5 top tips for the values-based investor 🤑
[Written August 6, 2024]
Hi friends —
In this Energy Recipe, Kelly shares the five lessons (and 5 associated tips) she's learned by re-investing nearly $400,000 into the stock market over the last 6 weeks. She's even decided to share the distribution & performance of this $400k to date (yes, even with the recent decline 🙀).
Whether you're a seasoned investor or you've been thinking about finally getting started investing, read on – because investing as a woman is a lonely road. Hearing what Kelly has experienced will hopefully keep you motivated, grounded & energized during these crazy market times.
putting it all on red
Ladies. The stock market is CrAzYyYyyyyy.
I've attempted to sit down and write this email a fair few times, and each time I thought… no, what's happening this week is out of the ordinary, it's not a good time to reflect.
After saying this a few times, I've finally realized that that is the reflection. The stock market is, in many ways, like gambling. It's addicting. It's risky. It's unpredictable.
And yet, it's been the most reliable, safe & low-risk way to grow wealth for the last 100 years (yes, the irony is not lost on me).
If you've been following along, you know that I have been delaying re-investing ~$700k of cash as I couldn't figure out how to do it in a way that was… authentic. I wanted to invest in a way that was aligned with my values, but also not lose money (duh!). In the end, this proved to be a very tall order.
As women, I feel many of us feel similarly. We don't want to make the rich man richer… and yet we want our money to work for us (so we can stop working so darn much)!
So, after investing nearly $400k over the last 6 weeks I have 5 tips I'd like to share. While this can hopefully can inspire you in your approach to investing… we must disclaim: this is not financial advice.
Treat investing like a full time job. Yes, investing is the easiest way to earn money… but it's also the easiest way to lose money. Just like you wouldn't make a quick decision on implementing a go-to-market strategy, don't make quick decisions on your investments. What's my tip? I've created bi-weekly 2 hour focus blocks to look at my investments, market trends & earnings reports to make investment decisions. And I don't de-prioritize this.
Monitor individual companies for at least 1 month before investing. Investing in single companies is essentially like playing roulette… and betting on a single number. High potential reward, but very high risk. What's my tip? I've seen most success by investing in individual companies in industries I'm personally passionate about and already have deeper knowledge in (i.e. education, tech).
Most (values aligned) companies are not listed on the stock market. As my values are not “growth at all costs”, I've found that the companies I'm most excited about require an angel investment. While it sounds sexy, angel investing lives at the absolute highest end of the risk scale (99% of angel investments will see 0 return on the investment)… but I wanted to figure out a way to make this work for me. What's my tip? I'm making this very risky investment a “2-for-1” by finding a VC Fund that creates community out of its LPs… which guarantees big gains in my network in the short term, with a promise of potential financial gains 5-10 years down the track.
Profits truly are long term… which feels yucky in the short term. I happened to invest my money at a very “toppy” moment in the market. This means that after putting nearly $400k back into the market over the past 6 weeks… I've lost $7k :criesinspanish: This is to be expected, and many novice investors would pull their money out (which I'm still at times tempted to do) because such black and white loss feels like failure. And it's really hard to open your bank account and see this day after day. What's my tip? Find a person in your corner (which can be me!) that will remind you that you won't win 100% of the time, but time in the market wins 95% of the time.
My intuition is my greatest investing asset. As I said, I've lost $7k over the last 6 weeks. That feels brutal. My ego is bruised. But… I sold $700k of my Uber stock in April… and if I had held that until today… I would have been down ~$150k. There was no “reason” for me to sell my Uber stock back in April. I simply felt it was time, and I picked a “random” number to sell it at ($79.50, for those checking). It peaked at $81 before crashing back down to $61, where it's at today. Goodbye ego, hello intution! What's my tip? While yes, the foundations of good investment are rooted in mathematics… success in investing (just like any aspect of life) requires a refined spidey sense. So get your nervous system in check – and tend to it often – if you plan to invest.
I know I have amassed wealth that many will not be able to, which also affords me the luxury of time. Time allows me to be able to do this investment research, again a luxury than many cannot afford. So as a final parting gift, I want to share the distribution of how I invested the $400k so far, and the black & white (or red) results of my efforts.
{Note: these figures are as of Friday, August 2}
This is a weirdly personal & vulnerable share for me. It's showing what I care most about… and also how I've performed. I feel proud that I've found a way to uphold my investing values of equality, the next generation & well-being in my portfolio.
I do question if I will make “as much” money as the more profit focused investor… but at the end of the day, I know that I find the most success & feel the most energized when I am shamelessly focused on doing what's true to me.