This is why

[Blue531]

An individual stock has given me an unrealized gain of over 600% in a year and a half's time. Not typical, yet not unheard of.

Out of curiosity, I wanted to know how long it would have taken to grow to the same amount if I had invested that initial amount into a reasonable index fund.

@8.5% compounded interest, 25 years

@10%, ", 21 years

@12%, ", 17 years

Investing in individual stocks can be very rewarding for those willing to take on some extra risk with some of their cash. This is why I like to invest in individual stocks.

There are so many companies whose stocks double in a year's time or triple in five. Many march steadily up. Many are common well known established companies that are still growing and are helping to grow our index funds.

There are so many great businesses worth investing in individually, ones that can return 50% t0 100% per year or more--returns you won't get from your typical index fund. This is why.

 

[Ready]

Very true. The more risk the more potential reward. But what would you be writing about now if the stock you had invested in had lost 90% of its value over the same time period?

 

[aja8888]

There are so many companies whose stocks double in a year's time or triple in five. Many march steadily up. Many are common well known established companies that are still growing and are helping to grow our index funds.

There are so many great businesses worth investing in individually, ones that can return 50% t0 100% per year or more--returns you won't get from your typical index fund. This is why.

I'd sure love to have a list of those companies that guarantee these success rates. Can you post them here with the promised returns? I'd even settle for the one's that will only go up 50% in one year!

Thanks!

 

[qwerty3656]

You should go to vegas and put it all on 16 black - you would be amazed how much money you could win - or better yet put it all into lottery tickets

 

[1242Vintage]

Investing in individual stocks can be very rewarding for those willing to take on some extra risk with some of their cash. This is why I like to invest in individual stocks.

Curious what performance looks like if you take into account all the individual securities in your portfolio.

And what economic metrics, past performance data or information did you use to select the stock with the extreme performance? Would like to evaluate to see if I can factor some of that into my risk-based portfolio management model.

 

[f35phixer]

was it 2000 or 200,000 you risked?

 

[Dtail]

I would think you should expect these comments without many other data points and background.
I expect Oldshooter should be along shortly.

 

[MichaelB]

This is a good opportunity to remind members of the recent changes to forum policy for this forum. It can be found here and only takes a minute or two to read. It’s specifically intended to make these discussions easier.

 

[HolaDEA]

There are investors who consistently beat the market, Warren Buffet as an example, but they’re not doing it by looking at stock charts on Yahoo finance. I’ll dabble in individual stocks but the bulk of my worth is in index funds.

That said, based on an internet tip, I bought MVIS when it was 30 cents a share. I sold at $1.80 thinking I was a genius for making such a fast profit. Today it’s over $14, lol.

 

[Blue531]

You are all free to NOT take advantage of the potential of the market. I won't lose sleep over it.

I shared my thoughts on why I do it and I'm sure millions of other people are investing in individual stocks for the same reason. Potential.

Why so many of you get upset is ridiculous, laughable even. If you don't see the potential out there or want to take any risk, don't. No one is asking you to.

People can hardly come in here and talk about investing in individual stocks without being bashed over the head. People making absurd comments about stocks being like lottery tickets. Making comments about wanting guarantees. There are no guarantees. Everybody knows this.

The potential is there. And many people like taking some risk. What is the point of having an investment forum if people can't discuss individual stock investing in peace.

Quit bashing people for actively investing. This room is quite stifling because of this aspect.

 

[Gumby]

You are all free to NOT take advantage of the potential of the market. I won't lose sleep over it.

I shared my thoughts on why I do it and I'm sure millions of other people are investing in individual stocks for the same reason. Potential.

Why so many of you get upset is ridiculous, laughable even. If you don't see the potential out there or want to take any risk, don't. No one is asking you to.

People can hardly come in here and talk about investing in individual stocks without being bashed over the head. People making absurd comments about stocks being like lottery tickets. Making comments about wanting guarantees. There are no guarantees. Everybody knows this.

The potential is there. And many people like taking some risk. What is the point of having an investment forum if people can't discuss individual stock investing in peace.

Quit bashing people for actively investing. This room is quite stifling because of this aspect.

Did you read MichaelB's post (#8) and the link? We are no longer having the active versus passive investment argument in this forum. Anyone who wants to do that needs to go post in the FIRE and Money forum. If you want to talk about active investing, this is the place. Ask any moderator if you have questions about the new rules.

I would think you should expect these comments without many other data points and background. I expect Oldshooter should be along shortly.

Not if he reads the new rules.

 

[JoshTrent]

You are all free to NOT take advantage of the potential of the market. I won't lose sleep over it.

I shared my thoughts on why I do it and I'm sure millions of other people are investing in individual stocks for the same reason. Potential.

Why so many of you get upset is ridiculous, laughable even. If you don't see the potential out there or want to take any risk, don't. No one is asking you to.

People can hardly come in here and talk about investing in individual stocks without being bashed over the head. People making absurd comments about stocks being like lottery tickets. Making comments about wanting guarantees. There are no guarantees. Everybody knows this.

The potential is there. And many people like taking some risk. What is the point of having an investment forum if people can't discuss individual stock investing in peace.

Quit bashing people for actively investing. This room is quite stifling because of this aspect.

I'm with you @Blue531! There are opportunities out there for the taking, and not everyone will agree with the risk.

It was 2017 that I took about half my RE $$'s and started to actively purchase Single Stocks & Crypto. My most recent explosion was AMC $8k bought at $8.50 and sold at $58.25. I'm still holding the BTC, ETH & LTC I purchased in 2017.

I'll be the first to admit that not every move I've made has been profitable, but I've been a lot more profitable than not.

I say to each their own.. you do you!

 

[JoshTrent]

There are investors who consistently beat the market, Warren Buffet as an example, but they’re not doing it by looking at stock charts on Yahoo finance. I’ll dabble in individual stocks but the bulk of my worth is in index funds.

That said, based on an internet tip, I bought MVIS when it was 30 cents a share. I sold at $1.80 thinking I was a genius for making such a fast profit. Today it’s over $14, lol.

Out of curiosity.. where are you digging tips? I've perused WSB, and it seems you have too. Any other sources you care to share?

My move on AMC was mostly due to the traffic on WSB. I figured if there was going to be a run on it, I want to be out in front of it.

 

[frayne]

Just like in golf, it's a risk/reward situation and it all depends upon your skill level to hit the right shot at the right time or pick the right stock at the right time. I'll pitch out in the fairway 90% of the time and go with the odds. The other 10% of the time when I go with the low percentage/high reward shot, I usually get the triple bogey. In other words, give me the good old boring low cost index fund and I'll sleep better every night. YMMV.

 

[Major Tom]

Wow. Despite two reminders from admins in this thread of the new rules concerning discussions on active investing, in the sub-forum specifically designed for such threads, people are still insisting on stating why they prefer passive investing.

It's often a good idea to read through threads before commenting.

 

[braumeister]

.

 

[skyking1]

Thanks OP. Right now we are in those last months before pulling the plug. When the dust settles and I can really quantify how things are going, I'd like to free up a riskable portion of the excess to do just that.

 

[unclemick]

Hmmm- since 1966 I've had a few 10 bangers(ala Peter Lynch), some gone to zero, and a lot of so so not worth bragging about.


while I was busy being 'a legend in my own mind' my ho hum 401k steady contributions to index- aka Bogle's Folly' ended up being 'the big dog on the porch' funding the bulk of my ER.

I knew people at work who single stock funded their retirement fund including one who collected guns and one with raw land. And a few over the decades in rental RE. J&J, IBM, and Home Depot pop into memory.

Heh heh heh - many roads to Dublin and all that but myself I put my 'a few good stocks' in the realm of mad money and the effect of male hormones not to mention hindsight seems to put my most aggressive investments during football season.

 

[bobandsherry]

An individual stock has given me an unrealized gain of over 600% in a year and a half's time. Not typical, yet not unheard of.

Sometimes even a blind squirrel finds a nut. How many other stocks that you own have had that type of gain? How often have you done that over the past 10 years? Any of your stocks gone bust too?

BTW, I had a friend who is a gambler, he tells me about every time he hits big. He's even mentioned when he broke even. Strange thing, he never takes the time to tell me when he's lost big. But I digress. Congrats on hitting it big.

 

[Gumby]

My single greatest failing as an investor has been holding too long. I have researched carefully, found some great stocks and seen them go up 2x, 3x, 4x or more in relatively short order, only to have them subsequently give up most of those gains before I got around to selling. What I should have done is stayed on top of the them better and asked myself anew every week or so "would you buy today" And if the answer was "no" I should have sold right then.

 

[ERD50]

My single greatest failing as an investor has been holding too long. I have researched carefully, found some great stocks and seen them go up 2x, 3x, 4x or more in relatively short order, only to have them subsequently give up most of those gains before I got around to selling. What I should have done is stayed on top of the them better and asked myself anew every week or so "would you buy today" And if the answer was "no" I should have sold right then.

That can work both ways - even with the same stock!

When I was trading, my biggest winner was AAPL. I had bought a lot of it at very near its lows ~ 1997. Made a lot of money.

Then I started getting out of it, some was a 13 bagger, and was completely out by NOV 2004. I figured at that price, it was no longer a bargain, or misunderstood.

Well, I just had to look at what AAPL has done since I got out.

$1,000 in SPY - $5,409


$1,000 in AAPL - $181,299

Note SPY for benchmark ref only - not a comment/judgment on stocks vs funds.

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com...&symbol2=VBMFX&symbol3=AAPL&allocation3_3=100

Holy cow! 33X the 'market'!

I'm happy for the gains I got. No 'sellers remorse' for me, but still....

-ERD50

 

[Pointby2]

That can work both ways - even with the same stock!

When I was trading, my biggest winner was AAPL. I had bought a lot of it at very near its lows ~ 1997. Made a lot of money.

Then I started getting out of it, some was a 13 bagger, and was completely out by NOV 2004. I figured at that price, it was no longer a bargain, or misunderstood.

Well, I just had to look at what AAPL has done since I got out.

$1,000 in SPY - $5,409


$1,000 in AAPL - $181,299

Note SPY for benchmark ref only - not a comment/judgment on stocks vs funds.

-ERD50

I wish I wouldn't have seen that. Holy Cow!

 

[captain3d]

My problem is that I have never been brave enough to put a significant amount into an individual winner.

So it is not just picking a winner but then also going in with a large % of your net worth to make that winner a net worth winner.

And to do it well becomes a very full time activity. I used to enjoy it though. Comparing ideas with friends etc.

 

[unclemick]

My problem is that I have never been brave enough to put a significant amount into an individual winner.

So it is not just picking a winner but then also going in with a large % of your net worth to make that winner a net worth winner.

And to do it well becomes a very full time activity. I used to enjoy it though. Comparing ideas with friends etc.

Long long ago far far away I remember The New Orleans Chapter of AAII had great pastry and coffee. I too never put 'enough' into any single recommendation.

heh heh heh -

 

[PageTwo]

I have one such success story in my portfolio - NFLX. I bought some shares in 2010 at $17.90 when they were basically a DVD renting company. Today's price is $515.92, i.e. up 2,882%. I have never sold a share.

I can't claim that this successful gamble was based on technical analysis. I basically thought that the streaming idea was interesting, had some idle cash (not a huge amount by any means) and jumped in. Fast forward to today, and NFLX is about 10% of my portfolio.