Welcome to Investor Talk โ 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 โ such as โWhat is your investment strategy?โ, โWhat are your highest conviction stocks?โ, and โWhatโs the biggest investment mistake youโve made?โ
In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:
Name: Neil Rozenbaum @Couch_Investor
Age: 30
Residence/Country: Belgium
Invests since: 2016
๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
I first got a taste of investing when I was in high school. I had to build a fictional portfolio and compete in a competition run by KBC (one of the biggest banks in the country). All was going extremely well, I was in the top 100 until I got slapped in the face by a geopolitical/macro event: 2011 Egyptian uprising. I had no idea that something in Egypt would greatly impact my portfolio. Lesson learned.
Only in 2016 did I start investing my own money. I learned that you learn 10x more when youโre personally invested than by taking finance classes in university (been there, done that). I started investing by buying the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF $VOO, and some Buffett stocks but I quickly realized that this wasn't the way for me. I am young and I don't think that buying Coca-Cola $KO (a great company) would get me closer to my financial goals. This made me look into the big tech companies of today, the services that I use daily, and more speculative stocks.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐?
As Warren Buffett said, donโt lose money. I buy companies that I like, understand, and most importantly have good leadership. That does not mean that I wonโt ever sell/take profit. Actually, I don't mind selling if I find something that is more interesting (but that rarely happens).
I am usually fully invested but I do add some cash before every earnings season in case the market acts irrationally.
Iโve made plenty of mistakes and will probably make more in the future. But hopefully, every mistake will cost me less.
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ผ?
I own 13 stocks but the top 5 make up over 60% of the portfolio today.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป?
My portfolio is mostly made by tech/innovation. That does not mean that stocks in other sectors are not on the watchlist.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐?
$TSLA - Tesla
$AMZN - Amazon
The third one is probably tied between a lot of stocks so I canโt really say.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป?
The stock where I have earned the highest return is Tesla $TSLA.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ?
Selling a winner too early because the stock went up a lot. That stock was Nvidia $NVDA.
๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐
Favorite books: One Up On Wall Street by Peter Lynch is a must-read for every investor (yes, much better than The Intelligent Investor).
Here are some other books I would recommend:
- The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
- 100-Baggers by Christopher Mayer @chriswmayer
- Think Like a Freak by Levitt & Dubner
- Just Keep Buying by Nick Maggiulli @dollarsanddata
- Only The Paranoid Survive by Andrew Grove
- Common Stock and Uncommon Profits by Philip Fisher
I also like to read books about founders, CEOs and learn about how they think.
Favorite podcasts: All In Pod @theallinpod, BG2Pod @BG2Pod, and Invest Like The Best @InvestLikeBest.
Favorite quote: "Nobody panics when things go โaccording to planโ, even if the plan is horrifying!" - The Joker
Favorite FinX account: To name a few: @StockMarketNerd, @arny_trezzi, @em013L, @amitisinvesting, @FromValue, @moneyballinvest, @Kross_Roads, @WealthyReadings, @ConsensusGurus, @jawwwn_, @PLTRs_Palantir, @ftr_investors and @SawyerMerritt
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐?
I have a channel on YouTube where I publish videos about stocks that I find exciting and have a high growth potential. Take a look here: http://youtube.com/CouchInvestor
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.