I’ll be the first to say that I don’t have a crystal ball, nor do I pretend to even attempt to understand what is going on in the markets these days as massive sell-offs continue. I can predict with 100% certainty that I do not know where the bottom is. The only thing I can compare these times to is the financial crisis of a decade ago where I saw my portfolio value plunge by more than 60% as everyone was trying to grasp what was going on. During those dark days of financial uncertainty, I continued doing what I have always preached which was to continue making monthly buys no matter what the headlines read and dollar cost average my holdings.

These are the times that will test your investing mettle as many run for the hills while a select few continue to make buys against the herd. Can the market plunge another 10%, 20% or 30% or more? Sure, but I have no way to tell when the bleeding will end. See, as long term dividend growth investors we are by default optimists as we are investing for a better financial future and we believe there will be a future despite the bleak near term happenings.

The alternative is to barricade yourself in some remote location and cut yourself off from the rest of the world and what kind of life is that? With that being said I continued to nibble and added some new positions as well to my portfolio.

I have added to my taxable account 2 shares at $248.86 for a total investment of $497.72 in Broadcom Inc. (AVGO). This is a new position.

I have added to my taxable account 20 shares at $34.38 for a total investment of $687.60 in Leggett & Platt, Incorporated (LEG). This is a new position.

I have added to my taxable account 4 shares at $150.63 for a total investment of $602.52 in General Dynamics Corporation (GD). This is a new position.

I have added to my taxable account 10 shares at $61.65 for a total investment of $616.50 in LyondellBasell Industries N.V. (LYB). With this recent purchase, my taxable account holdings in LYB now totals 28 shares with a market value of $1,692.04.

These are my first buys for the month of March. As cash allows I may be tempted to pick up more shares in the same or other stocks. As you can see I continued to nibble on several positions while putting a total of $2,404.34 of fresh capital to work. I was happy to add some new names to my portfolio for the long haul too. AVGO is my first true pure tech play and GD gets me some new defense exposure.