Bullish on web3, and writing for young investors
Tolu's investment portfolio with holdings and allocations
In this series, we show investment portfolios of real self-guided investors and ask about their investment philosophy. Our goal is to bring a holistic perspective to retail investing and normalize conversations about wealth building.
None of this information is financial advice or recommendation. Do your own research.
Investor profile
Name: Tolu (@tolusnotes on Twitter)
Age: 26
Family: Not married, no kids, two lovely pets
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Job: My main income source is my software engineering job. But I’m also active online. I earn additional income from several Web 3 activities and my rental property.
Portfolio overview
What type of an investor are you? What are your goals, activity level, risk profile etc?
I started investing early in college. At first, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I loved the game. I’m not a trader - I avoid it in most cases unless I think the market is irrational. I tend to become more active when volatility is high (like it was in 2020). Still, being active for me does not mean trading but shifting my portfolio allocations to benefit from whatever I think is coming next.
I don’t think I have investing goals; I just love the game. I’m also quite opinionated about the future and eventually want to use my capital to vote for the future I want my children to grow up in.
Can you describe your current portfolio and how you got there?
My portfolio started as a 100% allocation to NFLX in college. The Netflix and chill meme was in full force, so I dumped all my savings into it without thinking. That was about seven years ago (2014).
In 2017 I learned how to use options properly. Aside from my stocks (now diversified), I’ve shorted brick & mortar retail stocks every year since then. I also bought my first crypto in 2017.
Around 2018, I realized that I could take on 2x leverage because I didn’t mind starting from scratch. Getting wiped out at 23 would not have impacted my retirement journey, so I levered up. I wrote about my thought process here, here, and here.
In 2019, I invested less because I really wanted a rental property for some reason I can’t remember. The deal closed in Jan 2020, and I was able to rent it out in Feb 2020, right before the pandemic hit.
My current portfolio allocation decisions were made in 2020. In short, I was very lucky. My 2x levered portfolio tanked, but I held because I believed 2020 would be a positive or flat year for stocks. On March 7, 2020, I sent out a post arguing that the stock market would be positive in 2020. I’m pretty sure I lost a few subscribers because of it.
On the other hand, my retail shorts had the best returns I’ve ever received from the stock market. The money from that was recycled into crypto, startups, and long options.
Any investment wins or mistakes you can share?
The only investment win I’ve had to date was starting early. Time in the market in itself is a form of leverage, and most people don’t realize it till it’s too late.
What investment opportunities are you excited about in the future?
Though nascent, I can’t stop thinking about web 3.0 and DAOs in general. I’m really optimistic about programmable money, and believe that smart contracts and multisigs can unlock the next level of coordination for all humans.
DeFi has already leveled the financial playing field. Friends and family back home in Nigeria can instantly convert their savings to a USD-pegged stablecoin and be protected from rampant inflation while earning exciting yields on their capital. Anyone anywhere in the world now has access to financial instruments that were previously only available to the rich or residents in matured economies. This progress is mind-blowing, and it’s just the beginning.
With DAOs, those principles are introduced to how we structure work and coordination. They are new and weird, but they seem to be working. Till now, crypto has been all about financial capital -- money making more money. But DAOs are introducing a healthy shift towards production capital -- people making money with their talents and skills. This is a giant shift towards sustainability for the entire industry.
Where do you get investing information, inspiration and validation?
I read a lot; then I write a lot to better understand what it is I think I know. The foundation for my investing approach was largely inspired by Howard Marks. Books like Mastering The Market Cycle and The Most Important Thing are must-reads for all investors. The earlier, the better.
Then I recommend learning about behavioral finance with books like Thinking In Bets, Thinking, Fast and Slow, and everything Dan Ariely writes. You can also check out my blog where I write for young investors.
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