PSA: I stopped picking my own stocks after a bad call on a tech company.

Used to watch the market every day, thought I could beat it. Put $5,000 into a single company last year based on some online hype. It dropped 40% in three months. Now I just put everything into a low-cost index fund from Vanguard. My blood pressure is way lower. Anyone else just give up on trying to pick winners?

3 comments

3 Comments

martin.tyler1mo ago

A 40% drop on a single stock pick is rough, but it's not exactly a shocking result. Plenty of people make that same bet and lose. Calling it a "PSA" for everyone to just buy index funds feels a bit dramatic. You took a gamble on one company and it didn't work out, that's how picking stocks goes sometimes. The real lesson might be to not put your whole play money fund into one hype stock next time.

the_susan1mo ago

Yeah, martin.tyler has a point about single stocks.

schmidt.blake3d ago

Wait, are you telling me buying stock in a company just cause I liked their logo isn't a solid strategy? Learned that one the hard way with a pizza chain stock a few years back. Now I just stick with the boring stuff and let it sit.