OP here. I chickened out and bought $5k of FXAIX and will add it to my list of funds that I buy every month.

But I am still looking at individual stocks with the other $5k. I suppose it's little more than Vegas gambling at this point. Why Palantir? Peter Theil is behind it, but the stock has a lackluster history. Is it a company forever never living up to its promises?

Op, get out of the mutual funds and buy an ETF. It is possible that you are calling your ETF a mutual fund.
Buying individual stocks teaches you a lot, but you got to keep an eye on them buy listening to news and read. Why not do your research on 4 and buy them.
Don't panic if they go down. Figure out why they went down. Learn.
Even though this is the time to be in Bitcoin and proxies, it may be too much for you as you are newbie.
Here are my picks, but absolutely not a recommendation for a strange from a stranger: Palantir, micro-strategy, Tesla, Clsk. Figure out the max you want to buy and set the buy order.
If you want to go safer, there's always Apple, MSFT.

IBM IWM KRE- all on uptrends. Do your research, buy the stock/ETF, set a 8% or so stop loss. Watch earnings conference calls and view stock presentations. Become an informed investor on your individual positions. Gain experience, build wealth.

SDIV. What goes down must come up. Plus it pays great dividends.

IBM is making a come back

Rivian stock holder enters the room.

Buy broad based and boring S&P ETF. Talk about your kid’s goal this weekend at water cooler.

Bitcoin

If you are committed to individual stocks for this 10k, then I would consider those beaten down, but that have a long term story still intact.

Consider BA, PFE, and ADM. BA will either gets its act together and remember how to make planes again, or it will go bankrupt. (But the market is there). PFE has a Covid hangover, but has new meds in pipeline. ADM is under an accounting probe that will eventually clear, but the business is eternal and cannot be replicated. I hold all three, but in a very diversified portfolio of over 100 positions of individual stocks and bonds.

Just my 2 cents.

Also, remember on most any forum you will have people who are shilling their own position, be it a political POV or something like bitcoin.

Do your research.

Buy AMD

OP, I hold bonds, etfs and 20 individual stocks. Some are dividend aristocrats, others are for diversification, but the biggest percentage is in tech stocks (now called Magnificent 7). They go up (and down) in bigger swings. Scarier on the way down, but great when they are going up.

You just need to understand if this is a FOMO thing with the stocks, or if you're. young enough to take some changes with individual stocks in addition to your other, more conservative, holdings.

PLTR

FBTC.

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I do have mutual funds! And 401k!

I am diversifying (or so I think) and having a bit of fun (or so I think) researching and buying individual stocks. Maybe two stocks for 5k each and holding them for the fun of it.

But I can see others disagree with this approach. Telling me to remember my place as a clueless investor and stick with the mutuals?

At the point that someone starts picking stocks, I think they're kind of clueless IF they are doing it to beat the returns they'd get on an index, because if they were actually good at research, they'd see that doesn't happen.

But if you just want to throw your money behind a product you believe in, that's different. So what things are you interested in for their own sake? What company would you have fun following, even if you're losing some of your $10K to have the thrill of ownership?

OP here.

I do have mutual funds! And 401k!

I am diversifying (or so I think) and having a bit of fun (or so I think) researching and buying individual stocks. Maybe two stocks for 5k each and holding them for the fun of it.

But I can see others disagree with this approach. Telling me to remember my place as a clueless investor and stick with the mutuals?