My 9-Year Investing Track Record — What Actually Worked (2017–2026)
Before I talk about where I’m going, I need to show where I’ve been.
Because strategy without a track record is just theory.
This is my real, 9-year investing journey—starting in 2017, through mistakes, wins, losses, and everything in between.
No filters.
Where it started
I didn’t start with a perfect system.
I started like most people:
buying individual stocks
chasing ideas
reacting emotionally
learning everything the hard way
Over time, I built a portfolio that today sits around:
~3.5 million HUF
~17% total return
But those numbers don’t tell the real story.
The truth behind the performance
My results weren’t linear.
They were driven by a few key decisions—and a lot of mistakes.
What actually worked
1. Holding winners longer than expected
Positions like:
Magyar Telekom
ZWACK Unicum
Delivered outsized returns because I didn’t sell too early.
That sounds simple—but it’s one of the hardest things to do.
2. Staying invested
Even without a perfect strategy, I stayed in the market.
That alone created:
compounding
experience
resilience
Most people quit before this kicks in.
3. Taking risk (sometimes too much)
I invested in:
small caps
speculative ideas
international stocks
Some worked.
Some didn’t.
But they accelerated my learning curve.
What didn’t work
This part matters more.
1. Holding losers too long
Examples:
Greenlane Renewables → ~-90%
Amira Nature Foods → ~-100%
Biora Therapeutics → ~-100%
These weren’t just bad picks.
They were:
lack of discipline
no exit strategy
emotional attachment
2. No portfolio structure
For years, I didn’t think in terms of:
allocation
diversification
risk balance
I was managing positions—not a portfolio.
3. Ignoring tax strategy
Until recently, I didn’t actively manage:
realized gains
realized losses
Which meant:
unnecessary tax exposure
inefficient capital use
The turning point
The shift didn’t happen because of one trade.
It happened when I realized:
Returns don’t come from ideas.
They come from structure.
That’s when I started thinking in terms of:
portfolio allocation
risk management
tax optimization
long-term positioning
Where I am now
After my recent rebalance:
I reduced concentration
I realized gains strategically
I created a tax-efficient position
I started building ETF and bond exposure
For the first time, the portfolio has a clear direction.
The role of mistakes
My biggest losses taught me more than my biggest gains.
Not because losses are good—but because:
- they force clarity
- they expose weaknesses
- they reveal your real behavior under pressure
A quick note on my forex trading
Alongside investing, I also ran an active trading account:
~1.88M HUF account size
~747k HUF total realized loss
~534k HUF previous gains
This experience taught me something critical:
Activity is not the same as progress.
What I’m changing going forward
This is where everything connects to the previous article.
1. From stocks → portfolio
Less focus on individual ideas
More focus on allocation
2. Adding ETFs
Core exposure through:
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF
3. Adding bonds
Stability through:
iShares $ Treasury Bond 1-3yr UCITS ETF
4. Active tax management
Using:
realized losses
gain timing
To optimize outcomesoutcomes
The real takeaway
If you look at my 9-year journey, one thing stands out:
Not skill.
Not luck.
But evolution.
I went from:
random investing
→ to structured thinking
From:
reacting
→ to managing
Final thought
This track record isn’t impressive because of the numbers.
It’s valuable because it’s real.
Next, I’ll go deeper into something most investors don’t talk about:
the hidden side of building capital—what it costs, what it takes, and what most people never see.
Stay with me.
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