Individual Investments 10-28-25 - Becker Business

Summary4 min read

Becker Business Podcast: "Individual Investments 10-28-25"

Host: Scott Becker
Date: October 28, 2025

Overview

In this episode, Scott Becker, host of Becker Business and Becker Private Equity Podcast, shares a personal and candid walkthrough of his individual stock investments. He contrasts these positions with his core strategy of investing in index funds and Treasuries, reflecting on the motivations behind specific stock picks, individual performance, and the psychology of holding or selling individual stocks.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Investment Philosophy and Context

Scott affirms a preference for broad-based, lower-risk vehicles:
- S&P 500 index funds
- Treasuries
- Private Equity & VC funds (in a more limited role)

"I am generally an investor in index funds, primarily in S&P 500 index funds, and I'm an investor in Treasuries." (00:12)

Individual stock picks have been exceptions driven by personal conviction or mimicking notable investors (Warren Buffett, etc.), rather than deep proprietary research.

2. Review of Individual Stock Investments

Scott outlines six individual stock positions, noting the context and reasoning for each, along with their year-to-date (YTD) performance:

Palantir Technologies
- Largest winner (+150% YTD)
- Chosen based on belief in founders' (Peter Thiel & Alex Karp) vision and genius.
- "That's my biggest winner. It's up 150% year to date. And this really came out of the conviction that Peter Thiel's a genius and Alex Karp is a genius..." (01:12)
Bank of America
- Up 21% YTD
- Bought during a personal phase of following Buffett’s strategies.
- "It's one of the great bank franchises in the country. I really end up investing in that... because it was one of the phases where I was trying to follow some of the guidance of Warren Buffett." (01:38)
Coca-Cola
- Up 1.72% YTD (modest gain)
- Another Buffett-inspired pick; not a high performer.
- "Coca Cola so far is up 1.72% year to date. So that obviously has not been a winner." (02:08)
Amazon
- Up 3.5% YTD
- Initial conviction in cloud business, but increased competition has affected growth.
- "It has turned out that there's much more competition in that cloud space than there was a couple years ago... and their cloud business is slowing some." (02:30)
Microsoft
- Up 26% YTD
- Similar conviction about cloud (Azure) and overall strength of business.
- "Microsoft's up 26% year to date. And again it was really based on this concept that they had a great business, plus the cloud business in Azure..." (02:46)
Astera Labs
- Up 28% YTD (was previously higher)
- Acquired via hedge fund distribution after IPO; indecision about whether to sell leads to a “fear of missing out” (FOMO).
- "I invested in a hedge fund and that hedge fund made a distribution of shares when Astera Labs went public... once I've had it, I felt sort of paralyzed because I was afraid it might be the stock that ended up being a huge winner, and if I sold it I would be a moron." (03:02)

3. Lessons, Reflections, and Portfolio Construction

Individual positions are small; main investment remains in indices.
Index funds help average out the disparate performances (“huge winners and losers”) of individual picks.
Personal anecdote on the psychology of holding onto stocks for fear of missing potential future appreciation (“FOMO”).

"My core investing is in the S&P index funds and it tends to take away some of the aberrations of having huge winners and huge losers that you can have with individual stocks." (04:01)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“I do find it really interesting to follow some of them. My core investing is in the S&P index funds, and it tends to take away some of the aberrations of having huge winners and huge losers that you can have with individual stocks.” (04:01)
“If I sold it, I would be a moron... I don't want to have FOMO, the fear of missing out, that it goes through the roof and I should have held it.” (03:40 – on Astera Labs)
“I would have been much better off in the long run having invested in some of his [Warren Buffett’s] other stocks.” (01:55, on Bank of America)

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:12 – Scott’s investment philosophy: index funds and Treasuries
01:12 – Palantir conviction and performance
01:38 – Bank of America and Buffett-inspired rationale
02:08 – Coca-Cola and modest returns
02:30 – Amazon: cloud thesis, competition, and performance
02:46 – Microsoft: cloud (Azure) and strong returns
03:02 – Astera Labs: hedge fund distribution and “paralysis” about selling
04:01 – Core investment strategy and the benefit of index funds

Tone and Style

Scott Becker’s tone is candid, reflective, and educational, sharing both the emotional and logical sides of investing with listeners. He emphasizes humility, the unpredictability of individual stock performance, and the practical reasons for favoring index-based strategies.

Summary Prepared For:
Listeners seeking insight into the psychology of individual investing, the benefits and pitfalls of direct stock picking, and a transparent review of a seasoned investor's personal portfolio decisions.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
A
This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. Today's discussion is individual investments. So here's the issue and I thought I would do this review. I am generally an investor in index funds, primarily IN S&P 500 index funds, and I'm an investor in Treasuries. Separately, we've got some other investments in private equity and VC funds and some other assets. But you have also over the years invested in a handful of companies individually. And a lot of those came out of not any deep seated thoughts and convictions, but rather investing alongside people like Warren Buffett and what they invest in or investing in. A couple of things I felt like I knew a little bit better about than others and so forth and so on. So I thought I would do is quickly go through six of the stocks that I have invested in directly and I can sort of somewhat tell you where I came these from and so forth. And I'll just walk through those very quickly. So one is Pale and Tear Technologies. That's my biggest winner. It's up 150% year to date. And this really came out of the conviction that Peter Thiel's a genius and Alex Karp is a genius and hope that they have their genius and know what they're doing. The second stock I'm investing in directly is bank of America. It's one of the great bank franchises in the country. I really end up investing in that. Like I invest in the next stock we'll talk about because it was one of the phases where I was trying to follow some of the guidance of Warren Buffett, invest in some of the Buffett like stocks. And bank of America was always one of those. I would have been much better off in the long run having invested in some of his other stocks. But I did invest in bank of America. Third, I also invested in a similar vein as that Warren Buffett mindset in Coca Cola. Coca Cola so far is up 1.72% year to date. So that obviously has not been a winner. Bank of America is up 21% year to date. Palantir, as we mentioned, is up to 150% year to date. Two more stocks that I invested in a few years ago. And again, I invested in these stocks basically around the conviction that they're cloud businesses would drive a lot of profitability. And that's been true and untrue. Amazon, I invested in Amazon and Microsoft. Amazon's up three and a half percent year to date. It has turned out that there's much more competition in that cloud space than there was a couple years ago when I first made my investment in Amazon and their cloud business is slowing some. Next I've invested in Microsoft directly. Microsoft's up 26% year to date. And again it was really based on this concept that they had a great business plus at the cloud business in Azure and it was worth really trying to ride side by side with that. Finally, the last company I've invested in is Astera Labs and Astera Labs is up now 28% year to date. At one point it was up a lot more. And this is something where I invested in a hedge fund and that hedge fund made a distribution of shares when a Stereo Labs went public. And that's why I ended up with Astero Labs stock. It wasn't any sort of thought for myself. And then once I've had it, I felt sort of paralyzed because I was afraid it might be the stock that ended up being a huge winner and if I sold it I would be a moron. So I've held onto it but not out of any great conviction other than I own it now and I don't want to take, I don't want to have fomo, the fear of missing out, that it goes through the roof and I should have held it. Again, my positions in all these individual stocks are not huge. I do find it really interesting to follow some of them. My core investing is in the SB index funds and it tends to take away some of the aberrations of having huge winners and huge losers that you can have with individual stocks. In any event, thank you so much for listening to the Becker Business, the Becker Private Equity Podcast. I hope you find this interesting and enjoyable. I'd love to have your feedback. My number 773-766-5322. Please feel free to text with your thoughts. Love to hear them. Thank you so much for listening to the Becker Business and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. And thank you to our producer, Chanel Bunger. Thank you very much.