-06 | $1933.90 | $522.86 | $333.10 | $320.58 |
| 2013-06 | $1492.72 | $351.48 | $257.79 | $291.91 |
| 2012-06 | $1574.81 | $305.84 | $260.85 | $276.29 |
| 2011-06 | $1351.34 | $236.50 | $235.38 | $203.23 |
Here are the securities and the income amounts for June, 2023:
- Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF: $195.52
- Vanguard Total International Bond ETF: $16.77
- SPDR S&P Dividend ETF: $912.01
- SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF: $138.40
- SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF (in another account): $275.58
- SPDR S&P Global Dividend ETF: $1344.35
- Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF: $42.85
Big Jim says there is nothing wrong with having first-world problems if you live in the first world.
Painting is a section of a nativity scene by Fra Angelico (1395 – 1455); image from Wikimedia, image assumed to be under public domain.