I’ve been on TikTok for over six years. I get a LOT of repeat questions. If I referred you to this page, it’s because you, like hundreds before you, have asked the exact same question, which isn’t a bad thing! You’re all thinking the right way.

If you’re new to investing, bookmark this page and check back here every month or so, as I’ll be updating it periodically.

  1. What do you think about Acorns/Robinhood/Fidelity/etc.

  2. Which S&P 500 ETF is better?

    • They are all exactly the same. I own SPLG, which has the exact same holdings and the exact same performance of VOO or SPY.

  3. Why do SPYM (formerly SPLG), VOO, and SPY all have different prices?

  4. What does DCA mean?

    1. DCA = Dollar Cost Average. It’s an investing strategy that says you invest the same amount of money into the same investment every single month (or whatever period of time you choose). For example, you’d invest $583 per month (to hit your annual Roth IRA max of $7,000) into FTEC on the first of every month AND you’d invest $200 into your S&P 500 ETF.

  5. Which is better? Lump Sum or DCA?

    • Lump Sum means you invest one large amount. It’s better if you can afford it because you’re starting from the earliest point with the largest amount, allowing you to compound and earn more money from dividends faster. But most people can’t afford to lump sum, so DCA is perfectly fine. I also personally prefer to do a hybrid during volatile markets, like during recessions. So I start a position, but I don’t spend 100% so I can add even more money when markets drop lower.

  6. I’m up X% - when should I take the profit?

    First, give this a read. It’s my blog post: 7 Smart Strategies For Taking Profits. You might find the answer here. If not, come back and go through these options.

    INVESTING

    Why did you invest in the company? What kind of investment is it? Did you invest to hold it for 10-30 years? Then who cares if you’re up 35%. Imagine you bought stock in NVDA 10 years ago and sold it when it went up 35% only to miss out on the 19,500% rally that came after that. Don’t be shortsighted with your profits, especially if it’s meant to be a long term investment.

    Remember, as a long term investor, your goal is usually to build very large positions in stocks or ETFs over a 10-30 year period. The goal isn’t to lock in gains and then hope for a crash to hopefully rebuy at a lower price. The goal is to Always Keep Adding.

    Here’s an example: I buy 100 shares in a company every single year. Over a 20 year period, I’ve accumulated 2000 shares (we’re also assuming they never issued a stock split or added a dividend.)

    Now I’m close to retirement and I want to sell a portion every single year. I might consider then selling 100 shares every year. This also assumes the company is still strong and performing well, even if they’ve shifted from a growth stock to a more stable blue chip stock. If fundamentals have changed, management is bad, etc. then you might opt to sell some (or all).

    CONCENTRATED RISK

    One last option is to move some funds from the profitable stock into a new position. If you’re overweight one company, you may want to rebalance your portfolio.

    As a general guideline, when one stock makes up more than about 10% of your portfolio, it’s worth considering a rebalance because your risk becomes concentrated in that single company. If you’re comfortable with higher risk, 10–15% might be fine, but once it grows to 20% or more, many investors think about trimming.

    How much should you sell? That depends entirely on your risk tolerance. You might prefer that position to be closer to 5–10%, but it’s a personal choice. For example, Apple makes up 25% of my portfolio, and I’m comfortable with that level of concentration.

    TRADING

    If you bought a high risk speculative stock, technical analysis is your friend (I use the RSI to know when to sell - or buy). You can also watch this video on when to sell a speculative investment and this video on when to sell long term investments.

    If you REALLY want to lock in some gains, remember you never have to sell your entire position, you could always sell a quarter of the shares or half - totally your call. There is no one size fits all answer.

  7. Should I wait for the Recession to Start Investing?

    Generally, no, waiting is a loser’s game. This is a dumb idea. Timing the market never works. There are too many hypotheticals. Too many what ifs. When is the recession? Will you know it’s happening or will we all find out after the fact? Will you miss your chance? What if we DO know it’s happening? Will you wait for lower prices? What if they don’t happen? What if markets recover and you missed your chance?