The model Yield Hog Dividend Growth Portfolio posted a total return, including dividends, of about 1 per cent in January, trailing the 3.5-per-cent total return of the S&P/TSX Composite Index.
The biggest drag on the model portfolio was Capital Power Corp. (CPX), which tumbled 16.5 per cent on the month. The electricity producer’s shares had run up on expectations of surging power demand from data centres tied to artificial intelligence. However, Capital Power sank along with the tech sector after China’s DeepSeek unveiled an AI model that it claims was built at a much lower cost and with fewer advanced chips than competitors.
On the bright side, shares of Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD) and Telus Corp. (T) both continued to recover, gaining 8.3 per cent and 8.2 per cent, respectively.
Two companies in the model portfolio raised their dividends in January. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP (BIP.UN) hiked its distribution by 6 per cent, and Canadian Utilities Ltd. raised its dividend by 1 per cent. Even with a trade war now raging, I expect that February will bring more dividend increases.
Download the spreadsheet here.
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