Let's look at a controversial example as to why reinvesting distributions into a falling asset is worse than simply collecting the cash distributions. $mste paid investors $6.02 a unit in distributions since inception. Many investors thought that reinvesting those payouts would lower their cost average and increase their growth potential. Some even celebrated because their share count nearly doubled over that time frame as you can see in the attached image. The math says something else though. A distribution isn't free money. It i's your own capital being handed back to you from the mutual fund or ETF. It's not a creation of new money. It is the equivalent to selling a portfolio of the fund yourself. When the fund kept falling, those reinvested distributions bought more shares that lost value too. The final result since inception looks like this... If you simply took the cash distributions ....$10,000 would be worth $5,508. A loss of 45% since inception! Terrible. If you reinvested all your distributions, that original $10,000 investment is now worth.... $2,833 A loss of 72% since inception! Doubly terrible!! That's a further loss of 49% compared to taking the distributions!!! 🤯 A common lie on social media is that more shares equal more wealth. More shares that are worth MORE means more wealth. More shares that are worth LESS likely means LESS wealth. This math applies for dividends being paid out by a tanking company as well. Thing change if you are using a covered call product with leverage. The impacts of a falling fund are amplified by the leverage and the added cost of the fund. this can be seen when comparing $MSTR vs $MSTE. The fund lost more than the underlying in the down market. If ever there is a strong recovery, the covered call fund will not have the full capital appreciation. Hoping for a recovery is not what the fund is designed to do well at. The call options at the money or near to at the money will cap the upside will hinder the recovery even with the leverage. The key lesson is this... Reinvesting a distribution is good ... if it eventually earns a positive return. Otherwise, reinvestment simply compounds your exposure to a declining asset and gives you a false hope with a lower cost basis. Happy investing everyone! PS. This is a biggy back off of a nice post by @smallbird.financial
I’ve been thinking about opening a YouTube channel dedicated to teaching options trading and investing step by step, from beginner concepts to more advanced strategies. Over time, I’ve realized that reading explanations alone doesn’t always help everything click. Sometimes it’s much easier to understand when you can actually see charts, option chains, trade setups, and real examples explained visually and in real time. On the channel, I would cover topics such as: • Options Trading Basics • Calls and Puts Explained • How to Choose Strike Prices and Expiration Dates • Reading Option Chains and Understanding the Greeks • Delta, Theta, Gamma, Vega, and Implied Volatility • Risk Management and Position Sizing • Chart Analysis and Price Action • Support and Resistance Levels • Day Trading and Swing Trading Strategies • Long-Term Investing and LEAPS Strategies • Covered Calls and Cash-Secured Puts • Vertical Spreads and Multi-Leg Strategies • Finding High-Probability Setups • Identifying Unusual Options Activity and Institutional Flow • Building Watchlists and Trading Plans • Trade Entries, Exits, and Scaling Techniques • Setting Stop Losses and Profit Targets • Trading Around Earnings and Major News Events • Trading Psychology and Emotional Discipline • Building and Managing an Investment Portfolio • Growing and Managing Small Trading Accounts • Real Trade Reviews and Step-by-Step Walkthroughs • Beginner Lessons and Advanced Masterclasses I’m also considering doing live day trading sessions where I trade live from 9:30 AM to 11:00 AM and walk through my thought process in real time. During these sessions, I would explain exactly what I’m seeing in the market, why I’m making certain decisions, and how I approach trading as the market unfolds. I believe video lessons could make learning much easier and help both beginners and experienced traders build confidence and improve their understanding. For anyone looking for a more interactive experience with direct questions, discussions, and community engagement, my private Discord community will also remain available. What do you guys think? Would you be interested in a step-by-step YouTube series?
One of the best parts about the Blossom community is how open everyone is sharing knowledge and experiences. To make things easier for anyone just starting their investing journey, here’s a simple glossary to help understand and simplify various terms. Common Terms: Dividend: A share of a company’s profits paid to shareholders, usually quarterly. Ex-Dividend Date: The cutoff date by which you must own a stock to receive its next dividend. ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund): A fund that holds multiple stocks or bonds, traded like a single stock. Covered Call ETF: An ETF that owns stocks and sells call options to generate extra income (higher yield, limited / capped upside). Earnings Report: A company’s quarterly financial performance summary. EPS (Earnings Per Share): A company’s profit divided by its number of shares. Market Cap: A company’s total value (share price × number of shares). ACB: The total amount you’ve paid for an investment, including the purchase price plus any fees or commissions. Book Value: The value of a company according to its financial statements (assets minus liabilities). Yield: Annual dividend as a percentage of the stock/ETF price. Liquidity: How easily an asset can be bought or sold without impacting its price. Volatility: The degree of price fluctuations in a stock or market. Index: A benchmark of stocks (e.g., S&P 500, Nasdaq, TSX). Bull Market: A period of rising stock prices and optimism. Bear Market: A period of declining stock prices and pessimism. False Breakout: When a stock’s price moves above (or below) a key level, making it look like a new trend is starting, but then quickly reverses back. P/E Ratio: Price-to-earnings ratio (stock price ÷ EPS), used to assess valuation. Blue Chip: Well-established, financially strong companies with a track record of stability. Diversification: Spreading investments across assets to reduce risk. Broker: A platform or firm that facilitates buying and selling investments. Limit Order: An order to buy/sell a stock at a specific price or better. Market Order: An order to buy/sell a stock immediately at the current market price. Bid/Ask Spread: The difference between the highest price buyers offer and the lowest price sellers accept. Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA): Investing a fixed amount regularly to reduce the impact of market swings. Capital Gain/Loss: Profit or loss from selling an investment for more/less than its purchase price. IPO: When a company first sells shares to the public. Index Fund: A fund designed to mirror the performance of a market index. Short Selling: Selling borrowed shares, hoping to buy them back cheaper. Margin: Borrowing money from a broker to buy investments, which amplifies gains and losses. Time Horizon: The length of time you plan to hold an investment before needing the money. Short horizons = more risk-sensitive, long horizons = more room to ride out volatility. Stock Split / Reverse Split: A split increases the number of shares (e.g., 2-for-1) while lowering the price per share. A reverse split reduces the number of shares (e.g., 1-for-10) while raising the price per share. Your overall value doesn’t change just the math. Long (Being Long): Buying a stock or asset because you expect the price to go up. Short (Being Short): Selling a stock you don’t own because you expect the price to go down, so you can buy it back cheaper later. TER: The total yearly cost of owning a fund, including the management fee plus other costs like administration, audits, and legal fees. MER: The annual cost that a fund charges for management (includes any leverage costs if used). Management Fee: A portion of the MER that goes directly to the fund managers for running the fund. Withholding Tax: A tax deducted on dividends/distributions from foreign investments (e.g., U.S. dividends to Canadian investors face a 15% withholding in TFSA/Non-Registered accounts). Total Returns: The full picture of an investment’s performance, including both price gains and dividends/distributions. CAGR: The average yearly growth of an investment over time. NAV: The price of one share of a fund (stock or etf) NAV Depreciation: When the fund’s share price goes down over time. Mutual Fund: A pool of money from many investors used to buy a mix of stocks, bonds, or other assets. Bond: A loan you give to a company or government, and they pay you back with interest. Asset: Anything valuable you own that can generate money. Portfolio: Your collection of investments. Option: A contract that gives you the right (but not the obligation) to buy or sell a stock at a set price. Future: A contract to buy or sell something at a set price on a future date. REIT: A company that owns real estate and pays investors income from rent. Alpha: A measure of how much better (or worse) an investment did compared to the market. Beta: A measure of how much an investment moves compared to the market. Sharpe Ratio: A way to see if returns are worth the risk taken. Hedging: Protecting your investments from risk. Rebalancing: Adjusting your portfolio back to your target mix of assets. Understanding these terms makes investing far less intimidating. If anyone feels other terms should be included, please share in the comments. I’ll update this post so we can build a complete beginner-friendly resource together! *Sorry tagged a few etfs for reach 🫣
This one caught my eye partly because it's a step outside the usual semiconductor lane. Nice to add something with a different driver instead of stacking more chip exposure. The setup itself is clean. Clear uptrend across all timeframes, momentum healthy rather than stretched, and it's only up about 8% on the month so there's no late-stage chase here. Plenty of room. What sealed it: volume came in heavy today, roughly 1.6x the normal daily average. That's the buying conviction I look for before committing. Diversifying while the setup is still early. 🌱
Andrei Jikh Latest video had an interesting stat what's more interesting is this is a state that you can find going back to 2015 on reddit and likely further back if you really search. It goes to show you just how profitable it is to be at war from the weapon's manufacturing, to the rebuilding of destroyed cities the profit machine churns
I have earned more dividend/distributions from Jan-Apr than I have all of last year. This is due to several factors including lump sum investing and exploring covered call ETFs. While the dopamine hit from all these distributions is nice, I've decided that I actually don't need the income now and have sold some CCETFs to buy stocks and index ETFs. The total returns on my non other holdings have outperformed most of my CCETFs, hence the change in strategy. The goal is still to double, hopefully triple my 2025 distributions through contributions and DRIP.
In investing, there are broadly two main phases: accumulation and spending. How you navigate those phases depends on your strategy, your behaviour and the market conditions you experience along the way. During the accumulation phase, most investors need an active layer. For many people that comes from employment income. Perhaps they may own a business or generate investment gains that allow them to contribute additional capital. Regardless of the source, this active layer is what builds the foundation of the portfolio. Alongside that many investors have a passive layer. This is the portion of the portfolio that compounds over time through investment returns, distributions or a combination of both. The challenge is that compounding is often not very impressive in the beginning. It takes time and sufficient capital before the passive layer becomes large enough to meaningfully contribute to its own growth. Whether someone follows a growth strategy focused on capital appreciation or an income strategy focused on cash distributions, the principle is largely the same. Capital must be accumulated and given enough time to compound before the portfolio can begin supporting itself. As investors approach the spending phase, a different set of challenges emerges. If someone has built a portfolio primarily around growth, they need a process for selling assets to fund their lifestyle. If someone has built a portfolio primarily around income, they need to determine how much of the income can safely be spent and how much should be reinvested to help maintain the purchasing power and capital value of the portfolio. Hybrid portfolios attempt to balance both approaches. Income can fund a portion of spending while capital appreciation can provide additional flexibility. Depending on market conditions, an investor may choose to spend more income, sell more assets or reinvest more cash flow. The reality is that no system is perfect. Every strategy has strengths and weaknesses. Different market environments expose different risks. Growth investors often focus on total return but must contend with volatility, behavioural risk and the possibility of having to sell assets during a market decline. Income investors often focus on cash flow but must consider inflation, distribution sustainability and capital erosion. Both approaches are also exposed to sequence of returns risk, although they may experience and manage it differently. In either case, poor market performance at the wrong time can cause lasting damage to the portfolio. Unfortunately, many investing discussions turn into tribes rather than opportunities to learn. People begin identifying as growth investors or income investors and then spend more time defending their chosen approach than trying to understand its weaknesses. The result is often an echo chamber where investors consume information that reinforces what they already believe while dismissing information that challenges their assumptions. That creates blind spots. An investor should be willing to understand both sides of the argument. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a strategy does not require abandoning it. In many cases, it simply makes the strategy more resilient. I originally thought platforms like this would be useful because they would allow investors with different perspectives to exchange ideas and learn from each other. Unfortunately, discussions often deteriorate into personal attacks, where useful information is dismissed because it comes from the wrong person or the wrong investing camp. You also see people with only a few years of investing experience during an exceptionally strong bull market speaking with absolute certainty. Some may be genuinely skilled. Others may simply have benefited from being in the right place at the right time. Distinguishing skill from luck is often much harder than it appears. Worse still, some people dismiss and talk down professionals with extensive education, training and experience simply because they disagree with them. They base that disagreement on limited personal experience during a volatile bull market, while ignoring decades of academic research in favour of advice from someone on YouTube who has been investing for three or four years. I do not have all the answers, but I believe investing conversations would improve if people spent less time trying to win arguments and more time trying to understand risk, challenge their own assumptions and learn from perspectives different from their own. Perhaps one day someone will find a way to build those bridges. Today will not be that day. That is the end of my Blossom Talk. Thanks for reading!
Estimated revenue is expected to go from $3.5B in 2026 to $53B by 2030. That implies a +97% CAGR over the next four years. How can you not be bullish? $NBIS
I've been a long term $DUOL shareholder but downgraded it to a hold following the last 2 earnings reports due to weakening DAU growth and less MAU conversion to DAU. Despite how cheap it's gone, I'm not currently adding to the position because: 1. it already accounts for a larger portion of my portfolio for a fast grower. 2. I want to see evidence in the following earnings that their changes are helping conversions. 3. They are experimenting with its freemium model meaning bookings (subscriptions) are going to be depressed. At this point I'm happy watching and waiting despite being up 40% in the last three months with my current position. Despite being up to -66% in the hole when it bottomed under $100, I'm not chasing this one until I see the execution in the earnings. With that said, I also haven't sold a single share despite the volatility.
📊 Long-Term Investing: The Power of Thorough Analysis When it comes to long-term investing, understanding the fundamentals of a stock is crucial. It’s not just about jumping on trends; it’s about making informed decisions based on solid data. This chart breaks down the essential financial statements—Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and Cash Flow Statement—that every investor should analyze before committing to a stock. 🔍 Balance Sheet: This tells you about the company’s financial health, specifically its assets, liabilities, and equity. A healthy balance sheet is a sign of stability and resilience. 💸 Income Statement: This shows the company’s profitability by detailing revenue, expenses, and profits. A strong income statement indicates a company that’s generating profits, a key factor for long-term growth. 💰 Cash Flow Statement: This reveals how the company manages its cash, from operations to investments and financing. Positive cash flow is essential for sustaining operations and fueling future growth. By mastering these fundamentals, you can make smarter investment choices that stand the test of time. Remember, successful long-term investing isn’t about timing the market; it’s about time in the market, supported by thorough analysis. $VGT$TXN$QQQ$AAPL$META #InvestSmart #LongTermInvesting #FinancialLiteracy #StockMarketAnalysis
Turning 18 this year and interested in putting some money into some sort of stock/crypto, just investments. What should I do look out for or put my money into? Any tips as well, thanks :)
Episode 3 of the Retail Rundown is live !! On this episode we want to bring our rich friends to tell us how they REALLY make money. We sit down with entrepreneur, crypto trader, and content creator @zac_hartley We dive into Zach's journey from running for Mayor of Calgary to building multiple income streams through domain investing, Bitcoin mining, Amazon FBA, 3D printing businesses, AI-powered software projects, and stock market investing. Zac shares how he turned a $15 domain purchase into a $4,000 sale, built a 3D printing business generating roughly $200,000 in annual profit, sold his Amazon operation, and used AI tools like Claude to build a Canadian finance platform in just a few hours. We also discuss: • Bitcoin's 4-year cycle and crypto mining profitability • Amazon FBA and product launch strategies • Selling a business and entrepreneurship lessons • AI, software development, and vibe coding • Canadian investing, ETFs, TFSAs, and sovereign wealth funds • Diversifying income streams and learning from failure Subscribe for more episodes of Retail Rundown & who we should bring on next ! https://youtu.be/yDE_MV6hRo0?si=dG2ooCCP_Cv-SLDs
Let me start off by saying thank you everyone for the kind words 22 years is a long time and it’s tough. I appreciate your kindness, means a lot so from the bottom of my heart thank you ❤️ Now I know if you’re holding micron your emotions right now are everywhere. It’s a tough decision holding through earnings based on passed memory cycles. However There’s a very big miss understanding when it comes to AI. The models you have access to is considered “retail” Claude, OpenAI, Gemini etc the information that’s given in these models is internet access plus user memory data, these models are then trained using all that data. Are you following? Now imagine this. Let’s take a company like Intel. And you give it access to one of these models but you also allow it access to all of the companies data from the start of 1968. Goose what are you saying? When you take a LLM and give it access to secret data, the model is going to predict whats the next outcome for the company. Essentially an ecosystem or pipeline to make more revenue within . Thats super intelligence. (It’s what Jensen is doing putting is foot in every door) This is worth more than gold. Now each company has a tool to allow them to solve problems within the company. Something humans do amongst one another. But now you have a super intelligent agent smarter than any human so what do you do? You fire people you don’t need for those specific roles. Why? We have a super intelligence tool we don’t need you. But it’s not true.. they’re still going to need people but it doesn’t require your knowledge anymore. Just your labour. (Remember ice) Factories, plumbers, electricians, maintenance workers, anything that requires labour. You’ll see an increase in wages. This is why memory is no longer a cyclical thing. Each company & their revenues will boom. We are at agentic Ai , multiple agents deployed to do tasks humans are no longer needed for. Smart agents. Not AI slop that’s given to the public. Real super intelligent agents that require huge amounts of memory. Now imagine when the US government gives access to its history of one of these models.. you see where this is going? Samsung SKhynix and Micron. HBM memory is what allows this a possibility for American companies to do more. It’s what makes the model smart. The other memory is memory that just sits and waits to be picked up. Just as important and that’s Sandisk, western digital, Kioxia. Etc I’ll give you an example of this A former Air Canada pilot, Geoffrey Wall, 59, of Barrie, Ontario, was charged with fraud and forgery after allegedly captaining over 900 domestic and international flights without the required Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). He possessed a valid commercial pilot licence but forged credentials to act as a captain How were they able to catch this guy? Super intelligence . you give a model access to your data and you’ll see things you never even thought to see before. The value of AI is incredible. But If it gets to far in the wrong hands it can end our existence. And this is the race ladies and gentlemen. Imagine the drug discoveries. A company like Elli Lilly or Johnson & Johnson. Etc Memory is better than gold. And Micron is your next Nvidia. (Unless someone disturbs the HBM 4 line) I want to see you guys win. I want you to understand why my conviction is so strong. Why I see things differently. Why I understand things differently . My price target for Micron is $1525 Thank you guys for everything ❤️ Market hasn’t caught up yet. PS remember I told you a new position is coming soon? SKHynix . Please always do your own research it’s important, my risk tolerance isn’t like yours. This isn’t financial advice. https://www-cnbc-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/06/24/sk-hynix-nasdaq-adr-listing-south-korea.html?amp_gsa=1&_js_v=a9&usqp=mq331AQIUAKwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=17823094465725&csi=1&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&share=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnbc.com%2F2026%2F06%2F24%2Fsk-hynix-nasdaq-adr-listing-south-korea.html
No, this is not AI! I have such a strong conviction in my portfolio and I am such a fan of it that I have printed a poster! 🤪 It will go straight to my office above my desk, as a daily reminder to stay the course and keep on investing!! 💪🚀🚀
Since so many people ask how to invest in this sector, or this country, or this asset, I’ve decided to make a comprehensive guide on how you can invest in specific areas. This is NOT portfolio advice, simply information about tickers that you can research yourself. Save this for later so you have a list of ETFs to come back to! Canada: $XIU$XIC$ZCN All expose you to the TSX in Canada. These ETFs consist of all top Canadian companies and access to our national stock exchange. $VCB$VGV$VLB$VAB$VSB$VSC$XBB$XCB Expose you to Canadian bonds; whether it be long-term, short-term, corporate, government, etc. $VDY$XEI$CDZ Expose you to Canadian dividend companies $XRE$ZRE$VRE Give access to Canadian REITs $ZEB$XFN$RBNK Lets you buy the Canadian banks USA: $VFV$ZSP$XSP$XUS$HXS Lets you buy the S&P 500 (learn about hedged vs. unhedged in my other post) $XQQ$HXQ$ZQQ All give you access to the NASDAQ 100 $IWR$VO$VOE$VOT$IJH$SCHM Lets you buy US Midcaps $IJR$IWM$VB$VBR$VBK$SCHA Lets you buy US Smallcaps $DIV$SPYD$RDIV$DHS$VIG$SCHD$VYM$DGRO$SDY Give access from small to high dividend US companies $VTI$ITOT Lets you buy the whole US market $TLT$IEF$VGIT$GOVT$SHY$VGLT Give access to US bonds $XLC$XLY$XLP$XLE$XLF$XLV$XLI$XLB$XLRE$XLK$XLU All give you access to each sector in the S&P such as financials, energy, healthcare, etc. International: $XEQT$FEQT$VEQT$ZEQT Give you an all-in-one exposure to Canada, US, emerging and global markets. $VEA$IEFA$SCHF$SPDW$EFV$EFA Give access to general international exposure $EWJ$EWU$EWC Gives direct access to developed international countries $INDA$MCHI$EWT$EWY$EWZ$EWW$EIDO$EWM Gives direct access to emerging international countries Assets: $KILO$PHYS$CGL Let’s you buy gold directly through ETFs $SVR$HUZ Let you buy silver through ETFs Savings/Interest: $CASH$HISA$PSA$HSAV Access to Canadian savings and interest payments $HSUV-U $PSU-U $HISU-U Access to US savings and interest payments There’s so many ETFs I didn’t go into with dozens of categories, but this should give you some basic starting point to look into your ETF investments. This is simply the starting point, when choosing your investments always research the ETFs, what they provide to you, their fees, your goals, your risk, and what you’re looking to get out of investing. As always do your research and happy investing! Subscribe to the newsletter: relatablefinance.substack.com
