I started investing when I was 20 while I was studying in business school. This was during peak dotcom bubble in 2000 when Nortel was rocking the TSX. Times were somewhat different. Each transaction would cost $29.95 (that's over $50 in today's money!). Social media wasn't much of a thing, information was available but less obvious to find and index ETFs weren't really a thing yet. As a smart 20 years old, I started buying some stocks. Stock A because of "low ratios", stock B because it's lithium and lithium will surely be the next best thing with laptops batteries and all! Etc... Fast forward 25 years later, I can say I had absolutely no idea what I was doing when picking stocks. What happened next? Did I learn from that mistake? I was poor back then and needed the money at some point so had to sell all stocks. Then when I started investing again, I invested in diversified mutual funds. Then read Canadian Couch Potato and went into low cost index funds. I started buying individual stocks in recent years but : - I graduated from business school - I have 20+ years of experience working at the head office of a publicly traded company - I've worked in marketing, revenue management, accounting, sales, demand planning and was involved in logistics, production, procurement... - I've been working with senior management for years. - I've read thousands of hours about investing and companies. I like it. - I know how to read an income statement and a balance sheet. I read them every quarter. Having gone through that whole evolution, I can safely say that most people on forums and on Blossom are way closer to 20 years old me than 45 years old. There is nothing wrong with this obviously, but please have the humility to acknowledge your strengths and limitations. When buying an individual stock, what knowledge/experience/insight do you have that makes you see something that the tens of millions investors participating in the stock markets don't see? Do you really have an edge? I'm not here to discourage people from investing into individual stocks. I personally do now and enjoy the process and challenge. But I can 100% say that 20 years old me was much better to invest in diversified low cost index funds. Plus we're in 2025 and we have access to wonderful low fee all-in-one products. TLDR: I used to buy individual stocks when I had no clue what I was doing. Then went into index funds for ~20 years until I had better knowledge of what I was doing.
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25 Comments
Mahyar
@4mula4 · 1yrEdited
Absolutely agree with everything you said, this is such a great and wise reflection. Your post is a perfect example of how most investors evolve: (Like most of us here) from chasing hot picks with limited knowledge, to recognizing the value of broad diversification, low fees, and humility, and then gradually building the confidence and skill to re-enter individual stocks with experience and purpose. Too many investors here (including me) underestimate just how much knowledge and discipline it takes to do well with individual stocks, and overestimate their edge. This was clearly evident here - and in most Blossoms portfolios (high volatilities and low performance), since Trump’s liberation day. For the vast majority, low-cost index ETFs (like most all-in-one and index ETFs) remain the smartest, most consistent way to grow wealth without the emotional rollercoaster or risk of bad decisions - but greed and over confidence always win. 🤨
Sorcerer Jeson@sorcererjeson · 1yr
Best quote in short summary “ when buying an individual stock what knowledge/experience/insight do you have that makes you see something that tens of millions investors participating in this stock market don’t see do you really have an edge?” Hindsight. Watching the Nortel 💥 was my first market crash.
L G@junky12 · 1yr
Yes it was expensive to buy back in the day! Came across one of my purchases
DM @dmomo · 1yr
Overconfidence being peddled as knowledge. It's a dangerous combination (especially) for beginners to be exposed to.
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