The Simply Investing Dividend Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, I sit down with seasoned dividend investor Ian MacDonald, whose journey spans over 60 remarkable years.

Before retiring, Ian served as Vice President at Equifax, where he dedicated his career to studying the rise and fall of companies—a passion that shaped his investment philosophy.

Ian opens up about a pivotal moment in his life: losing $300,000 of his hard-earned savings due to poor advice from an investment advisor. That loss became the turning point that led him to discover the power of dividend investing.

In our conversation, Ian shares the invaluable lessons he’s learned over six decades. We explore why quality matters, how to build lasting confidence as an investor, and what it really takes to succeed with dividends.

This episode is filled with wisdom, practical insights, and inspiration—whether you're just starting out or looking to build your net worth.

I also cover the following topics in this episode:
- Introduction to Ian MacDonald
- How Ian lost $300,000 of his life savings
- How Ian developed his scoring system
- Ian helped someone making $35K/yr in dividends to making $80K/yr
- Dividend investing can help you beat inflation
- Is it better to move into fixed income in older age?
- Most financial advisors are sales people
- Companies cannot fake paying a dividend
- What gives you the confidence to keep investing in today's economic climate?
- Are you worried about BCE's recent dividend cut?
- How do you identify a quality company?
- How difficult is it for someone to start investing on their own?
- Dividend investing isn't rocket science
- How far back do you go when looking at historical financial data?
- The downside of investing in mutual funds, index funds, and ETFs
- Are banks still using predatory practices?
- Is the dividend irrelevant?
- The dividend provides stability
- The tax benefit of earning Canadian dividends
- What advice do you have for someone currently investing?
- In the long-term growing dividends can support a higher stock price
- What are some common investing mistakes that people make?

How to get in touch with Ian:
1. Website: https://www.saferbetterdividendinvesting.com/
2. Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/safe-dividend-investing/id1558028704

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author and guests shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report/presentation/app. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode, I interview the founder of Siegel Asset Management Partners, Yves Siegel. We discuss the energy sector, specifically midstream companies. Yves shares with us his guidelines for investing in energy dividend stocks.

Yves has been recognized several times by The Wall Street Journal’s “Best on the Street” survey for stock picking, and in 2018 received the “Ammys” Hall of Fame award in Research and Analysis, an honor recognizing excellence and contributions to the North American energy infrastructure sector.

Additionally, Yves contributes to mainstream media including CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times as a recognized expert in asset management and investment strategy. 

We talk about dividend investing, how to select the right stocks, and investor behaviour.

You’ll find today’s episode both educational and inspiring.

I also cover the following topics in this episode:
- Introduction to Yves Siegel
- Yves's area of focus
- What are midstream energy companies?
- Is there a future in oil and gas?
- What are the by-products of petrochemicals?
- What is the number one way to generate large amounts of electricity?
- The importance of energy independence in the US
- Do fossil fuel companies invest in renewable energy?
- Before investing in companies, what do you look for?
- The importance of looking at cashflow
- What makes a strong balance sheet?
- Looking at the fundamentals of a business
- The importance of a quality management team
- How do you know if the management is high quality?
- How do you ensure that the dividend is sustainable?
- What is ESG?
- What is the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) "fear index"?
- Why should we care about the VIX?
- Is there a direct correlation between the VIX and market value?
- The importance of investor psychology and mindset?
- How do you become a confident investor?
- What would cause you to sell your stocks?
- What made you want to teach a course on behavioural finance?
- How do people make investing decisions?
- What is the number one mistake young investors make?
- Yves's eight principles

How to get in touch with Yves:
1. Website: https://www.siegelassetmgt.com/
2. SAM's eight principles: https://www.siegelassetmgt.com/principles

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author and guests shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report/presentation/app. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode, we’re going discuss the current market decline and what should you as an investor do next.

I also cover the following topics in this episode:
- Current state of the market
- What is the Dow Jones?
- Why did the market decline?
- What happens after a market decline?
- 5 large market declines
- How to invest now?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author and guests shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report/presentation/app. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode you'll learn about the top 3 dividend concerns that most people have. Also covered in this podcast:

• Aren't dividends insignificant?
• Dividends are not guaranteed
• What happens to the dividend when the stock price drops?
• 3 awesome things about dividends

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode you'll learn how to handle your dividend stocks during a down market. Also covered in this podcast:

• Should you sell your stocks?
• Common themes during a down stock market
• How to remain calm during a market crash
• My strategies for dealing with a crash

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode you'll learn if the dividend is safe. Is the dividend payout sustainable or is it at risk of being cut? This one important value can save you from making expensive investing mistakes. Also covered in this podcast: 

• What is the payout ratio?
• What is EPS?
• How to calculate the payout ratio
• MetLife (MET) vs Allstate (ALL), which company has the lower payout ratio?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website. 

In this episode you'll learn how to quickly determine if a dividend stock is undervalued (priced low) or overvalued (priced high). Learn how to figure out when a dividend stock is worth buying. Also covered in this podcast:

• What is a stock?
• What is a dividend?
• What is dividend yield?

You've heard the phrase "buy low and sell high", this episode shows you exactly how to figure out if a stock is priced low or high. Focus on dividend stocks that are priced low and ignore the ones that are priced high.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode, we're going to look at the 7 habits of highly effective dividend investors, and how you can use those 7 habits to become a successful investor.

I also cover the following topics in this episode:
- Invest in quality stocks
- Invest in undervalued stocks
- Get paid for owning stocks
- MSFT stock return 0% from 2002 to 2013
- Generate growing income each year, and beat inflation
- JNJ provides 63 years of consecutive dividend increases
- Don’t eat into your (capital) investments
- Don’t invest in volatile stocks
- Tesla volatility versus MCD
- KO provides over $202K in annual dividends
- WMT provides over $458K in annual dividends
- Avoid paying fees
- Over $7M lost to fees at 1% MER fee
- Bonus habit

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author and guests shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report/presentation/app. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode, I interview Mike Drak a dividend investor, author, public speaker, and a recognized authority on retirement. We talk about how to invest, and how to plan for your future.

Based out of Toronto, Mike has published 3 books on retirement. He spent 38 years in the financial services industry and retired at the age of 59. Today’s he working on his 4th book and training for the Iron Man competition. We discuss investing on your own, and how to plan for your retirement. You’ll find today’s episode both educational and inspiring.

I also cover the following topics in this episode:
- How Mike got started with dividend stocks
- How do you define a quality dividend stock?
- What are virtual monopolies?
- Invest in what you know, ignore the rest
- How to lower your risk
- Low cost investing
- Why remain 99% invested in dividend stocks?
- Are you changing your approach to investing in this economic climate?
- Taking a long-term perspective 
- Why should you start planning for retirement sooner than later?
- What is the retirement trap?
- What is retirement shock?
- Why are some people unhappy at retirement?
- How do you find your passion and purpose in life?
- Why are you giving away your books for free?
- What are the 9 retirement principles?
- Why did you decide to compete in the Iron Man competition?
- How do you separate from your work identity?
- Describe your first 3 books
- What is Ikigai?

How to get in touch with Mike:
1. Two free books can be downloaded here: https://getbooks.boomingencore.com/
2. Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/retirement_rebel/
3. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-drak-6b401095/
4. Website: https://boomingencore.com/

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author and guests shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report/presentation/app. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.

In this episode, we're going to look at why some companies increase their dividend even though their earnings go down.

I also cover the following topics in this episode:
- Example stock used in this episode, Franklin Resources (BEN)
- Recent decline in earnings for stock BEN
- Why do companies increase their dividend?
- Two real-life examples: Walmart and Visa
- Should you invest in BEN today?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions shared on this channel are for informational and educational purposes only. Simply Investing Incorporated nor the author and guests shall be liable for any loss of profit or any commercial damages, including but not limited to incidental, special, consequential, or other damages. Investors should confirm any data before making stock buy/sell decisions. Our staff and editor may hold at any given time securities mentioned in this video/course/report/presentation/app. The final decision to buy or sell any stock is yours; please do your own due diligence. Stock buy or sell decisions are based on many factors including your own risk tolerance. When in doubt please consult a professional advisor. No advice on the buying and selling of specific securities is provided. All trademarks, trade names, or logos mentioned or used are the property of their respective owners. For our full legal disclaimer, please visit our website.