🗣️ Investor Talk #14: Eric Flaningam

Account Manager - Microsoft

Welcome to Investor Talk — where we interview successful investors to uncover their journeys, strategies, and the lessons they've learned. Get inspired by real stories and gain valuable insights to sharpen your own investment approach.

Every interview follows the same set of sharp, insightful questions — such as “What is your investment strategy?”, “What are your highest conviction stocks?”, and “What’s the biggest investment mistake you’ve made?”

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name: Eric Flaningam @AITechInvesting
Age: 23
Residence: United States
Invests since: 2014

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Investing was my first passion. I started in 2014 and have studied constantly for the last decade. By the time I graduated high school, I was consulting most of my teachers on personal finance and investing. In college, I got deeply into writing algorithms to automate the value investing process. I decided to start publishing my research online earlier this year.

My career outside of investing has been finding the balance between business and technology. I studied engineering at Purdue with a focus on computer science. I interned as a software engineer before accepting a job in project/account management at Microsoft.

I work with a few of Microsoft’s large software customers deploying Microsoft’s tech. Essentially, I live in the cloud & enterprise software space every day. My investing research allows me to provide strategic insights to my customers. In turn, my customers provide me insights into broader trends in tech.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆?
My roots are in value investing, attempting to follow a path like Warren Buffett’s. A few years ago, I came to a realization that I needed to apply Buffett’s teachings differently, using my technical background, to gain an edge on the market. A few principles:
1. The boat you’re in matters much more than how hard you’re rowing.
2. Invest in great businesses for decades not quarters.
3. Never underestimate competition.

I believe that tech businesses have some of the most favorable business dynamics in the world: high margins, worldwide reach, consumer & enterprise exposure. The major concern is navigating ‘hype’ and competition.

My goal is to find tech businesses that will be around and growing in a decade.

My favorite businesses are semi-monopolistic companies with great leaders in growing markets.

I simply try to find businesses that fit that description and then be very patient about when to buy.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼?
I’m concentrated in 6 stocks. At the end of 2022, I saw an exceptional risk-reward opportunity in big tech and concentrated my portfolio in the following stocks: $MSFT $AMZN $GOOGL $AAPL $TSM $ABNB

The top of my watchlist includes $NOW $UBER $ASML

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻?
Primarily tech. It’s where my expertise lies. If I saw an opportunity outside of tech that was too good to pass up, I’d invest there.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸?
$AMZN - Amazon is my highest conviction stock. They have an exceptional moat and numerous profitability levers to pull.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻?
$AMZN - Amazon. My first cost basis was $41.58 in 2016.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲?
I bought into a small pharma company called Optinose $OPTN when I was in high school based on advice from two so-called experts. I’m currently down 96% on my position.

It was the best investment I’ve ever made because of how much I’ve learned from it. It instilled a risk aversion in me, reminded me of the importance of balancing humility & conviction in investing, and taught me to deeply research companies before investing.

𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀
Favorite book: The Snowball - Alice Schroeder

Favorite podcast: Founders by David Senra @FoundersPodcast

Favorite quote: "When it rains gold, put out the bucket and not the thimble" - Warren Buffett

Favorite FinX account:
- Simple Investing @simpleinvest01
- Giuliano Mana @Giuliano_Mana
- Stock Opine @Stock_Opine

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
You can find me on substack: https://aitechinvesting.com

Disclaimer:
The information and opinions provided in this article are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product, security, or asset. The Future Investors does not provide personalized investment advice and is not a licensed financial advisor. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions and consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions. Please consult the general disclaimer for more details.