2019 in Review, Where to go from here?

First and foremost, I want to say that 2019 was a great year in investing for me. It marked my first year of really being an active investor. Previously, most of my investing choices were index funds.

POSITIVES?
-Increased my Cash Flow/Dividends tremendously

-ROTH IRA which was three index funds was up 30%, Traditional IRA was up around 19% 1 year return

General Mills, Leggett and Platt, Kaiser Aluminum, Medical Properties Trust turned out to be some of my best performers.

NEGATIVES?

My Brokerage Account truly underperformed the market, including Dividends.

Buying Macy’s was a BAD mistake, it cost me around $200 in losses, not much but still more than I had hoped. Retail/Apparel stocks overall did awful this year and I’m still in the hole on American Eagle Outfitters.

THOUGHTS GOING FORWARD?

I’ve decided to change my strategy a bit

1)While I will continue to buy Dividend stocks, I am going to concentrate on individual stocks less and buy more Total Market ETF’s like ITOT for instance.

2)I want to reduce my number of positions. I will be selling out of my Healthcare Mutual Fund in my Brokerage entirely, Selling Kroger in my IRA, and possibly even selling my Verizon in my IRA as well. I just want fewer positions and I already feel like I’m diversified enough.