A Retired BC Couple Turned Company Stock Bonuses Into a $1.2 Million Tax-Free Portfolio
3 min read · RealCase summary
Ted and his wife, now in their early 70s and retired in British Columbia, built a combined TFSA worth $1.2 million by maxing out their contributions every year starting in 2009.
Ted spent his career as a purchasing manager at Premium Brands (PBH-T) and chose to take part of his compensation in bonus shares rather than cash. The stock went through what he calls "monstrous appreciation" between 2012 and 2018, and by 2016 it had grown large enough that the couple's TFSAs were effectively single-stock portfolios built around it.
After 2016 they diversified into conservative, dividend-paying Canadian stocks, including bank shares, reinvesting the dividends to compound their returns. Ted says the concentration in Premium Brands is what built their wealth, and that their dividend focus helped them avoid panic-selling during the "scary dips" of the 2020 COVID crash: "I measure my investing success by income, not by having to sell shares for income." An advisor quoted in the piece cautioned that insider knowledge and concentration don't guarantee success for everyone, citing Nortel employees as a cautionary example.
Key takeaways
- ›Maxed out TFSA contribution room every year starting in 2009
- ›Ted received bonuses in Premium Brands stock rather than cash, building a concentrated position that rode a multi-year rally
- ›Diversified into dividend-paying Canadian bank stocks after 2016; combined TFSAs reached $1.2 million
Original source
Read the original (The Globe and Mail)
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