Superhero Stories: James

James (30) is a self-professed “sports-mad school teacher” living down on the Mornington Peninsula. He makes $85,000 a year and has a net worth of around $61,000, which includes a share portfolio and $40,000 in cash.

How long have you been investing for and what got you started?
I started in 2019 when my job and income became a bit more secure. I got started in ETFs as a way to make my savings work for me. I’m really interested in investing and I have been building on my knowledge of how trading works in general.

What’s your investment strategy? How much do you invest and how often?
My strategy is reasonably conservative and I generally invest small amounts at a time. I like to invest as often as I can, generally whenever I have some spare money at the end of the month.

What are your financial goals?
My goal is to get as much of my money as possible working for me so eventually it can supplement my retirement income

What’s in your portfolio?
My portfolio is made up of mostly ETFs with some individual stocks in there as well. The ETFs include:

– SYI (SPDR High Dividend Yield Fund)
– VETH (Vanguard Ethically Conscious Australian Shares)
– CLDD (Betashares Cloud Computing)
– DHHF (BetaShares Diversified All Growth)
– ERTH (BetaShares Climate Change Innovation)

What is the company/sector/ETF that gets you the most excited?
Cloud computing and gaming/esports is something that excites me at the moment as the pandemic has made remote work and living a huge growth area. I am also really passionate about ethical companies which explains some of my ETF selections.

If I gave you $5,000 right now, what are you buying?
I would put that straight into a cloud computing or ethically conscious ETF – or both!

What’s the best trade you’ve made?
I invested some money into a cancer treatment company which has made me a very happy investor so far. Time will tell if it turns out to be a great trade!

What’s the worst trade you’ve made?
I invested in a cybersecurity company on some questionable advice from a friend. It now looks like I will have to take a hit on it eventually when I sell. Its best value may be as a capital loss now!

What’s the biggest financial mistake you made?
Luckily I haven’t made any big mistakes while investing (so far). I would say one thing I regret was not being smarter and more organised with my money at a younger age.

What advice would you give to your younger self about money and investing? Get on top of your money and set aside how much you actually need for the week. That way, you won’t have it all just sitting there ready to spend.

Where did you learn about investing and where do you get your information from now?
I have some friends in the finance sector who give me some general guidance. I follow some online learning platforms and I also like to do my own research into fields that interest me.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

I started coaching a local footy team which has been very time consuming. During the last lockdown I also started a podcast on the history of my local cricket club which has been a lot of fun.

What’s your guilty pleasure? What do you enjoy spending money/time on?

I have a bit of an indoor plant collection. I have spent a fair bit on it actually so my house is now looking a bit like a rainforest at the moment. I also have a growing vinyl collection and love trying to find old records where I can. 

 

Superhero does not provide personal investment advice. Names have been changed and the interview edited for clarity.

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