How to make money on stocks of large companies: Lifehacker's investment challenge continues

What's happening?

In May 2019, Lifehacker and Tinkoff launched investment challenge. Publisher Alexei Ponomar and Development Director Rodion Skryabin each invested 100,000 rubles: the first in gold and funds, the second in shares of large companies. The winner will be universally recognized, the loser will have to shave off his beard.

Rodion and Alexey regularly report to the readers of Lifehacker on the state of their capital, and in in the middle of the month they make a forecast for the next two weeks and tell where they lost money and on what earned.

In December, participants in the investment challenge were positive. Alexey decided to fuss less and just watched the numbers, while Rodion, on the contrary, actively bought and sold shares.

In January, Alexey went on a long-deserved and long-awaited vacation. And while he is resting, we talked with Rodion: according to the latest data, he is overtaking his opponent by more than 2,000 rubles. We learned how he is doing and how he plans to remain in the lead. Be sure to read the article to the end - there you will find new answers to popular questions about investments from a Tinkoff expert.

Interview with Rodion Scriabin

I can congratulate you, December and early January were successful. What are your feelings from the past month?

Rodion Scriabin

I used to have stocks that I actively traded, and now I really like my portfolio. I bought everything I wanted and the situation is positive. The portfolio looks quite compact and is growing rapidly, so I have no desire to fuss, buy, sell and look for any options. Everything is stable, and in case of fluctuations, I have a strategy.

In December you started keeping an investor diary, what has changed since then? Did he simplify the task? Did you help to draw any conclusions?

It turned out that the investor's diary is important. In November-December, I performed many transactions and sometimes even forgot at what price and what I was buying. I went to look and could not remember: these shares, I was planning to do something with them or not? The diary helped me figure out what to do with the portfolio. And thanks to him, I began to think how I would manage my capital if I had not 100,000 rubles, but more. Would I invest in the same proportions or not? I'm thinking of offering Ponomar to launch another round after the end of the challenge, this time for a million!

What advice can you give to those who want to buy shares of foreign companies? What pitfalls do they need to know about?

I like the overseas market because trading can be done freely in the evening. And also, for example, you can buy and sell shares on holidays while the Russian market is on vacation. Its main advantage and at the same time a problem is that there is a huge selection. There are so many companies that studying all possible schemes of where to invest and how to make money can turn into endless procrastination.

There are much fewer stocks on the Russian market, and you roughly know what this or that company is doing, or at least know where to find information. It is not always the case with foreign companies: it happens that you see that a company is growing rapidly, you buy its shares, but you cannot understand what it is doing at all.

What's your best and worst investment this month?

The biggest setback is Apple's stop loss. I go to my personal account in the morning, and there all the shares are sold at a monstrously low price. I lost a lot of money and promised myself no more stop-losses! And the most successful investment is Visa. By the way, I bought it just with the money freed up when Apple sold.

You bought Netflix stock in December and hoped it would skyrocket after the Golden Globes and The Witcher. It worked?

On December 17 they really took off, and I came out in a good plus. And then the fun began! I sold two shares for $ 630, and if I had a little patience, I could have sold for $ 676. Well, I would have waited until January 9, I would have received $ 682 in general. Overall, I made money on Netflix and am happy with it. I put them in my favorites and I will follow the situation in order to enter again during the correction. They seem interesting to me.

How are you with Blizzard? Finally, is there a profit or is it still sheer disappointment?

Blizzard was somewhat volatile, sometimes a plus or a minus. I came out with a small plus and sold it.

What do you think about the criticism from Kirill? He still thinks you are acting unreasonably

I still think that Kirill gives great advice for long-term investments, and I only plan long-term investments in my beard. I'm a firestarter, twisted firestarter. ©

If I were now collecting a portfolio for five years, then, guided by Kirill's recommendations, I would choose three or five areas and several reliable companies. But I'm trying to beat the Ponomar, so I have to make decisions quickly. Kirill, if you read these articles, you are cool!

Do you continue to follow Alexey's strategy? What do you think of his decision to take an observant position?

On the one hand, I'm very curious about how Lyosha is doing. We usually exchange portfolio balances several times a week. But he went on vacation, he doesn't get in touch, and I don't know whether to be happy or not. I'm in a good plus now, but what if he earned even more?

On the whole, I don't really like Lyoshin's wait-and-see attitude. Perhaps his beard is not that important to him. For example, when it was necessary to average for Yandex, Alexey simply looked at how people make a fortune. I couldn't do that.

What are your plans for the remaining two weeks?

First, I've been averaging Alibaba this week. Actually, I didn't plan to do this, but when she lost $ 5 per day, I decided it was time. So far, everything is not very positive there, but I do not lose hope. There is an insane prediction from CLSA that growth will be 19%. But 11% is enough for me.

Secondly, I really want to solve something with ITNT. Either I will get rid of them, or I will find an opportunity to average them, or I will be glad that they fired. They have been growing steadily over the past year, so anything is possible.

Now I really like how Tinkoff is growing, they have + 17% per month. It's fine! I also test “Eternal portfolio"- a joint project of Tinkoff and the Moscow Exchange. These are investments in gold, stocks, bonds and the money market in equal shares, working in any phase of the economy: growth, decline and stagnation.

In the near future I plan to think about what to do with VISA, it takes 32% of my portfolio and it seems that this is a lot. Most likely, I will reduce it, but it all depends on what kind of correction comes after such a rapid growth. I would like the companies to take no more than 20% of the portfolio, but I look at the VISA growth chart and think: damn, why didn't I buy it with all the money ?!

Investment FAQ for beginners

Are you inspired by the results of the heroes and want to become an investor? First, read the new set of answers to investment questions from Tinkoff expert Kirill Komarov. His advice will help you avoid mistakes and start making money on deposits faster.

I want to invest in shares of a foreign company. What should you check before buying?

You need to check that you understand what exactly you are buying: what kind of company it is, what it does, what the risks may be. And most importantly, why might its stock go up? Investing at random is the first step to failure. It is also worth preparing yourself in advance for the fact that you can lose your invested money. After all, the higher the yield, the greater the risk, and stocks are an instrument with an increased risk. If you are not ready to lose 50% of the value, then you might be better off buying bonds.

You also need to check that you understand the Buy and Hold principle. Investment is a long-term business. Making money here is not easy at all and it certainly won't happen quickly. Every idea you have should be given a chance. Companies and stocks tend to rally in the long term, but may fall in the short term due to investor nervousness. It is important not to panic and not sell just because everyone is selling.

What stop signals will help you understand that stocks should not be bought?

Company problems. Why buy stock in a company in trouble? Just because they fell in price? Well, no, free cheese is only in a mousetrap. As a rule, stocks fall for a reason, but because they are sold by professionals who know better than you. Even old Buffett said about it: “It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price”. It is best to buy stocks of companies that are growing and performing well when they have no problems on the horizon.

Fast growth. You should not look at the chart flying up and joyfully open a position in the hope of riding this rocket. Typically, a rapid rise ends in a rapid fall, and rushing can be costly.

High volatility. If stocks jump by 5-10% per day, it means that the paper is illiquid. That is, for some reason, no one wants to trade it, and there are not enough buy and sell orders on the stock exchange. This usually means that the company has problems. And here we come back to point 1.

If I buy shares in a foreign company, what about taxes? How much and who should you pay?

Dividend taxes are usually collected automatically by the National Settlement Depository. And taxes on profit from the growth of quotations must be paid at the end of the year, but only if you closed positions. If it was not closed, then it is not necessary to do this this year. And if you keep the shares without selling for three years, you will not have to pay at all. Income tax is levied on the balance of the brokerage account at the end of the year.

Do you need to convert money to invest in shares of foreign companies, or are rubles also suitable?

Yes, you need currency. But there are several options with rubles, for example, the ETF from FinEx, which are traded in rubles.

What is portfolio investment? Is it worth investing in them?

When you buy an ETF, you are not buying a single stock or bond, but a whole portfolio. This diversifies your risks and avoids lot issues. For example, investing in Amazon can be challenging with a small portfolio as one share costs $ 1,850. ETF is a good option for small portfolios of novice investors.

Check out the other challenge materials for even more helpful investment tips. Until then, place your bets! Who will be left without money and without a beard?

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