Reclassifying of Core and Supporting positions

I took some time to look through my holdings and make more stringent what I consider a Core holding and what are Supporting positions. When building my portfolio I started with the core positions as they are my foundation. I then diversified with more aggressive higher growth companies in the speculative areas. Supporting companies are a way I diversify away from non-cyclical consumer staples-like corporations. A lot of my supporting companies are in discretionary, industrials, or material sectors that suffer from down years but grow quickly on up years.

As a background, my portfolio is broken down into the following categories:
Super Core: Have all the qualities of a Core position but also a strong credit rating. Must be rated with a financial rating of A+ or higher by S&P, a Value Line financial rating of A++, and have a Value Line safety of 1.
Core: Less cyclical more stable businesses. Have long track records and most are dividend aristocrats. offer products and services people use all the time even during bad economic times. I will likely hold these for life unless the business environment changes substantially and the dividend gets harmed. The goal with these types of companies is to build a foundation that offers consistent predictable dividend income to live off of. Capital appreciation is secondary to the dividend and the growth of that dividend.
Supporting: Held for the mid to long term. Are companies with proven track records but often times are in more cyclical industries with earnings that can go up or down depending on the economic climate
Speculative: Bought for capital gain purposes. If the direction of the stock is heading the wrong way I will sell and move on.


Here are some companies I moved classifications around from Core to Supporting:

Dominion (D) and WEC Energy (WEC): I moved these from Core to Supporting. It does not meet the quality metrics of better utilities like Next Era Energy (NEE).

Illinois Tool Works (ITW): It is not as stable as a 3M during economic recessions. It is more cyclical. However, it is a very well run company (dividend aristocrat) and the growth has been spectacular. I am putting this as a Supporting position behind 3M.

Air Products & Chemicals (APD): Materials is a cyclical industry. I moved this to Supporting.

Kraft Heinz Co (KHZ): I have more stable packaged food companies that have more established histories. MKC and GIS I have as core since the history is more established. KHZ's balance sheet is not the cleanest and it only has a BBB- credit rating. I label this now as Supporting.

Stryker (SYK): Moved it to Supporting behind my core positions like JNJ and BDX and MDT. SYK is a great company with a strong credit rating and balance sheet. Good growth and stable growth. But it is overshadowed by my "big 3" healthcare stocks.

I also recently bought a new position in General Dynamics (GD). GD is a Supporting position for me. The business is less diversified than a 3M and it's a cyclical business. It has the cleanest balance sheet of all the defense companies, and it is a dividend aristocrat with a proven track record.

Even after relabeling several of my Core positions to Supporting, I still hold a large majority in the Core and Super Core positions. The portfolio table below shows the companies names and their associated colors. Notice how Supporting positions hold less weight in my portfolio while Core positions hold a chunkier part of my portfolio as they are the foundation of the dividend growth strategy. It is imperative that the Core positions continue providing consistent dividend in come and dividend hikes year after year.

Green Bold = Super Core
Green = Core
Yellow = Supporting
Red = Speculative

Name	Ticker	Sector	Value	Weight	Divies	Yield	S&P Fin	VL Fin	VL Safety
Philip Morris International Inc	PM	Staples	$34,322.95	8.90%	$1,309.17	3.8143%	A	B++	2
Johnson & Johnson	JNJ	Health	$24,133.51	6.26%	$619.28	2.5661%	AAA	A++	1
Altria Group Inc	MO	Staples	$21,201.09	5.50%	$867.50	4.0918%	A-	B+	2
Home Depot Inc	HD	Discret	$20,172.13	5.23%	$445.32	2.2076%	A	A++	1
Visa Inc	V	Financial	$18,294.26	4.74%	$117.29	0.6412%	A+	A++	1
PepsiCo	PEP	Staples	$15,026.50	3.90%	$432.75	2.8799%	A	A++	1
Becton Dickinson and Co	BDX	Health	$15,018.43	3.89%	$225.68	1.5027%	BBB+	A++	1
Realty Income Corp	O	REIT	$14,693.23	3.81%	$639.71	4.3538%	BBB+	A	2
NextEra Energy Inc	NEE	Utilities	$14,096.18	3.66%	$375.07	2.6608%	A-	A	2
British American Tobacco PLC	BTI	Staples	$12,107.54	3.14%	$430.68	3.5571%	A-	B++	2
Ross Stores Inc	ROST	Discret	$11,574.85	3.00%	$116.13	1.0033%	A-	A	2
McCormick & Company	MKC	Staples	$11,497.38	2.98%	$222.19	1.9326%	A-	A+	1
3M Co	MMM	Industrial	$11,484.97	2.98%	$255.79	2.2272%	AA-	A++	1
AT&T Inc	T	Telecom	$11,186.72	2.90%	$566.27	5.0620%	BBB+	A++	1
Mastercard Inc	MA	Financial	$10,986.69	2.85%	$69.87	0.6360%	A	A++	1
Procter & Gamble Co	PG	Staples	$9,427.61	2.44%	$280.84	2.9790%	AA-	A++	1
Dominion Resources, Inc	D	Utilities	$8,396.29	2.18%	$324.21	3.8614%	BBB+	B++	2
The Coca-Cola Co	KO	Staples	$8,210.83	2.13%	$266.67	3.2478%	AA-	A++	1
Xcel Energy Inc	XEL	Utilities	$7,714.49	2.00%	$232.84	3.0182%	A-	A+	1
Automatic Data Proc, Inc	ADP	Tech	$7,620.92	1.98%	$160.48	2.1058%	AA	A++	1
Illinois Tool Works Inc.	ITW	Industrial	$7,370.21	1.91%	$156.33	2.1212%	A+	A++	1
Medtronic plc	MDT	Health	$7,101.29	1.84%	$166.73	2.3478%	A	A++	1
Starbucks Corporation	SBUX	Discret	$6,923.38	1.80%	$125.58	1.8139%	A	A++	1
Church & Dwight	CHD	Staples	$6,909.43	1.79%	$107.74	1.5593%	BBB+	A+	1
TJX Companies Inc	TJX	Discret	$6,018.64	1.56%	$101.97	1.6942%	A+	A++	1
Kimberly-Clark	KMB	Staples	$5,880.54	1.52%	$193.89	3.2971%	A	A++	1
Clorox Co	CLX	Staples	$5,681.17	1.47%	$145.38	2.5590%	A-	B++	2
Air Products & Chemicals, Inc	APD	Materials	$5,318.57	1.38%	$133.86	2.5169%	A	A+	1
Kraft Heinz Co	KHC	Staples	$5,056.87	1.31%	$160.86	3.1811%	BBB-	A	2
McDonald's Corporation	MCD	Discret	$4,966.53	1.29%	$130.84	2.6345%	BBB+	A++	1
Colgate-Palmolive Co	CL	Staples	$4,574.71	1.19%	$99.73	2.1801%	AA-	A+	1
Stryker Corporation	SYK	Health	$4,103.14	1.06%	$49.44	1.2050%	A	A++	1
WEC Energy Group, Inc.	WEC	Utilities	$3,877.83	1.01%	$126.21	3.2546%	A-	A+	1
General Mills, Inc.	GIS	Staples	$3,352.68	0.87%	$126.44	3.7714%	BBB+	A+	1
General Dynamics Corporation	GD	Industrial	$3,285.28	0.85%	$53.76	1.6364%	A+	A++	1
Abbott Laboratories	ABT	Health	$3,188.13	0.83%	$63.94	2.0057%	BBB	A++	1
Southern Co	SO	Utilities	$2,845.81	0.74%	$135.32	4.7551%	A-	A	2
Misc	Type	………..	Partial Totals	Weight	Yrly Dividends	Avg Yield	…..832	…..9	…..82
Equity	Stocks		$373,620.79	96.88%	$10,035.80	2.6861%
Investable	US Dollars		$7,055.98	1.83%
Miscellaneous	Assets		$4,989.50	1.29%
.	..	…	Equity + Misc	Weight	…..2	…..	…..222	…..2222	…..223
Total			$385,666.27	100.00%