Investing $5000 into stocks to see what happens in a year (vs S&P 500)

Finance-focused summary

Setup / benchmark

• Goal: Invest $5,000 into stocks and measure results over 1 year, then compare to the S&P 500.
• Benchmark: S&P 500 — an index of the 500 most valuable US stocks, described as returning about ~7% per year.
• Disclosure: “This is not financial advice.”

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Portfolio construction framework used

• Total investment: $5,000
• 5 strategies, each assigned $1,000
• Most strategies allocate across 4 stocks per $1,000 (i.e., $250 per stock).

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Strategy 1 — “Monkey / coin flip” random stock picking ($1,000)

Method

• Use a random number generator to select companies.
• Invest $250 per stock (4 total picks).
• Selection rule:
  • “Pick a random number between 1 and 1,000”
  • Choose the corresponding company as the “206th / 498th / 864th / 947th most valuable company in the world.”
• Valuation filter mention (informal):
  • Mentions P/E (price-to-earnings) and interprets it as “how much investors are willing to pay for each dollar of profit.”
  • Notes a “good” P/E range of ~15–25 (presented as commentary, not a strict rule).

Specific picks

• Bank of Montreal (selected as #206)
  • Mentioned: ~30% growth in 2025
  • Also referenced: alternating negative/positive years previously (comment: “probably not great news”)
• Ferrovial (selected as #498)
  • P/E ~22
  • Mentioned: ~52% growth in 2025
  • Described as an infrastructure operator (highways/airports)
• Emaar Properties (selected as #864)
  • P/E ~8.3
  • Mentioned: ~49% growth in 2024
  • Prior 3 years were negative, then a “massive spike” in 2020
  • Comment: “bad feeling”
• Constellation Brands (selected as #947)
  • P/E ~23.4
  • Includes a confusing line about extreme movement: “minus 6,000% in 2021” (presented as unclear/possibly erroneous)
  • Described as maker/producer of beer, wine, spirits (mentions Corona Extra)

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Strategy 2 — “Follow a tutorial / financial channel” ($1,000)

Method

• Watches a tutorial (Joseph Carlson is named/implicitly referenced).
• Follows the tutorial’s emphasis on dividend growth / growth.
• Ends with a portfolio described as 4 tech-related mega-caps, excluding a stated distrust of one company.

Specific picks referenced

• Apple (AAPL)
• Microsoft (MSFT)
• Google (Alphabet)
• Netflix is explicitly said to be excluded (“don’t trust Netflix”)
• Amazon (AMZN)

Note: The subtitles don’t clearly state the final 4-ticker list by symbol, but the intention is clearly tech-heavy and includes Apple/Microsoft/Google/Amazon.

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Strategy 3 — “Nancy Pelosi trading activity” imitation ($1,000)

Method

• Uses a “Nancy Pelosi trading activity” tracker concept.
• Claims she sold in 2025 and bought in 2026.
• Chooses the most recent trades, sorted by date.
• Includes a tone-level caution about insider-trading allegations:
  • “Whooa, cool down with the allegations.”
• Replacement logic:
  • Couldn’t buy one holding (AB) at the time; later replaced with another.

Specific picks referenced

• Nvidia (NVDA)
• AllianceBernstein Holding (AB) — intended, but not buyable via the platform
• Vistra Corp (VST) — integrated retail electricity / power generation
• Tempus AI (TEM) — health technology company founded 2015
• Replacement:
  • On July 9, 2025, Pelosi reportedly bought Broadcom (AVGO)
  • The subtitle indicates AB is replaced with Broadcom (AVGO)

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Strategy 4 — AI stock picker ads/tools ($1,000)

Method

• Uses “AI overview” and searches for “AI stock picker” sponsored results.
• Applies an availability/subscription workaround:
  • Early AI picks were “locked” (required payment),
  • Then selects by geography and uses “unlocked” results.
• Defines alpha as the ability to beat a benchmark like the S&P 500.
• Time-horizon mismatch caution: one recommendation suggests a 3-month horizon, but the experiment aims for 1 year.

Specific picks (as described)

• CTRA — American energy company (hydrocarbon exploration)
• CBS — Brazilian water and waste management company
• 016740.KS — South Korean tier-one supplier for automotive interior materials (car seat fabrics)
• Another South Korean holding is mentioned, but the exact ticker isn’t captured cleanly in the subtitles.

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Strategy 5 — “Pick stocks based on what I use / random thoughts” ($1,000)

Method

• Chooses based on personal familiarity (brands/products he uses like an Apple laptop and an AMD GPU).
• Then swaps based on perceived “steady dominance.”
• Admits limited investing knowledge and minimal analysis.

Picks mentioned and final direction

• Initially considers/mentions:
  • Apple and AMD
  • TSMC
  • Samsung (noted as a stock symbol)
  • Stripe (private)
  • LG Corp (then swapped)
• Final adjustments described:
  • Swaps LG Corp → Coca-Cola (“changing LG into Coca-Cola”)
  • Considers Alibaba, then says “Walmart is taking over” → uses Walmart
  • Mentions other ideas (e.g., Toyota, Tencent), but the subtitles indicate the final purchased set is mostly Coca-Cola and Walmart plus a few additional names (the exact complete final list isn’t cleanly enumerated with tickers).

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Key numbers & metrics explicitly mentioned

• S&P 500 return assumption: ~7% per year (used as a win threshold)
• P/E “good range” heuristic: 15–25
• Selected-company data points (subset)
  • Bank of Montreal: ~30% growth in 2025
  • Ferrovial: P/E ~22, ~52% growth in 2025
  • Emaar Properties: P/E ~8.3, ~49% growth in 2024, prior 3 years negative, spike in 2020
  • Constellation Brands: P/E ~23.4, includes “-6,000% in 2021” (unclear/possibly erroneous)
• Pelosi performance claim: one line says up 134% on a Pelosi-bought holding, but the exact company connected to that +134% line isn’t perfectly isolated.

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Recommendations / cautions stated

• Framed as an experiment vs. benchmark, not a systematic investing recommendation.
• Compares against index return (~7%).
• AI picks section flags:
  • Skepticism about AI ad/tool credibility
  • Concern about 3-month horizon vs desired 1-year timeframe
• Random-picking strategy includes informal caution (P/E commentary; “bad feeling” toward at least one pick), but no formal risk limits are defined.
• Broad disclosure: “not financial advice.”

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Presenters / sources mentioned

• Joseph Carlson (tutorial presenter referenced)
• Nancy Pelosi (trading-activity concept/strategy)
• Proton Pass (sponsor; not a finance source)
• Seeking Alpha (referenced in the “best AI stock picker” / ads context)
• BlackRock (referenced in an AI stock picker tool/ad context)