In this article, we will take a look at the 10 stock picks of Graham Stephan. To see more such companies, go directly to Graham Stephan Stock Portfolio: 5 Stock Picks.
Graham Stephan is perhaps one of the most popular celebrities in online wealth creation communities. With over 4.2 million subscribers on YouTube, Stephan actively shares tips and commentary on how to get rich via real state, stock investing, cryptocurrencies and more. Stephan, who became a millionaire at the age of 26, in his YouTube channel description box says that he started working in the real estate industry shortly after turning 18.
A lot has been said about how Graham Stephan became successful and his lifestyle. In this article’s intro we want to discuss Stephan’s investment philosophy and what he’s been saying about the stock market recently.
On March 8, Graham Stephan uploaded a video on his YouTube channel titled “A Warning for the 2023 Stock Market.” Stephan highlighted how this year got off to a solid start but then things started to south as data showed inflation is still high and the Federal Reserve is ready to keep raising interest rates. Stephan said that “nobody has the slightest clue” on whether or not we are in a bear market.
Stephan said the he expects 25bps rate hikes for the rest of 2023 from the Federal Reserve.
“The Golden Butterfly Portfolio”
Time and again Graham Stephan has talked about how investing in stocks is full of volatility and how hard is it for even the expert investors to post strong returns by investing in individual stocks. Stephan in a February 2023 video talked about “The Golden Butterfly Portfolio” which he thinks is a strategy to handle “whatever Jerome Powell throws your way, from recessions, unemployment, rise in inflation, deflation and even and endless money printer.”
This portfolio invests in stocks, equities, bonds and commodities. This four-quadrant approach, according to Stephan, helps you handle the four cycles of the broader economy, which are rising prices, falling prices, rising growth and falling growth.
According to Graham Stephan, the only way to protect yourself in the ever-volatile markets is to diversify your portfolio. In a video, he said:
If you can’t personally handle a 20% drop without panicking it’s probably a sign that you are invested too aggressively. For instance if you are completely in US tech stocks then it’s probably a good idea to add large caps and international stocks to the mix too.
On December 7, 2022, Graham Stephan said in a tweet that the stock market was presenting one of the “best entry points” in the last 15 years.
“If you wished you could go back in time and invest in 2009, now would be that opportunity.”
Stephan then went on to mention five index funds he believes were the best to invest in to benefit from this opportunity. In-line with his investment philosophy, these index funds give investors ample exposure to the total stock market and remove volatility and risks.
Photo by Chris Liverani on Unsplash
In the first part of this article, we will mention the five index funds recommended by Graham Stephan. In the second part of the article, we will mention some interesting stock picks of Graham Stephan which he initiated following an interesting (but highly random) method as part of an experiment. The second part also mentions some picks from his watchlist on public.com, a platform Graham Stephan regularly recommends and promotes in his YouTube videos.
Graham Stephan Stock Portfolio: 10 Stock Picks
10. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX)
The Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX) is one of the best ways to gain exposure to the entire US stock market. Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX)’s portfolio is diversified across several sectors and includes small-, mid- and large-cap stocks.
Graham Stephan in his December 2022 tweet mentioned Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX) and said the following:
This fund would be the cornerstone of Warren Buffet’s idea of never betting against America!
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX) portfolio consists of over 3900 stocks. Technology accounts for about 24% of the entire portfolio, while the consumer discretionary sector takes up about 14% of the pie.
The top three holdings of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX) include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). These three stocks are also among the most popular stocks of elite hedge funds, according to Insider Monkey’s database of 943 hedge funds and their holdings as of the end of 2022.
Graham Stephan in his tweet mentioned Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:VTI) as the corresponding ETF of Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTSAX) as he said one of the limitations of index funds is that they have a high minimum investment amount.
9. Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX)
Ranking 9th in our list of the best investments in Graham Stephan’s stock portfolio is Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX), which is decent way to gain exposure to the US stock market in a budget. Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX) has exposure to 500 US equities. On a YTD basis Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX) is up more than 4% year to date, as of March 8. Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX) has exposure to major sectors in the US stock market, including information technology (26.5%), industrials (8.4%), healthcare (14.7%) and consumer discretionary (10.5%).
Graham Stephan said in his December tweet that Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX) is “generally considered the gold standard of index funds as it contains the largest 500 public companies in the U.S. stock market.”
Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX)’s biggest holdings include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Exxon. These are also some of the most popular stocks among retail investors and hedge funds. Take Apple, for example. According to Insider Monkey’s database of 943 hedge funds, a total of 135 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Apple, which makes Apple one of the most popular stocks among the smart money. Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX) is performing pretty well in 2023, having gained about 23% through March 9.
Graham Stephan mentioned Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:VOO) in his tweet as a corresponding ETF for Vanguard 500 Index Fund (NASDAQ:VFIAX) if you want to avoid the minimum investment amount threshold of index funds.
8. Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (NASDAQ:VTIAX)
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (NASDAQ:VTIAX) is one of the best ways to get exposure to the stock markets outside of the US, especially when more and more analysts are growing bullish on international stock markets when compared to the US markets where volatility is just too much to handle.
Graham Stephan said in his tweet that while Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (NASDAQ:VTIAX) has been flat over the last decade, the fund “can be great for diversification and as a hedge.”
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (NASDAQ:VTIAX)’s portfolio consists of over 7,500 stocks. Investing in the fund gives you exposure to Europe, Emerging Markets, The Pacific region, The Middle East, among others.
Among the most notable holdings of Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (NASDAQ:VTIAX) include Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM), Tencent and Nestle. Hedge funds in the US are also piling into these stocks. For example, as of the end of the fourth quarter of last year, 86 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey reported owning stakes in Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM). The total value of these stakes was over $10 billion. The biggest hedge fund stakeholder of Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM) was Stephen Mandel’s Lone Pine Capital which owns a $774 million stake in the company.
Similarly, 18 hedge funds had stakes in Tencent as of the end of 2022.
If you want to find a corresponding ETF to Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund Admiral Shares (NASDAQ:VTIAX), Graham Stephan recommends Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund ETF (NASDAQ: VXUS).
7. Vanguard Growth Index Fund (NASDAQ:VIGAX)
Having growth stocks in your portfolio is necessary if you want to benefit from the opportunities in the US stock market. Vanguard Growth Index Fund (NASDAQ:VIGAX) allows you to have exposure to large growth stocks. Vanguard Growth Index Fund (NASDAQ:VIGAX)’s portfolio includes about 250 stocks. About 45% of the portfolio consists of technology growth stocks, while 23% is allocated to consumer discretionary.
The biggest holdings of Vanguard Growth Index Fund (NASDAQ:VIGAX) include Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft and Apple. These are some of the safest growth stocks that have the potential to grow in the longer run on the back of the products and services these companies are working on. These are also some of the most popular stocks among top hedge funds.
Talking about the fund, Graham Stephan said in his December 2022 tweet that Vanguard Growth Index Fund (NASDAQ:VIGAX) portfolio contains companies that are expected to “grow extremely fast – a high-risk, high-reward strategy.”
Vanguard Growth Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:VUG) was highlighted by Graham Stephan as a corresponding ETF for those who want to avoid the heavy investment thresholds that come with index fund investing.
6. Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTWAX)
Another international markets fund, Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTWAX) gives exposure to stock markets around the world, including the US, Europe and emerging markets. Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTWAX) was ranking fifth in Graham Stephan’s December 7 thread on Twitter, and he said the following about the fund:
“This is what happens when you check all of the above option. Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTWAX) invests in 9,458 stocks across the entire world!”
Some of the notable holdings of Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTWAX) include Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Johnson & Johnson, Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (NYSE:TSM), Berkshire Hathaway, among many other giants.
Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund ETF (NYSEARCA: VT) is the corresponding ETF for Vanguard Total World Stock Index Fund (NASDAQ:VTWAX).
Click to continue reading and see Graham Stephan Stock Portfolio: 5 Stock Picks.
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Disclosure: None. Graham Stephan Stock Portfolio: 10 Stock Picks is originally published on Insider Monkey.
