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Young Investor Transforms $9K Refund into Diverse Portfolio

1/11/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Mamadou-Hady Sow, an individual investor, began investing at age 18 in May 2020 after the Covid-19 shutdown, using part of a $9,000 college refund to buy Bitcoin and Netflix.
Inspired by the GameStop meme stock surge, he initially profited.
Five years later, Sow prioritizes maxing out his 401(k) and IRA contributions, with most of his portfolio in index funds and the rest in dividend ETFs and individual stocks.

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Story summary

Mamadou-Hady Sow, an individual investor, began investing at age 18 in May 2020 after the Covid-19 shutdown, using part of a $9,000 college refund to buy Bitcoin and Netflix.
Inspired by the GameStop meme stock surge, he initially profited.
Five years later, Sow prioritizes maxing out his 401(k) and IRA contributions, with most of his portfolio in index funds and the rest in dividend ETFs and individual stocks.