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50-Year-Old Hits $1 Million in Stock Portfolio, Shares Top 11 Holdings and Tips – 'I Pretty Much Buy and Just Let It Sit'

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Markets are undergoing postelection euphoria. However, wise investors know that staying invested in the market regardless of short-term ups and downs is the key to long-term financial success.

In January 2018, an investor on r/investing – a discussion board for stock market enthusiasts with over 2.8 million members – shared his success story and investing journey. The investor, who said he was 50 years old, started with about $20,000 in college debt and made about $21,000 in the first year after college.

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Starting With Failure – $2,000 to $37

“I opened my first brokerage account with $2,000 in Ameritrade in 1997, thinking I was going to jump on the internet bubble. I bought and sold weekly and rode that baby down. I basically never made any money and when the whole thing crashed, my $2,000 literally got down to $37. So many internet stocks just evaporated.”

However, he did not lose hope and kept returning to the market, making some changes to his investing approach:

Focusing on Mutual Funds

“I pretty much focus on mutual funds now after getting my a** handed to me on individual stocks a few times. The few I have left are ‘sentimental.'”

Living Below Means

The investor said “pretty much all” of his portfolio resulted from him putting small amounts of money into the market via 401(k) and IRAs. He lived below his means to save up:

“I bought cheap used cars when I was under 25 but then bought a new car and drove it for 20 years,” he added.

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Path to $1 Million: ‘Pretty Much Buy and Let It Sit’

He shared screenshots of his portfolio showing holdings and each position’s worth. His portfolio’s total worth reached just over $1 million as of his post. He shared his investing strategy:

“I pretty much buy and just let it sit. Last time I sold anything was about three years ago when I last rebalanced. I held all through the 2009 recession and lost about 60%. I’ve always invested pretty aggressively, so I got hit hard when it went down, but I’ve recovered well as it’s gone up.”

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