Investments

Posted byamsal

A series of financial disclosures, both previous and current holdings, with my thoughts. Updated Nov 3, 2021

  1. Tesla (2010)— First stock I ever bought. Also the most successful. Also the only reason why there’s the list below. [Update: I sold when it hit $419 at 21x ROI. Had I held for another couple years, it would have been a 210x ROI. Just add a zero!]
  2. Microsoft (2011)— I’m a big fan of the innovation at Microsoft over the past five years. Seems like they’re investing heavily in interesting projects.
  3. General Motors (2011) — Read an article about how GM was Tesla’s most formative competition. Wanted to invest to cover my bases.
  4. Ford (2011)—Covered my bases.
  5. Nokia (2012)—Thought Microsoft would buy them and expand Windows Phone. They did.
  6. Pandora (2012) — Figured Apple or Google would buy them. I was wrong. Google instead bought Songza, and Apple bought Beats and Lala. Ah well.
  7. Jamba Juice (2012)—This was a stupid investment. I saw the rise of the juice craze, but didn’t realize Jamba wasn’t seeing the same success as other juice brands. Also, Jamba started shutting down stores. Don’t invest in seasonal businesses.
  8. Bitcoin (2014) — Like Tesla, I wish I had invested far more when I could have. [Dear Past Self: you could have then too.]
  9. Nuance (2015) — As I watched the rise of Siri and Google Now, I figured Nuance would be ripe for acquisition. Instead, companies developed their own voice recognition tech. Such is life.
  10. Twitter (2014 & 2015 & 2016) — Definitely losing my money on this. [Update: I did not lose my money on this.] I’ve doubled down on Twitter a couple times, as I still believe in the company’s future, despite the mediocre leadership. It’s a great tool that’s highly sticky and useful, at least in the media/tech industry. Also, it’s the app I use the most, by a long shot.
  11. 21st Century Fox (2015) — Should have got Disney instead, but that was a bit too costly.
  12. Yelp (2015) — I thought it would get acquired by Apple or Facebook honestly. It’s got a lot of data. Though now maybe I should look into getting some Yext. Yelp feels slimy to me.
  13. Shopify (2015) — Noticed their rise thanks to Tim Ferriss. [Sold this too early…. Then got in again in 2020, loathing my sell and vowing to never sell again]
  14. King (2015) — I got this because of a Planet Money episode about overvalued stocks.
  15. Facebook (2015) — Zuckerberg is smart, and the company is a money machine.
  16. ShakeShack (2016)— Thought it might be the next generation of McDonalds. Probably wrong.
  17. GoPro (2016) — DJI ate their lunch.
  18. Corrections Corporation of America (2016) — Owning this made me feel bad about myself. Had to sell it quick. Scum.
  19. Netflix (2016) — Reed Hastings is a smart guy. Not sure how I feel about all their debt though.
  20. Square (2016) — Quietly great company. Too bad Twitter hasn’t seen the same stock success. [Update: they did eventually.]
  21. Coca-Cola (2016) — I think beverage companies will grow in popularity as we destroy our public water sources.
  22. Bank of America (2016) — Got these on the advice of a friend. Should have got Goldman instead.
  23. [One of my worst sell events, almost everything listed prior to this – thought Trump would win and the markets would tank. They did… for like… two hours… Had I stayed in, I would have made a stupid amount of money. Live and learn.]
  24. Direxion (2017)—Got this because of r/wallstreetbets or r/robinhood. Probably not a great idea to get advice from internet forums. But I only got a couple shares.
  25. Inverse Natural Gas (2017) — Also got this from Internet people. Again, don’t listen to people on the internet.
  26. Twilio (2017)—Interesting tech company that seems to fly under the radar while powering much of mobile tech. [Update: Insanely good investment!]
  27. Snapchat (2017) — Instagram is going to crush Snapchat, and I’ve come to realize that Snap’s performance will most likely end up looking much like Twitter. Both are useful, addicting, and feature a loyal user base, while struggling for Facebook’s meteoric expansion rates and income.
  28. Activision Blizzard (2017)—This purchase happened after I heard that eSports will become a huge industry.
  29. Everspin (2017)—Remember how I said don’t take stock advice from Reddit? Well sometimes it pays off.
  30. Ethereum (2017)—Not as big as Bitcoin, but seems like the tech behind this is more interesting. [Great investment!]
  31. Whole Foods (2017)— Thought they might get acquired. They did.
  32. Applied Materials (2017)—Another Internet people recommendation.
  33. General Electric (2017)—I think a family member recommended this pick.
  34. Houston American Energy (2017)—Recommendation from Internet people. Just put in a little bit.
  35. Blue Apron (2017)—Oooof what a terrible investment. Only got two shares though. Amazon is going to crush them.
  36. Target (2017)—Got this around the time Amazon acquired Whole Foods.
  37. Micron Technology (2017)—Internet people recommendation.
  38. LTC, ZEC, ETC, BCH, DASH, EOS (2017) – A hodgepodge of altcoins I grabbed just in case. Radiolab has an interesting story about ZCash if you like podcasts.
  39. Cisco (2017)—Another Internet people recommendation.
  40. Taiwan Semiconductor (2017)—Despite stiff competition, chip makers in general will do well as the future progresses.
  41. AMD (2018)—Ditto.
  42. Cronos Group (2018)—Was interested in buying something in a marijuana company. Perhaps this wasn’t the best choice.
  43. Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (2018)—When MoviePass’s parent company cratered, I decided to buy low on the off chance there was a miracle.
  44. NIO (2018) – Electric car company in China, let’s see if they can compete with Tesla.
  45. CRWD (2019) – ~~~ Cybersecurity ~~~
  46. CHWY (2019) – People take care of their pets. I see Chewy.com boxes everywhere.
  47. WORK (2019) – I’ve used Slack at almost every place I’ve worked.
  48. HAIR (2019)
  49. AQUA (2019) – Looked up water companies and bought randomly.
  50. CRON (2019) – Weed will be legal everywhere eventually.
  51. TGT (2019) – Target and Walmart aren’t dead yet.
  52. XLU (2019) – Utilities sector is allegedly recession proof.
  53. UBER (2019) – Yes, they are a Bad company. I also think they might take over the world and I might as well profit from that.
  54. ACB (2020) – Another weed company.
  55. PINS (2020) – I don’t use Pinterest, I don’t know many who do, but those who do use it quite a bit.
  56. PRPL (2020) – Saw a tweet about how they were so much better.
  57. KF (2020) – Purchased when I saw how well South Korea was dealing with the pandemic.
  58. ENZL (2020) – Purchased when I saw how well New Zealand was dealing with the pandemic.
  59. BHR (2020) – Hotels! Travel was struggling, and I think it’ll come back.
  60. AUPH (2020) – Pharma
  61. NLS (2020) – Similar to Pelaton.
  62. VXX (2020) – S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN.
  63. TWN (2020) – Taiwan was doing great with COVID so I searched up “taiwan” and bought randomly.
  64. KODK (2020) – Asinine investment. Sometimes meme stocks are just memes.
  65. SLV (2020) – Price of silver.
  66. RIOT (2020) – cryptocurrency mining operation in North America
  67. PFE (2020) – The “best” vaccine.
  68. LUV (2020) – Southwest Airlines has a great reputation and people will fly again.
  69. GPK (2020) – Packaging corp –
  70. GDRX (2020) – Love this company! Saves people money on medicines. Great marketing.
  71. PLTR (2020) – Don’t love the company but I do have confidence that the Paypal Mafia will continue to be profitable.
  72. SPH (2020) – Propane and gas will be needed as we do more outside (space heaters, grills, etc)
  73. Opendoor (2020) – Real estate is booming!
  74. FTCH (2020) – “luxury fashion goods”
  75. MGI (2020) – “cross-border peer-to-peer payments and money transfer services” wonder if Square will acquire them, or something…
  76. ADPT (2020) – “immune medicine”
  77. APHA (2020) – Cannabis! Merged with Tilray.
  78. TPC (2020) – “one of the largest general contractors in the United States”
  79. INAQ (2020) (now MILE) – “leading digital insurance platform and pay-per-mile auto insurer” I got this before the merger, not particularly optimistic about this one
  80. NWL (2020) – household purchases are up! “manufacturer, marketer and distributor of consumer and commercial products with a portfolio of brands including: Rubbermaid”
  81. UL (2020) – Unilever, a massive conglomerate.
  82. SHOP (2020) – I hate that I sold this early. Got back in. Amazon competition.
  83. INGN (2020) – “develops, manufactures, and markets portable oxygen concentrators to patients” (COVID!!!)
  84. LAZR (2020) – “vehicle sensor and software company for passenger cars and commercial trucks”
  85. BEAM (2020) – “precision genetic medicines for patients suffering from serious diseases in the United States”
  86. GME (2020) – One of the only stocks I’ve sold since my 2016 debacle. Smart sell.
  87. ABNB (2020) – Maybe overvalued (like most stocks during the later half of COVID) but interesting company. I try to invest in things that I use regularly.
  88. NEE (2020) – sustainable energy
  89. QS (2020) – “lithium-metal batteries for electric vehicles and other applications.”
  90. UPST (2020) – “aggregates consumer demand for loans”
  91. SI (2020) – “bank holding company for Silvergate Bank that provides banking products and services to business and individual clients” common tech bank
  92. CNST (2020) – what is this
  93. ARKF (2020) – ARK Fintech Innovation ETF
  94. ODT (2020) – “therapeutics for the treatment of cancer”
  95. BILI (2020) – “entertainment services for the young generations in the People’s Republic of China”
  96. Masterworks.io – Basquiat (2020) – Love this artist; love the concept of investing in art.
  97. NVTA (2021) – “medical genetics company, integrates genetic information into healthcare decision-making by clinicians”
  98. IPOE (2021) (Now SOFI) – Really bullish on SoFi; they’ve done a great job of thoroughly expanding their product suite and brand recognition in the space.
  99. ACEV (2021) – Convergence Acquisition Corp
  100. AFRM (2021) – Max is so thoughtful; I have a ton of confidence in his efforts.
  101. WOOF (2021) – Once heard that people will always provide for their pets versus buying things for themselves.
  102. IPOF (2021) – Chamath! Might be snake oil, might be something great (like SoFi). A tiny gamble here.
  103. PRCH (2021) – services for home inspectors, homebuyers and homeowners
  104. DM (2021) – 3D printing systems
  105. TLRY (2021) – weed!
  106. POSH (2021) – One of my colleagues uses this service so made the best.
  107. AMC (2021) – got in on the reddit fervor and incredibly made money
  108. BB (2021) – ditto except for the making money
  109. Dogecoin (2021) – made me some money but a garbage coin
  110. WISH (2021) – garbage company, lost money
  111. HOL (now ASTR) – Rockets to space!
  112. DMTK – non-invasive genomics tests to diagnosis skin cancer
  113. VGAC (now ME) – 23andMe is interesting, if not unnerving.
  114. CTRM – ocean transportation of dry bulk cargoes worldwide
  115. STIC (now BARK) – Things for dogs. People love their pets more than their children.
  116. ZYNE – “clinical stage specialty pharmaceutical company” with weed!
  117. TCEHY – Tencent! China!
  118. AIRT – “overnight air cargo, ground equipment sale, commercial jet engines and parts”
  119. F – Ford!
  120. PLG – exploration and development of platinum
  121. Ethereum – great investment, should have gotten more
  122. SUMO – Don’t remember why I got this so I must have seen a tweet.
  123. CVS – In a world without competent governance, private companies like CVS are going to be making a killing off the health care market.
  124. RKT – I’ve heard enough ads for Rocket Mortgage to make this move.
  125. CPNG – “largest online retailer in South Korea, focusing on the speed of delivery” (Amazon rival?)
  126. BIGC – saw a twitter thread about this Square competitor. More bullish on Square still.
  127. HIMS – leading telehealth company, good brand recognition and marketing
  128. EVFM – “biopharmaceuticals”
  129. RHHBY – getting into some medical diagnostics stocks
  130. HOLX – “diagnostics products, medical imaging systems, and surgical products for women’s health through early detection and treatment”
  131. DGX – Quest Diagnostics – COVID and STD testing, both things I expect will continue to grow.
  132. FIGS – Similar to Allbirds in proliferation in the upscale medical apparel industry. If they’re smart, there’s a lot of room for collaboration and growth.
  133. RVLV – “next-generation fashion retailer for Millennial and Generation Z consumers” lol probably garbage
  134. CQQQ – “provides broad, vanilla exposure to Chinese tech firms.”
  135. H – Hyatt! Hotels are interesting to me right now thanks to COVID, traveling, and the future of remote work.
  136. ATAI – “Life Sciences”
  137. ACWI – An ETF someone must have recommended.
  138. SPT – I have a new rule; if my work uses it, I buy some. Sprout is what we use for monitoring and responding on social. It’s fine.
  139. PAYO – Not sure why I bought this, more bullish on TransferWise.
  140. GNOM – ETF for genomics!
  141. WCLD – ETF for cloud companies.
  142. DUOL – I used this app back in school and found it helpful; now half of my family uses it.
  143. HOOD – Robinhood is a clear leader right now; let’s see if it’ll last. I’ve heard good things about Public. Plus the DOGE debacle is not inspiring confidence.
  144. ASAN – I don’t like Jira but everyone uses it.
  145. IAU – Gold! Who knows!
  146. AA – Aluminum is likely to become a more sought after material.
  147. ZEV – e-Bikes are becoming a big thing, will probably become even bigger.
  148. FTT – Did little research here, but have heard enough to get a little.
  149. AGLD – The latest meme crypto. Probably garbage.
  150. SOL – Allegedly the next Ethereum. We’ll find out together I suppose. [Update: wow shout out to myself for getting in June 2021}
  151. XRP – Twitter is abuzz.
  152. SRM – Again, a few tweets.
  153. MAPS – Weed stock.
  154. BNTX – Listened to a podcast about the future of vaccines.
  155. TTD – Tip from a feller in a restaurant.
  156. CRM – Ditto.
  157. KNX – Saw some tweets about the supply chain and wanted to invest in trucking.
  158. Enjoy – I’m a bit neutral here since I’m not convinced of scalability or interest but I bought because I applied to work there a few years ago.
  159. LendingClub – Mentioned in some fintech circles I’m in.
  160. NerdWallet – A major player in the finance space. I see them as The Wirecutter but for everything finance which seems more lucrative.
  161. AllBirds – I own enough pairs to invest a bit too.