Survey results

First of all, I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to all those who took part in the survey. Many of you gave your opinion, far beyond those who are used to comments or the forum. This proves that there's a silent majority behind this site, who are also part of the journey. I'm very happy about that, even if sometimes I'd like to see a bit more of it. We'll come back to this point a little later, as I imagine you're as eager as I am to find out what type of reader is behind dividendes.ch and what their expectations are.

Your age

The 31 to 45 age group stands out from the crowd, accounting for one out of every two readers. This isn't really a surprise, since at this age you start to earn an income that allows you to save and therefore invest. We're also right in the middle of the Rat Raceto work in order to consume, to put in long hours at work, to be promoted, in short, to follow the downward slope of the global economy against our will. happiness curve. At this age, it's also still early enough to change one's future, by wanting to become financially independent and retire early. The 46-60 age group comes next, with almost 20% of readers. I imagine that for them, the concern is rather to secure an income in retirement, or even to slightly anticipate their departure from the professional world. During this period, we often begin to realize the misery that the AVS and LPP represent. The 61-75 age group is surprisingly the 3rd largest readership group, with 16%. I had no idea there were so many retired or semi-retired people. For them, no doubt, it's a question of maintaining existing capital and income. Then there are the 16-30 year-olds, with just over one reader in ten. It's true that at this age most people aren't yet thinking about investing, let alone retirement. But there are exceptions, and I'm glad they're here (I myself started investing at 25). Another big surprise is that we're delighted to have among us readers aged 76 and over (2%). When you think that at that age there are still many who have never even been on the Net, I say hats off to them. Finally, the under-15s aren't represented - I'd almost be worried if they were!

Your business

Here, too, we have a bracket that clearly stands out, that of the white-collar, administrative and managerial working classes, with 58% of readers. Once again, this is not really a surprise, for much the same reasons as for the 31-45 age group. This category generally has sufficient income to save and invest. It is also often particularly exposed, sandwiched between the imperatives of top management and the needs of the rank and file and/or customers. Then there are the self-employed, with 17%. I imagine that their main concern is to secure their retirement, given that they have no LPP. Next in line are retirees, with 15%, probably for the same reasons as their age category. Then we have a few craftsmen/blue-collar workers (5%) and even a tiny proportion (2%) of students. Phew, the next generation is assured!

Provenance

Swiss readers account for almost one in two, which is hardly a surprise. Among them, the canton of Vaud, the most populous in French-speaking Switzerland, is logically in the majority, with 16% of the readership. Next come Geneva, with almost one in ten readers, followed by Valais, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Jura. The rest of Switzerland still accounts for 5%. The French are the second most represented nationality, with almost 40% of the readership. Again, this is not really a surprise, since they frequently take part in discussions by commenting on articles or on the forum. Next come the Belgians, with 5%, a few Quebecers, and then the rest of Europe and the World.

Your goal

Dividends.ch readers are primarily interested in investing (71%), which is consistent with the site's title! Nearly one reader in two wants to become financially independent, and 45% wants to ensure sufficient income for retirement. One in three wants to get out of the Rat Race, and the same proportion wants to retire early (before the age of 58). This last relatively low result is rather surprising. We'll see later, however, that even if it's not your primary goal, you're not really keen on working for very long 🙂 ! For its part, saving only won 29% of intentions and early retirement (from age 58) only 14%. Here too, the results below should be taken with a grain of salt.

Preferred article types

Headline analyses are the most popular, with over 3/4 of readers. Good news, it's also my favorite theme. Right behind, at 74%, unsurprisingly, are themes on dividends. The themes of financial independence and the stock market in general follow almost equally. The diary of a future annuitant is appreciated by 40% of readers, which isn't so bad given that you don't come here a priori for me to tell you my life story. Note that this one leaves no one indifferent, either loved or hated. I'll come back to this point later. Finally, and I must say this is a disappointment, asset allocation is chosen by only one in three people, even though it requires a fair amount of work on my part. I have to say that I'm surprised by this result, as it seems to me that this is a crucial point in setting up a portfolio, especially these days. In fact, it's a point that should answer some of the questions you put to me, as we'll see below. Being a great fan of the Pareto principle, given the results, I'm inclined to say that, in future, I'll confine myself to publishing the summary table ("Tools" menu), without further comment. I'd be very interested to hear what you have to say on the subject.

Markets of interest

US equities top the podium, with over 3/4 of the votes. Historically speaking, these are also my favorite stocks, thanks to their incredible growing dividends. It's true that over the last two years I've talked less about them, because I think they've become too expensive. But don't worry, I'll be the first to come back to them as soon as I can. Just after, with 73%, we find Swiss equities. Buddy dividinde sometimes talks to you about it. For my part, I'm more discreet at the moment, for the same reasons as the American market, but I'm going to make an effort! Then there are French equities, with almost 2/3 of the readership, which is hardly surprising, given the representation of French readers. I have to apologize here, because it's true that the site is very poor in analyses of French stocks. This will be corrected, especially as the valuations are more attractive than Swiss or American stocks.

Much further out, there's a sort of "soft underbelly", around 40%, with real estate, various ETFs, British, Canadian and Japanese equities, and then a second group around 30%, with all the other equities, gold, oil and commodities. Japanese equities are therefore not cherished, despite their qualities and extremely cheap valuation. As we'll see later, it's access to this market that's the problem, rather than a dislike of Japanese stocks. Those who like them and can invest there can rest assured that I'll continue to talk about this region, which has great potential. Finally, at the end of the ranking, we find bonds, hedge funds and precious metals.

Currencies

In terms of the currencies in which you invest (currencies, equities, bonds, etc.), the results are somewhat similar to those above, but in a slightly different order. The euro is surprisingly at the top of the podium, with 80% from readers. Next came the USD with 70%, followed by the CHF with 57%. This predominance of the euro (more than double the share of French readers of the blog) means that many Swiss and other nationalities are investing in it. Could this be a sign of a certain "wisdom" on the part of our readers, who are currently investing in cheaper European stocks rather than American or Swiss ones? I'd be interested to hear what you have to say on the subject. Among the other currencies, let's not forget sterling, with a third of the votes, and the Canadian dollar (20%).

Broker / bank used

Here's a very interesting result that shakes things up a bit... Leaving aside the "others", who are certainly largely made up of the financial intermediaries of our friends in France, Belgium, Quebec, etc., we can see that the two low-cost brokers, degiro and Interactive Brokers, are well ahead of the pack, with 22% and 17% respectively. I must say I'm surprised by degiro's result, as it is used by more than one reader in five. On the third step of the podium, and first "classic" intermediary, is Postfinance, with a good result (15%). Their generally favorable pricing policy no doubt has something to do with it. Swissquote is surprisingly only used by one in ten readers (but they're behind Postfinance's e-trading access, so it's still a heavyweight in Switzerland). UBS also comes out on top with 10%, which isn't too bad, despite totally prohibitive rates. Astonishing. BCV's TradeDirect is still holding up fairly well, with 7%. This is the successor to e-sider, which old-timers will certainly remember. The following results are rather disappointing, not to say calamitous for some. CS and Migros Bank sail around 4-5%, certainly paying the price for their high prices. Saxo Banque is only used by 3% of readers, as are all the other banks. cantonal banks together (again, at high prices). Finally, Strateo and Cornertrader are hardly ever used.

Planned retirement age

The least we can say is that you're not determined to work yourself to death! In fact, 83% of readers are thinking of quitting before the age of 65, and even 68% before the age of 61! Better still, with 28% of intentions, it's retirement between the ages of 56 and 60 that garners the most votes. This is no longer early retirement, but early retirement. Retirement between the ages of 51 and 55 is envisaged by 15% of the readership, while more than one person in five is even thinking of retiring between the ages of 40 and 50. Even if the range were wider here, it's still huge. Finally, there's even a handful of readers who are considering quitting altogether before the age of 40! Either they can afford it, or they're very thrifty, disciplined and efficient, or they're very optimistic. Or all of the above. I'd love to hear from them. Anyway, if a pension fund executive came across this diagram, he'd be banging his head against the wall. I love it.

Your loyalty to dividendes.ch

That's when the tears start coming out... More than one reader in ten has put up with me since the beginning (late 2010)! What self-sacrifice. We're not even far off 40% if you count those who've been here since 2012, which is really the first few years of the site's life. Nearly 2 out of 3 readers have been following dividendes.ch since 2015. All of these people therefore still experienced the period of Global Dividend Growers and other strategies focused on growing dividends, especially American ones, before I had to reorient my approach. In 2017, dissuasive prices on the US markets, combined with a technical change by my data provider at the time, forced me to suspend the site's paying services and redirect my focus towards less expensive stocks, particularly in Japan. With the readers who arrived at that time, we now have a total of 83% of those surveyed, which is a very good sign of your loyalty. However, I'm also pleased to see that there are almost 17% new readers, a sign that the theme is also attracting new people.

Your satisfaction

Once again, I almost feel like crying. Nearly 2 out of 3 readers are happy, and a third are outright "big fans". There are still a few readers who think it's "passable" and nobody has pressed "not happy". Thanks to your comments and suggestions, which we'll discuss later, I hope to be able to improve these results even further in the future. In any case, thank you for your compliments and encouragement.

Free

The verdict is clear. 84% of you want the site to remain free. At the same time, I didn't really expect any other result. The paid subscriptions of the time certainly had their share of regulars, but that already represented a small minority. Given the extra work involved, it wasn't worth it. To do so, we'd have to provide a more professional service, which would mean more expense, more hassle and less free will. We're a long way from the idea of a passive income with a site like this. Being free also assures you of the coherence of my approach, because it's the dividends that fill my piggy bank, not your subscriptions. On the other hand, I'm obliged to allow advertising, at least to cover hosting costs.

Your comments and suggestions

Many of you have left me thanks, compliments and suggestions. Thank you for your concern.

I will try to set them out below, grouping them by theme:

Forum

"Too bad the forum isn't more lively (more exchange between people)"

Diary

As mentioned above, the newspaper leaves no one indifferent. It's either a hit or a miss.

"Keep up the good work! I enjoy reading your Journal, even if it's not necessarily finance-related."

"Hello, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your articles and in particular the diary of a future annuitantI appreciate the mindset you demonstrate."

"I hate to break it to you, but The Diary of a Future Annuitant is totally uninteresting."

I understand those who don't like it. You're not here to listen to my life. The reason I've decided to write this series of articles is to share with you my path to financial independence, so that you can see for yourself the successes and difficulties of this path. One day, I'll stop writing about it, because I'll be an annuitant, so I'll have even more time to talk about the subjects that are important to you and to me: dividend-paying securities. In the meantime, for those of you who don't like it, don't worry. My diary isn't completed very often... my life isn't interesting enough for that!

Paid subscription

"I used to be a paying member, and I'd still gladly pay, but a few dozen a month is a lot."

"Thanks again for your blog: the articles are very good. I'm willing to pay up to 120 EUR per year for premium articles and information."

As mentioned before, I will continue to provide a free service.

Markets / analysis

"I have a Pea as my only equity investment vehicle (but the stocks you analyze don't fit into this envelope, unfortunately)".

As discussed above, I'll be analyzing more French titles in the future.

"Present funds of Japanese securities, as it is virtually impossible to buy live securities in France."

Funds can never be anything other than funds, a kind of mishmash of a few good stocks among a mass of more or less questionable companies. Either it's a fund administered by a "right-thinking" manager, taking a few percentage points a year from your capital and almost never beating the market, as has been proven time and time again, or it's an index fund, and there, even if it costs you less, you end up with "the market" in all its glory. Mixing the wrong wines never made a good blend. That said, if your aim is simply to take a minority position in the Japanese market for diversification purposes, the least bad approach in your case, given that you don't have access to this market, would be to buy an ETF such as those offered by iShares, e.g. ISJP (small caps, TER 0.58%) or SJPA (all company sizes, TER 0.15%), also available in France. 

Other questions

"We're probably heading for a eurozone crisis, a global recession... knowing how you're going to react and act will be very interesting. Thank you."

Yes, probably. Even for sure. It could happen tomorrow, or in a month, or a year, or several years. No one can know. The important thing is not to try to find out when, but rather to adopt an approach that takes these risks into account, by diversifyingvia an intelligent asset allocation. A capital protection strategy can also be useful. As for reacting, I don't really like that term, because it implies that you haven't thought things through beforehand. But if by that you mean taking advantage of opportunities in a bear market, then yes, it can be a form of reaction. But it's important not to rush things, and to let the market settle down and come back to it gradually. This is typically the kind of question that could have been debated on the forum!

An excellent (and vast) question. As the saying goes, the devil is in the detail. I'll answer your question in one of my next articles.

Various suggestions

"Try, if possible, to publish more articles".

Yes, I promise I'll try. On the other hand, I'm also trying to put into practice the Epicurean principles I often share here. Time is a very precious commodity. I fought to get back some of the time my employers stole from me. I like writing here, but I don't want to spend my days behind my screen either. It's true that I wasn't very active during the summer vacations, but that's about to change.

"Training or workshops, courses".

It's kind of the same problem. It takes time, a lot of time, much more than writing an article. But it's a good idea.

"The addition of content in video format would be welcome, otherwise it's top! Thanks again for all your hard work!"

Thank you. Here again, it takes more work and therefore more time. It's true that video brings something more convivial and less austere. On the other hand, I can't help thinking about my kids who spend their time watching rubbish on Youtube. Ditto when I come across CNBC. The written word has the advantage of engaging our brains more and therefore making us see things differently, in a more thoughtful and original way.

"It would be interesting to know the income demographics of readers via an anonymous survey."

The age, activity and goals of our readers lead us to believe that they tend to be upper-middle class. This is a question that could indeed be asked in a future survey, and everyone can answer it if they wish. Another question that comes to mind is stock market experience, in terms of number of years, also to be added next time.

Conclusion

Once again, many thanks for your participation and all your comments and encouragement. It encourages me to continue on this path and even make a few improvements in the future, notably more analyses of American, Swiss and French stocks.

Finally, don't hesitate to react below. I'd be particularly happy to hear from senior citizens, craftsmen/blue collar workers, professionals, students, readers from outside French-speaking Switzerland or exotic regions.

Thanks again for your loyalty!