Hey Dividend lovers — question for the income-focused folks.
Does anyone here run 60–70–80+ positions in a brokerage account, specifically across CEFs, REITs, BDCs, and MLPs, and treat it more like a “royalty stream” of cash-flowing assets rather than a traditional “best ideas” portfolio?
What I mean by that:
• The main KPI is reliable income + income safety, not necessarily beating the index.
• I like the idea of having many smaller income streams so if one cuts/suspends, it’s a small hit, not a portfolio-level crisis.
• I’m thinking of it less like “investments I’ll trade” and more like a portfolio of income contracts (dividends/distributions) coming from different asset types.
I know the obvious counterpoint is:
“Concentration is more efficient / better total return / easier to monitor / less overlap / fewer fees.”
Totally fair — I’m not trying to start a holy war 😅. I’m honestly trying to understand what people here do in real life.
So I’m curious:
1. How many positions do you hold in your income portfolio?
2. If you hold a lot (50+), how do you manage/monitor it without going insane?
3. Do you use a position size cap (like “no holding can be more than X% of income” or “no single ticker > X% of portfolio”)?
4. Have you found that broad income diversification actually improves income stability in practice?
5. For the concentrated crowd: what’s your strongest argument for fewer holdings if the primary goal is dependable income?
If you’re comfortable sharing, I’d love to hear the rough mix (CEF/REIT/BDC/MLP %) and what rules you use to keep it from turning into chaos.
Appreciate any experience-based replies — not looking for perfection, just real-world frameworks.