Summary
For a long time, I wrote under the moniker “Cashflow Capitalist,” but recently I’ve decided to write under my own name.
I talk about my view of the two-pronged goal of dividend growth investing: above-average yield and sustained dividend raises.
The ultimate goal of dividend investing, in my view, is to achieve financial freedom.
Two principles for investing in 2022: invest like a business owner, and remember that character matters.
I share my top ten individual stock holdings as we enter the new year.
Looking for a helping hand in the market? Members of High Yield Landlord get exclusive ideas and guidance to navigate any climate. Learn More »
Warchi/iStock via Getty Images The Man Behind The Monocle
Call me Austin.
Perhaps this is the first you’re reading from me, or perhaps you once knew me as “Cashflow Capitalist.”
I coined the moniker because I figured no one has heard of this guy from Texas named “Austin Rogers,” and because it succinctly communicated what I wanted my brand to be.
“Cashflow” is a double-entendre to signify I like companies that produce solid and steady cash flow streams and also provide me as a shareholder with a cash flow stream in the form of dividends.
“Capitalist,” meanwhile, is not so much supposed to mark me as a proponent of the economic system called capitalism (though that is true of me too) as it is to harken back to the original definition of the word. During the Industrial Revolution in Europe, there was a difference between the aristocracy – a landed gentry with sprawling estates who lived entirely off rental income – and capitalists , a largely self-made class of individuals who accumulated wealth through hard work as well as smart investments in industry and business.
Nowadays, at least in some circles, you would think a “capitalist” is a wealthy person who does no work and simply lives off of the underpaid labor of others. Perhaps they also build rockets and take sightseeing trips to space as well. That is not what I meant by the term. For me, it was always supposed to refer to its original, aspirational meaning.
As I explained in my ” Cashflow Capitalist Manifesto ” in September 2019: We live in a remarkable age, one that is, at least in one way, very different than any age that preceded it. In almost every age of history, there was a working class and a wealthy class . The former…had little to no opportunity to rise up out of their inherent station in life. Born a serf; die a serf. Born a slave; die a slave. Those fortunate enough to be born into the wealthy class…had every advantage in life and would most likely remain in their privileged position for life. In our own age, however, the lines between these classes have blurred. One can be both a laborer and an investor, made possible in no small part by the ability of small-dollar investors to own pieces of the greatest companies in the world via the stock market.
There are precious few stories of the janitor or mailman or fry cook who, through patient and persistent investment, retired a millionaire from their stock portfolio. But those stories exist. They serve as a reminder of the possible.
I find great inspiration in the idea of economic mobility and am saddened at the notion that it might be declining. There’s much debate between liberal and conservative economists about to what degree, if at all, economic mobility actually has diminished. But one can simply look at data on the percentage of Americans earning more than their parents at the same age to see a clear decline over the generations. Now, more than ever, I believe the original, aspirational vision of the everyman capitalist, the hero with a thousand faces, needs to make a resurgence.
The profile picture of the smirking, monocle- and top hat-wearing gentleman, reminiscent of The New Yorker ‘s haughty knickerbocker icon, was intended as a humorous play on the “capitalist” theme, but maybe it didn’t exactly communicate the aspirational aspect of the name. Recently, my boss at High Yield Landlord, Jussi Askola , persuaded me to just be myself on Seeking Alpha. Finance, he says, is a very personal topic. Readers want to feel they can trust the ones offering financial information and analysis. Anonymity doesn’t usually lend itself well to a relationship of trust between writer and reader (though exceptions exist, of course).
So I’ve changed my contributor name on Seeking Alpha to my own […]
source Death Of A Capitalist – And Investing Principles For 2022
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