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.