EP 303: Dividend Investing with Belle Dividends | How to deal with a major cash windfall

This week we welcome our first Belgian guest to the show: Belle Dividends (Kim). Kim's story starts almost by accident. In January 2022, after a failed attempt to become a crypto trader, he opened an account with Belgian broker Bolero and bought his first three stocks: AB InBev, Kinepolis and Umicore. A few years and a lot of YouTube and podcast listening later, he now runs a portfolio of 82 positions built around a simple goal: a 3% net dividend yield, even after Belgium's notoriously heavy dividend tax.

In this episode Kim walks us through his investing journey, why dividend investing suited his personality more than growth or trading ever did, and how he deals with Belgian withholding tax (spoiler: UK stocks and a Legal & General dividend ETF both play a role). We also get into his interest in African equities, including his top position Helios Towers, plus Airtel Africa and DRC listed Texaf, and why he believes sub Saharan Africa's demographics make it one of the more interesting growth stories out there.

Kim also shares the remarkable story of taking over his mother's finances after a dementia diagnosis, and how that led to a rapid, deliberate windfall investment that shaved more than a decade off his path to financial independence. We round things off with his thoughts on oil markets and macro trends, the tax friendly countries he's considering for the future, and a big batch of listener questions on portfolio strategy, UK renewable energy trusts, and more.

Also in this episode: Derek and European DGI open with the Trump and FIFA controversy around the USA v Belgium match, and share an update on Greencoat UK Wind ahead of its July investor presentation.

• Kim's path from a frustrated would be crypto trader to an 82 position dividend portfolio
• Navigating Belgium's dividend tax and why she targets a 3% net yield
• Investing in Africa: Helios Towers, Airtel Africa and Texaf in the DRC
• Taking over his mother's finances and investing a large windfall with intention
• His macro view on oil, the Permian basin and the Iran conflict
• Tax friendly countries on her radar for the future: Paraguay, Cyprus and Georgia
• Listener questions on allocation strategy, ETFs, and UK renewable energy trusts like Greencoat UK Wind

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