My $444K Portfolio Update: What I Changed

Portfolio and Performance

• The reported tracked portfolio value was approximately $444,000 across stocks, ETFs, and crypto. One subtitle appears to contain a transcription error of $144,000; later figures consistently refer to $444,000.
• The portfolio rose from about $414,000 on April 30 to $444,000 over the following month—an increase of roughly $30,000, including new contributions.
• Cash set aside for a planned real-estate purchase and existing real estate are excluded from the tracked portfolio.
• Most holdings were positive for the month. The weakest was a small position, down about 8.5%; Bitcoin fell 2.6%.
• Bitcoin remained the largest individual holding at just over $130,000, or nearly 30% of the portfolio.

Portfolio Changes and Holdings

ETFs

• He trimmed SPY5, his S&P 500 holding, and increased exposure to XNAS, a Nasdaq 100 ETF traded in US dollars on the London Stock Exchange.
• He previously held CNDX, an iShares Nasdaq 100 ETF, but preferred XNAS because of its lower expense ratio. He reported being up about $2,500 on XNAS after buying it a few weeks earlier.
• He is bullish on technology over the long term and plans to keep adding to the Nasdaq 100. He cautioned that it is more volatile than the broader market and may not suit investors who cannot tolerate volatility.

Individual Stocks

• Micron Technology was his best-performing holding and had become his third-largest position. It was worth nearly $19,000, with nearly $12,000 in gains—about a 160% return—after an investment of just over $6,000. He said he had bought it only a few months earlier.
• AMD was up about 130%.
• He removed some UAE stocks that no longer matched his technology-focused strategy. He plans to exit Emaar (real estate) and Rheinmetall (defense) when they recover somewhat. He emphasized that this reflects a change in investment thesis, not simply that the positions are in the red.

Reported Performance

• He said his eToro portfolio rose from about $127,000 to over $155,000 during the month, with most of the increase coming from investment gains rather than deposits.
• He reported April gains above 21%, May gains above 12%, and year-to-date performance above 26%, with substantial outperformance versus the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 despite a weak February and March. These are his reported figures.
• He started a Trading 212 “pie” mirroring recommendations from Seeking Alpha Picks and reported more than $1,300 in gains after a few weeks. He also cited the service’s historical return since 2022 as 418% versus 100% for the S&P 500.

Crypto Custody and Other Investments

• He moved most of his Bitcoin to Coinbase, retaining some on Nexo to earn interest. He said he made the change for convenience while traveling, despite generally recommending hardware-wallet custody to most people. He acknowledged that exchange custody carries risk and said this arrangement was a personal choice, not a general recommendation.
• He may reduce Bitcoin exposure if his long-term thesis or its catalysts change, but said he values diversification across asset classes. He expects Bitcoin’s share of the portfolio to decline if stocks and ETFs grow faster.
• He holds roughly equal amounts in two peer-to-peer lending and savings platforms:
  • Go & Grow: about 6% annual interest, paid daily, with fast withdrawals.
  • Moneyfit Smart Saver: about 7.5% interest. Up to €1,000 monthly can be withdrawn nearly instantly, while larger amounts may take up to 10 days.
• He said these platforms are not banks and are riskier than bank deposits. Their returns are supported by loans, and funds are not protected like bank deposits. His remaining cash is in a UAE bank account earning 6%.
• He recently changed his Interactive Brokers account from cash to margin and noted a negative cash balance. He said he would explain the change separately.

Strategy and Market View

• He continues to invest monthly using dollar-cost averaging, rather than trying to time a recession or market correction.
• His portfolio is deliberately concentrated in US and global technology, particularly AI. He believes AI and technology adoption will continue over the long term, while acknowledging that nobody knows whether markets are near the beginning, middle, or end of a cycle.
• He cautioned that a 30–40% market repricing could occur after strong gains, but argued that remaining invested may still leave long-term investors ahead of those who stayed out of markets.
• He is not recommending a Nasdaq-heavy allocation for most investors; he described it as a higher-volatility approach based on his own conviction.

Assets and Instruments Mentioned

• ETFs and index exposure: SPY5 (S&P 500), XNAS and CNDX (Nasdaq 100), and QQQ (US-listed Nasdaq 100 ETF).
• Stocks and companies: Micron Technology, AMD, Emaar, and Rheinmetall.
• Crypto: Bitcoin.
• Other exposures: Peer-to-peer lending, bank cash, and real estate.

Disclosures and Cautions

• He disclosed that he is an affiliate of Seeking Alpha and said he uses its research products himself.
• He invited viewers to copy his eToro portfolio and noted that past performance does not guarantee future results.
• He cautioned that exchange-held crypto and peer-to-peer investments carry risks, and said his custody choices and portfolio strategy may not suit others.
• The subtitles do not include an explicit “not financial advice” statement.

Presenter and Sources Mentioned

Kai / Smart Money with Kai; Seeking Alpha and Seeking Alpha Picks; eToro; Interactive Brokers; Trading 212; Snowball Analytics; Delta; Coinbase; Nexo; Go & Grow; Moneyfit Smart Saver; Revolut.