Selling my U.S. stocks

By Mark Seed, myownadvisor

Special to Financial Independence Hub

For many years on this site, I have highlighted various portfolio buys, sells and holds. Given those changes over the years related to How We Invest, I figured it might be interesting to share how I’ve actually sold off most of our U.S. stocks over the years in favour of a different approach.

Your mileage may vary – read on!

Is there an optimal mix of stocks for your portfolio?

In my book, there are many ways to build a responsible investment portfolio – there is no one-size fits all.

Here are some approaches to consider before we get to my answer on this question.

An Income Portfolio

An income portfolio may consist primarily of dividend-paying stocks, which are stocks from companies that pay out a portion of their profits to their shareholders. I like those companies and own many of those companies in Canada:

• Banks
• Utilities
• Pipelines/energy
• And more…

See chart. 🙂

A Balanced Portfolio

A balanced portfolio invests in both stocks and bonds to reduce potential volatility.

Investors who are looking to navigate short-term stock market price fluctuations with moderate growth, might be well suited to this approach. An example would be something like owning 60% stocks and 40% bonds or fixed income. You can build a retirement portfolio with that blend. I’ve done some math on that based on a reader question.

A Growth Portfolio

This means investment income from your portfolio is not the main goal – almost at the other end of the income portfolio spectrum.

So, is there an optimal mix of stocks for your portfolio?

I believe the answer is “yes” and that answer is at the heart of your investment objectives.

These are the two key answers I’ve worked through over the years to land on our investment objectives as we approach full retirement in a few short years.

1. What are our financial goals?

One of our long-standing financial goals was the ability to live off dividends and distributions from part of our portfolio.

Our portfolio is designed to do just that.

2. What is our tolerance for risk?

Fairly high.

Our investment timeline has been measured in decades so….we’ve been close to 90% equities for a few years now. 

Otherwise, I’ve been on record many times on this site to share our near-term spending will be in cash / cash equivalents. That will be true for 2026 spending and it is our hope that will occur once again for 2027 spending as well – whereby we hope to avoid selling any part of our portfolio to fund living expenses in early retirement.

Selling my U.S. stocks

Years ago, I learned some important lessons in diversification. I learned some more U.S. stocks are better (to offset the Canadian stocks I continue to own) but not necessarily via individual U.S. stocks.

Gone are:

• Procter & Gamble (PG)
• Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)
• Berkshire (BRK.B)
• BlackRock (BLK)
• NextEra (NEE)
• And many more!

I’ve kicked most of our individual U.S. stocks to the curb over time in favour of owning more low-cost ex-Canada ETF XAW and tech ETF QQQ as my main equity ETFs in registered accounts for growth.

We only have a few remaining individual U.S. stocks left at the time of this post.

We own ETFs instead of individual U.S. stocks for these reasons:

1. While I will continue to hold QQQ (in U.S. $$), owning thousands of units of XAW that holds global stocks has zero Canadian <> U.S. dollar currency conversions associated with it. Easy to Buy!
2. It’s aligned to our long-term objectives – to keep some growth in our portfolio beyond Canadian assets, and probably most importantly as I age,
3. It’s simple. Less moving parts. Less behavourial mistakes. Less drama overall.

The sale of all remaining individual U.S. stocks we own at the time of this post is likely to occur in the coming years too – as I keep low-cost ETFs at the core of ex-Canada investing for simplicity. 

Selling my U.S. stocks Summary

Only years from now will I know if I made the right decision.

Time will tell!

To summarize:

• There is no optimal mix of stocks for your portfolio although I believe a bias to a higher % of stocks over fixed income is wise including for retirees like me.
• Holding cash / cash equivalents for all near-term retirement spending is smart – to avoid selling stocks “down” in value at a poor time.
• It may be difficult to own dozens of individual stocks, including those from the U.S. stock market, on your own. Index investing can solve for any individual stock selections and related risks.

As always, I am curious on your perspectives!! Leave me a comment on this post when you can. 

I know many successful DIY investors that invest in zero U.S. stocks or international stocks – they are all Canadian all the time!

I know others that hold a typical pension-like 60/40 balanced portfolio of ETFs; owning many stocks from around the world to go along with their fixed income needs.

On the other end, I know a few DIY investors who are HEAVY into many individual U.S. stocks all the time!

Your mileage may vary. 

1. Owning many Canadian and just a few remaining individual U.S. stocks – about 25-30 stocks that collectively deliver income and growth over time…and
2. Owning low-cost equity ETFs – that deliver long-term growth for extra diversification.

Happy Investing

Mark Seed is a passionate DIY investor who lives in Ottawa. He invests in Canadian and U.S. dividend paying stocks and low-cost Exchange Traded Funds on his quest to own a $1 million portfolio for an early retirement. You can follow Mark’s insights and perspectives on investing, and much more, by visiting My Own Advisor. This blog originally appeared on his site on August 7, 2025 and is republished on Findependence Hub with his permission.