Stock Analysis
General
Library
One of the questions I get asked all the time is: Why in the world would you buy individual stocks when you can just buy ETFs and call it a day? Wouldn’t that be way less work?
While that’s true—it would be way less work—the honest answer is that I don’t see it as “work.”
Spending time looking into and learning about new companies, listening to earnings calls, thinking about what makes these businesses tick—this is fun for me.
I think part of that just comes from my personality. At my core, I’m a collector. And stocks aren’t the only thing I collect.
Outside of my portfolio, I’m also into collecting watches (although I’m a very disciplined collector—it can be an expensive hobby so I mainly stick to affordable, yet still high-quality brands like Seiko).
To me, watch collecting isn’t just about buying something that tells time. You definitely don’t need a watch for that these days.
I get a kick out of learning the history behind the brand, the craftsmanship that went into creating the watch, and most importantly, I get a lot of joy out of buying and holding onto something that lasts (and can be passed down).
A great watch tends to get better with time, and businesses are the same way. Each one in my portfolio is something I’ve stumbled upon, studied, and developed an affinity for (for one reason or another).
But investing isn’t just about collecting for me. I’m also really into things where you can make incremental progress.
That’s what I get out of some of my other hobbies like running, lifting weights, or even building a YouTube channel or newsletter. These are all infinite games where there’s no finish line. And at the end of the day, these are all about discipline and consistency, which lead to small improvements that compound over time.
And those same principles perfectly translate into investing. Every contribution you make in your portfolio, every dividend reinvested, and every bit of growth at the individual business level all add up over time.
Not to mention, picking stocks is its own kind of craft that you can get better at and improve on. Spending time with all these different companies over the years has taught me so much about business, accounting, human psychology, and many other useful subjects that I might not have explored if I had just owned ETFs.
So that’s another thing. For me, investing is about the love of the craft.
I definitely don’t have to spend all this time thinking and learning about businesses or tinkering with my portfolio—and I think we’re fortunate to have so many other options. I do it because I get so much out of it.
While the returns are great, and reaching financial freedom someday will be incredible, the process itself is also a big part of the reward. And I think when you do something because you love the process just as much as the outcome, you’ll be able to go a lot farther with it.
So with all of that said, yes, it is work in a sense. But it’s work that brings me a sense of purpose. It’s work that I get to share and talk about with all of you. And it’s work that, over time, makes me a better person.
Anyway, enough about me. Now I want to hear from you: Do you own more individual stocks, ETFs, or a combination of both? Let me know in the comments below! 
