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
๐ Check out all previous Investor Talks here
In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:
Name: Brian Feroldi @BrianFeroldi
Age: 41
Residence: United States
Invests since: 2004
๐๐ป๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฑ๐๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
I learned nothing about money or investing in college (and my major was business!). But, my dad gave me a copy of โRich Dad, Poor Dadโ when I graduated. I devoured it and I quickly become obsessed with money, personal finance, & investing. I read every book that I could get my hands on related to that subject.
My first job was in a startup medical device company called Insulet (currently worth $20 billion). At first, I had only a few hundred dollars to invest, and I did all the dumb things most new investors did. I traded penny stocks. I did just as bad as you would expect. But, I was learning fast.
I ended up taking a sales job, so I was in my car 35+ hours/week. I used a lot of that time to listen to audio books & conference calls โ essentially learning how to invest in my car. It was a wonderful way to educate myself about investing.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ด๐?
My retirement funds are all indexed for simplicity. I have been maxing those out for years. Beyond that, I keep most of my taxable investments in individuals stocks. My strategy is long-term buy & hold of great growth stocks. I have developed a checklist that I use to determine what is a โgreatโ stock.
I rarely sell, turning over my portfolio <5% per year. I own plenty of losers, but Iโve bought a few mega-winners that have paid for all of them combined (and then some).
๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐ถ๐ผ?
Currently, there are 47 stocks held in my portfolio.
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐น๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฐ๐๐ ๐ผ๐ป?
My main focus is on the Tech and Healthcare sector.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐ฐ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ๐?
$TSLA - Tesla
$MELI - MercadoLibre
$MA - Mastercard
๐ช๐ต๐ถ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ต๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐๐ฟ๐ป?
The stock with the most return is Netflix $NFLX with a return of more than 5,000%.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฏ๐ถ๐ด๐ด๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ถ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐๐๐บ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐บ๐ถ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ?
Selling a great stock too early is a common mistake that even seasoned investors make. I can personally relate to this, having experienced a few instances of parting ways with exceptional stocks prematurely. Among them, the most regrettable was undoubtedly selling DexCom $DXCM for $2 back in 2008, especially considering its current value soaring at $131.
๐ ๐ ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐
Favorite book: The Motley Fool Investment Guide. It was one of the first books about investing I ever read.
Favorite podcast: Currently "Founders" by David Senra @FoundersPodcast
Favorite quote: โIn the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run it is a weighing machine.โ - Benjamin Graham
Favorite FinTwit account: 10-K Diver @10kdiver. He is the best financial teacher on Fintwit.
๐ช๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐บ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐?
I made a free eBook with 50 best investing visuals I have ever found. It's worth to download it. Here is the link: https://brianferoldi.ck.page/50visuals
Thatโs a wrap!
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