My Investment Portfolio

My interest in investing began at an early age. I grew up in a low-income household. My parents are first-generation Canadians who immigrated to Canada in the late 1990s.

Neither of my parents were financially literate (they still aren't lol). As a result, they both made several devastating financial decisions (stories I'll save for another time). Witnessing these decisions unfold at an early age motivated me to become financially literate. The first book on investing I ever read was "The Intelligent Investor" by Benjamin Graham, which led me down the rabbit hole of investing, personal finance, and wealth creation.

After reading a plethora of investment books, my main realization was that I simply don't have enough spare time to devote sufficient energy to picking individual stocks for my entire portfolio. Instead, I park the majority of my investments in index funds. While I do dabble in stock picking, I try to stray away from speculative bets (although sometimes it is hard not to do).

The following chart summarizes a breakdown of my total investment portfolio:

The majority of my income goes towards index funds. I have been investing in index funds consistently for about five years now. While in university, it was more challenging for me to invest large sums. However, since starting my career, I have invested between 25.0% to 40.0% of my income in index funds (with dividends reinvested). I'm playing the long game here. My plan is to maintain this strategy for the next 40 or so years.

I invest in the following five index funds:

1) VFV (S&P 500) - 86.6%

2) HQX (Nasdaq 100) - 9.3%

3) VI (Developed markets excluding North America) - 1.7%

4) XLB (Canadian long-term bonds) - 1.5%

5) VEE (Emerging markets) - 0.9%

My portfolio is heavily concentrated in the U.S. market, but this is by design. The U.S. has historically been, and continues to be, the best economy in the world. I have strong faith that their economy will continue to produce great companies. However, I am planning to rebalance my index fund allocation to show more love to VI and VEE. Even though I want my portfolio to be U.S.-leaning, I still prefer a bit more diversification.

My cash position includes an emergency fund, as well as some cash stashed on the sidelines in a high-interest savings account.

I only own a small amount of crypto, but this position will definitely grow soon! I want to increase my exposure to crypto, just for diversification purposes. I currently own Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.

Out of all my individual stock picks, the largest holding I have is Rivian. My Rivian position represents slightly over 5.0% of my total portfolio. I could go on and on about why I own Rivian, but I'll save that for another blog post ;) Other than Rivian, I also own the following stocks:

• ABNB
• BAM
• BN
• BEPC
• CRBU
• HFPC

Overall, my individual stock picks have performed adequately; however, I would have been better off if I had invested that money in index funds. Additionally, investing in individual stocks has created a lot more unwanted stress. Because of this, I plan to stick to index funds—though I'm not entirely sure if that will hold true, as I do enjoy the thrill of stock picking from time to time!

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Cliffs of Moher – Absolutely stunning. Ireland was the last country my girlfriend and I visited on our 2-month Europe trip. While Dublin wasn't our favourite, the Cliffs of Moher was jaw-dropping. We were fortunate enough to experience it with clear skies and immaculate weather!