January 2021 → today
I started with an index fund, then gradually built a portfolio of individual companies. These are the decisions as I remember them, written in my own voice and edited for clarity. The dates and budgets come from my recollection; execution prices and share counts are reconstructed from market data.
VOO
This was the start of my investing journey. My family and the news had described index funds as a safer way to begin, so I put my first investment into the S&P 500 through VOO.
Reported budget $30,000 · 88 shares at $340.23 · $29,940.24 reconstructed
January 2021; first trading day used for the reconstruction
MSFT
Microsoft was my first move into individual stocks. I saw it as a durable business with room to grow in cloud computing, and I bought with the intention of holding for the long term.
Reported budget $5,000 · 20 shares at $245.28 · $4,905.5 reconstructed
GOOGL
I bought Google for much the same reason I had bought Microsoft: I believed it was a large, established company that would still matter many years from now.
Reported budget $5,000 · 51 shares at $96.60 · $4,926.35 reconstructed
Alphabet share class assumed
NVDA
I was following the growth expected in GPUs, and Nvidia's strong second-quarter results made me want exposure to that market.
Reported budget $5,000 · 10 shares at $459.34 · $4,593.4 reconstructed
VOO
By this point I was getting more interested in individual companies. I felt they offered greater upside than the index fund, so I sold half of VOO to make room for another Nvidia purchase.
Reported sale of half the position · 44 shares at $418.68 · $18,422.14 reconstructed
NVDA
I still expected Nvidia to grow strongly as AI spending expanded. Selling part of VOO gave me the chance to add to a company I had become more convinced about.
Reported budget $10,000 · 21 shares at $455.43 · $9,564.13 reconstructed
After selling half of VOO
AVGO
I wanted another way to invest in the infrastructure behind AI. Broadcom looked to me like a company I could hold for years as that market developed.
Reported budget $6,000 · 5 shares at $1135.23 · $5,676.15 reconstructed
CRM
I wanted exposure to business software. Salesforce's CRM products seemed deeply embedded in how companies worked, which made it an appealing way to invest in that area.
Reported budget $4,000 · 15 shares at $260.01 · $3,900.22 reconstructed
PANW
As AI improved quickly, I thought the need for cybersecurity would grow too, yet I felt that opportunity was getting less attention. I considered both CrowdStrike and Palo Alto Networks, then chose Palo Alto.
Reported budget $5,000 · 17 shares at $292.71 · $4,976.07 reconstructed
VOO
I was enjoying the work of choosing individual stocks and wanted to commit more of the portfolio to them. Discovering Palantir gave me a specific reason to sell the rest of VOO: I saw data and AI applications as a missing part of my portfolio.
Reported sale of the full position · 44 shares at $511.70 · $22,515.02 reconstructed
August day provisional
PLTR
Palantir caught my attention through its government and military work, and I could see potential for its commercial AI and data business. It felt like a way to invest in what people could do with AI, beyond the hardware supporting it.
Reported budget $15,000 · 465 shares at $32.20 · $14,973.93 reconstructed
After selling remaining VOO; August day provisional
GOOGL
I added to Google because I thought Gemini could become much more valuable if Google brought AI into the products people already used. I saw that as a possible boost to productivity and to the business.
Reported budget $5,000 · 30 shares at $163.56 · $4,906.8 reconstructed
NVDA
Tariff concerns had made the market feel unstable, but I thought Nvidia's share price had fallen further than its long-term prospects justified. I expected the tariff dispute to be negotiated rather than last forever, and Nvidia felt like the strongest purchase for me in that uncertain moment.
Reported budget $10,000 · 82 shares at $120.78 · $9,903.96 reconstructed
SOFI
SoFi was a fintech name I kept hearing about, with growth that interested me. I also thought AI could change banking over time, and I wanted to own a company that might benefit from that shift.
Reported budget $10,000 · 717 shares at $13.94 · $9,994.98 reconstructed
CRM
Salesforce had not delivered the results I had hoped for. I decided the money could work better in other companies and closed the position.
Reported sale of the full position · 15 shares at $261.47 · $3,921.98 reconstructed
SOFI
I liked the growth I was seeing at SoFi, so I added to the position rather than just keeping my initial purchase.
Reported budget $10,000 · 664 shares at $15.05 · $9,989.88 reconstructed
NBIS
I had been watching the neocloud companies for a while. Advances in AI coding tools made the demand for computing power feel more tangible to me, and Nebius, IREN, and CoreWeave had all pulled back from their highs. I chose Nebius as my way into that theme.
Reported budget $8,000 · 85 shares at $93.61 · $7,956.51 reconstructed
ZETA
Zeta's business growth looked stronger to me than its share price suggested. While many investors were focused on AI replacing existing services, I thought a marketing company using AI well could gain from it.
Reported budget $5,000 · 271 shares at $18.39 · $4,982.34 reconstructed
PANW
Palo Alto had risen sharply after a weaker stretch, and I felt the share price had run ahead of the company's growth. I still believed in the long-term need for cybersecurity, but the valuation was too high for me at that point.
Reported sale of the full position · 34 shares at $323.66 · $11,004.61 reconstructed
NBIS
Nebius had fallen sharply, but I still saw a lot of room for neocloud growth. I preferred it to CoreWeave because I understood its debt position to be lower, and I liked its relationship with Nvidia. I also had a great deal of confidence in Jensen Huang's long-term view of AI infrastructure.
Reported budget $10,000 · 47 shares at $211.85 · $9,956.95 reconstructed
RKLB
Rocket Lab's share price had dropped from its high and looked more reasonable to me. I believed space technology would become a bigger market, with interest in SpaceX and a possible IPO drawing more attention to it. I liked the possibility of Rocket Lab growing alongside SpaceX as another major player.
Reported budget $7,000 · 103 shares at $67.49 · $6,951.47 reconstructed
META
I had watched Meta for a long time. Its share price and valuation looked low to me relative to its earnings and growth prospects, especially given how many people use its products. I also saw potential in the AI services it might build for that audience.
Reported budget $10,000 · 16 shares at $602.20 · $9,635.12 reconstructed
AVGO
A JPMorgan report made me think more about whether custom AI chips could gain ground on GPUs in 2027 and 2028. Broadcom looked well placed for that possibility, and I felt its share price did not reflect the earnings and growth I expected.
Reported budget $3,000 · 8 shares at $362.92 · $2,903.36 reconstructed
Share counts, trade prices, and proceeds are reconstructed from each day’s high-low midpoint and whole shares at purchase. They have not been checked against broker records. The January 2021 and August 2024 dates marked above include provisional days. Purchase budgets should not be read as total contributions.