College Student With $400K In Stocks Grown In Just 4 Years Gets Mixed Reddit Advice – 'Should I Max Out My Roth IRA And Invest In S&P 500?'

Many investors have started to seek advice on long-term stock investments and a 23-year-old college student has turned to Reddit to navigate his journey toward financial stability.

With a portfolio worth $400K, grown in just four years through individual stocks, the young man aims to invest wisely to purchase a home down the road and secure his retirement fund.

With this concern in mind and the fact that he considers day trading a gamble and says he has gotten “lucky” so far, the investor asked for long-term stock investment advice on the discussion board, which hosts close to 2.6 million members.

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“I’m a 23, college student, I started investing 4 years ago. I invested $50k into Meta during its stock crash at $122 per share. I currently have a little over $400k in stocks. I have only done individual stocks. I want to invest long-term, as I have a wife and two kids,” he said.

While the investor sought advice from fellow Redditors on the r/investing_discussion community, he already had a few options he was considering but was looking for direction.

The investor mentioned that he created a Roth IRA and is considering investing in VOO’s S&P 500 but would need to max out his Roth IRA. He also had the option to enroll in a 401(k) through his company but was unsure if it was a good idea.

So, let’s analyze the recommendations he received from other Redditors and what they think about investing in VOO’s S&P 500.

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Redditors’ Recommendations for Long-Term Stock Investment

VOO’s S&P 500

Several members of the community advised the investor seeking long-term investment guidance on Reddit to invest in VOO’s S&P 500.

“Like, I know the S&P 500 is a great choice for a long-term investment because you can monitor the trend based on the revenue of the companies involved in it,” says one Redditor.

Another user mentioned that VOO is a great index fund to track the S&P 500, while a third Redditor said that an S&P 500 is usually the safe route for many investors.

“The “safe” answer is usually S&P 500 for most of the money,” the Redditor said.

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QQQ’s ETFs

Several Redditors on the r/investing_discussion thread also recommended QQQ’s ETFs, particularly suggesting the young man seeking advice find a few ETFs and then take a break.

“I'd max out the IRA, continue to contribute to the 401(k) and find a few ETFs (VOO, QQQ, VTI … etc.) then chill,” the Redditor said.

Another board member expressed full confidence in QQQ, advising the investor to fully commit to this fund.

“It depends on your goals and level of expertise. You are young. If you want max returns and can handle fluctuations, I’d go QQQ all the way,” the Redditor commented.

CHRS

CHRS or Coherus Biosciences, Inc., is a specific option that a Redditor mentioned in the thread. CHRS is a commercial-stage pharmaceutical company that develops and sells innovative immunotherapies for cancer.

Although the company’s stock price has decreased 22.97% this year, this Redditor, in particular, believes it is worth investing in. 

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