🗣️ Investor Talk #7: Brian Feroldi

Founder - Long Term Mindset

Jul 24, 2023

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?”

👉 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

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
I learned nothing about money or investing in college (and my major was business!). But, my dad gave me a copy of “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” 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 — essentially learning how to invest in my car. It was a wonderful way to educate myself about investing.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆?
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 “great” stock.

I rarely sell, turning over my portfolio <5% per year. I own plenty of losers, but I’ve bought a few mega-winners that have paid for all of them combined (and then some).

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼?
Currently, there are 47 stocks held in my portfolio.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻?
My main focus is on the Tech and Healthcare sector.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟯 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀?
$TSLA - Tesla
$MELI - MercadoLibre
$MA - Mastercard

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻?
The stock with the most return is Netflix $NFLX with a return of more than 5,000%.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲?
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.

𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀
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: “In the short run, the market is a voting machine, but in the long run it is a weighing machine.” - Benjamin Graham

Favorite FinTwit account: 10-K Diver @10kdiver. He is the best financial teacher on Fintwit.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
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

That’s a wrap!
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🗣️ Investor Talk #7: Brian Feroldi

Founder - Long Term Mindset

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