Monthly Income With Dividends In June 2025

Hi readers, 👋

General sentiment

What stood out was the strong rally of the euro (€) against the US dollar ($). When the dollar is strong, I tend to focus more on European stocks. When the euro gains strength, I shift my investment plans back toward US stocks to benefit from the increased purchasing power.

I’m cautious when the dollar gets overheated. Over the period of maybe one or two years, exchange rates can easily swing between 10–15%. Such swings can easily wipe out one or two years of returns if they move the wrong way. That’s why I usually avoid buying, or buy only very selectively, US stocks during times with a strong €, especially since US markets have often been richly valued in recent years.

This strategy has helped me navigate various market cycles quite well. It also keeps my portfolio balanced between US and non-US stocks. Right now, US stocks make up about 50% of my holdings, much less than in the MSCI World Index, where the US accounts for 71%, followed by Japan (5.6%), the UK (3.8%), Canada (3.2%), and France (2.8%).

From a purely personal I prefer a strong € during the investment phase anyway.

Thoughts on AI

On one hand, I see AI as a major technological milestone. It’s not just a small step, it’s a leap. More precisely, AI is a lever that touches the very foundation of our intellectual workforce. It amplifies potential, speeds up processes, and unlocks efficiencies that were previously out of reach.

On the other hand, the hype around AI gets on my nerves. Everyone is throwing it into the conversation. I’m especially annoyed by arrogant developers who ask whether I’m worried about losing my job as a lawyer, while assuming AI is far too generic to threaten their own roles (lol).

To me, AI is most useful where it replaces meaningless or repetitive tasks. I see it as purely functional; its role is to take over functions. What it can’t replace (at least not yet) is the creative force that gave rise to AI in the first place.

The next sections explore exactly that tension, offering my thoughts, observations, and predictions on current trends and possible future scenarios.

Looking into the crystal ball, I mainly see two developments. First, AI will become a commodity. Everyone will use it in some form, and aside from a few differences, the individual models will be largely interchangeable. Second, in the medium to long term, we’ll likely move away from using countless apps and instead rely more on agents.

Is AI Becoming a Commodity?

The Next Major Wave of Technological Democratization

Throughout the history of technology, groundbreaking innovations tend to follow a familiar pattern: Initially exclusive, expensive, and complex, they gradually become standardized, more affordable, and widely accessible.

In short, they become commodities.

Cloud computing is a good example. What was once the domain of large enterprises, running their own server farms, is now available to virtually anyone, thanks to inexpensive cloud services that can spin up virtual machines in minutes. AI may be on a similar path.

But what might that evolution look like in practice?

From Proprietary Models to Broad Accessibility

Today, AI is still largely concentrated in the hands of major tech players like Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta. Yet signs of democratization are emerging, especially with models like DeepSeek.

Who Stands to Gain from AI’s Commoditization?

The hyperscalers, Amazon, Google, and Microsoft, are well-positioned, thanks to their infrastructure and market dominance.

At the same time, companies like SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce have an opportunity to create value-added solutions by combining deep industry expertise with access to proprietary customer data.

Key Success Factors: Data Quality and Trust

High-quality, trustworthy data is becoming increasingly critical. Collaborations like the one between Microsoft and Statista (where Statista will provide Microsoft with curated data) highlight the importance of clean, curated datasets. Transparency and ethical AI practices will also be essential. Providers such as Snowflake and Palantir are already positioning themselves strongly in this space.

New Business Models and Market Dynamics

As AI becomes more accessible, it opens the door to entirely new business models—from AI-as-a-Service and industry-specific applications to AI marketplaces that connect providers, developers, and end users.

Will AI Agents Replace Apps?

AI could make many apps obsolete by replacing them with intelligent agents. These agents could handle everyday tasks like booking travel, scheduling appointments, or managing simple service requests. All that’s needed is a free-text input field for direct communication with the agent.

The key advantage lies in integration: AI agents could coordinate across platforms and services to manage complex workflows seamlessly. Instead of opening and navigating multiple apps, users could simply type or speak a request, and the agent would take care of the rest.

The Hype Is Real

I hinted at it earlier.

When I see how effortlessly platforms like Veo 3 generate stunning creative content, it’s easy to believe AI could take over industries like Hollywood or marketing entirely.

But I remain skeptical. AI is, and will remain, a tool, not a substitute for complex human thought or true creativity.

In my own field, law, I use AI as a supplement, never a replacement. And the same applies to creative industries: the human element will continue to matter. AI is transforming processes, not replacing our desire for content created by real people.

Fame, curated luxury, staged success…

… let’s be honest, people won’t give that up just because there’s a more efficient alternative.

We still swim in the sea or a lake, even though pools exist. We still eat bread and vegetables, even though shakes can deliver all essential nutrients.

And we have to consider this: it’s easy to imagine a world run entirely by AI based on individual use cases, whether it’s filmmaking, coding, legal services, you name it.

But we can’t look at these use cases in isolation. We have to zoom out. If AI can create an entire film on its own, it will inevitably be capable of far more.

So if you’re in the camp that believes AI will replace 40%, 50%, or even 80% of all white-collar jobs, then what’s your vision of the future? What does that world look like?

My take: many jobs will disappear, yes—but AI will create vast numbers of new ones. It’s the steam engine, the automobile, and the internet rolled into one. The future will be exciting. The only real threats to a golden future are our own greed, irrationality, extremism, and violence, not AI.

But let’s not forget the concept of Lindy

The Lindy Effect suggests that the longer something has existed, the longer it’s likely to continue to exist. Human nature, storytelling, craftsmanship, trust, and community aren’t just sentimental relics. They are deeply functional systems, proven over centuries. AI may enhance or mimic them, but it doesn’t replace their foundation.

AI will create faster, cheaper, and often “good enough” or even better outcomes for many generic processes. But the deeper human craving is not for speed or filling out Excel sheets.

It’s for meaning.

That is why luxury brands continue to value craftsmanship, why we turn to old books and films, and why true success always transcends the boundaries of the existing.

My monthly income with dividends in June:

• Active income.
• Passive income.
• Conversion.

Dividends fall into the last two categories. They are passive because they provide a cash flow without me going to work. Additionally, they are an essential pillar for conversion since they can be reinvested to generate even more income in the future. That is the Theory. Now, let’s get down to practice.

This month, my cash-flow approach generated the following income through dividends (including YoY growth):

So overall:

• the total monthly income with dividends in June (after taxes) was: € 1,233.37 / appr. $ 1,455.37
• compared to last year, the dividend growth was excellent (+ 57% YoY),
• ⌀ monthly dividend income (ttm): €676.77 / appr. $796,
• ⌀ monthly dividend income (ttm) compared to the previous month: + 6.2 percent.

The rest of the article is accessible on my Substack. It contains an overview of the stocks I purchased in June, as well as a deep dive into my portfolio performance.

As this report contains valuable insights, I want to restrict access to paying subscribers only. I invest a lot of time and effort into writing these pieces – not to get rich, but to provide meaningful content and motiviation.

So if my work is worth the price of a coffee to you, it would go a long way in keeping me motivated and providing even more insights! ☕️

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Best,