Hitesh portfolio

@avneesh

I know a lot of fellow investors who have become financially independent by investing on their own and without using leverage. So the answer to your first question is a yes.

Personally speaking, I started my proper investment journey in 2009 and by 2018, I felt that I was financially independent. I never used leverage. I had a good govt job which allowed me to invest without worrying about regular cashflows. Hence I never had to get money from my investment account to run day to day expenses. I have been lucky enough to land a few big winners in my early investing career and these helped in initial capital growth and more importantly in confidence growth.

Few steps which I think are important are:

1. Learning– through books, forums, youtube videos, mentors, any or all of these.

2. Know a style of investing suitable to yourself. And get better and better at it.

3. Start investing, initially with small amounts, and once confidence and results follow, increase amount.

4. Have a firm belief that wealth creation is possible through equity investments. For me, reading Snowball ( Warren buffett’s autobiography) made me realise that creating wealth was possible through equity investing. I don’t follow his style in totality , but the fact that he became one of the richest persons in the world only by equity investing was inspiration enough for me.

5. Once you have learned stock picking, work hard on allocation. Here there are two types of allocations. First is percentage of your own networth in equities. Second is portfolio allocation to individual stocks. ( I have been aggressive in both aspects. Nearly 90% of my networth has been in equities and individual stock allocation also have been quite aggressive. But I have seen diversified investors also do equally well. So you can take your pick)

And aim for more than 25-30% CAGR returns over longer period. Atleast in initial years. It’s quite possible. I know a few friends who have done north of 40-50% CAGR returns over many years. And its possible without leverage. Idea should be to make the most of your winners and bull markets.
And most important is to enjoy the whole process of investing. It should induce a sense of happiness and achievement in you. Doing what you love is happiness. For me its investing.