Tim Schäfer invests primarily in stocks from the USA and Germany. Getty Images / sittipong phokawattana / Tim Schäfer
Tim Schäfer has a portfolio of around $2.5 million. The financial journalist lives very frugally and owns a small apartment in New York.
Schäfer receives approximately $2,500 in dividends per month. In addition to stocks, the stock market millionaire also has three ETFs in his portfolio.
Schäfer always had the dream of living in the USA. His job made this possible for him 17 years ago. Today he still works as a freelance journalist in New York City.
But in addition to his work, Schäfer has also been involved in the stock market privately for a long time – with success. Through long-term investments and a frugal lifestyle, the 51-year-old has built up a portfolio of around $2.5 million.
Despite his deposits, Schäfer lives a rather modest life. He only has a small apartment, doesn’t own a car and mainly buys second-hand items. “People simply consume too much,” Schäfer is convinced. “My parents didn’t have that much money and were very thrifty. I received a savings account for my confirmation,” he says. “In the beginning I had savings accounts, a fixed-term deposit contract and building savings contracts – which is what everyone does. At some point I ordered stock market books and came up with the idea of investing in stocks.”
That was in his early 20s. He also bought a lot of “junk” at the beginning. “My first stocks were from the region. This included a share from a sewing machine manufacturer from Kaiserslautern. Unfortunately, the company went bankrupt a few years later,” he recalls.
Today Schäfer holds around 60 stocks in his portfolio. However, many of his positions are very small. “To find suitable securities, I read a lot and go to conferences. I primarily focused on growth stocks and value stocks.” Value stocks are shares of companies whose current market value is undervalued. This is the case when the stock is trading below its intrinsic value. Growth stocks, on the other hand, mean securities from companies that are growing quickly. You offer products or services whose popularity is constantly increasing. “I also buy companies in times of crisis. When companies collapse sharply, that can be interesting – keyword: turnaround.”
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His largest positions are currently: the streaming provider Netflix, the US holding company Berkshire Hathaway, Bank of America, the events company CTS Eventim, the software manufacturers Microsoft and SAP and the energy company Chevron “I bought the Netflix position for 5,000 euros back then, today “It’s worth $400,000,” says Schäfer. It was similar with CTS Eventim, he bought the position for 2,500 euros and today it is worth around $222,000. “Good companies can develop explosively, you just have to keep it up,” the stock market millionaire is convinced.
He usually endures losses or even increases them. “I’ve also had bankruptcies or really bad stocks,” he remembers. “One mistake, for example, was buying the diet company WeightWatchers. I lost almost 80 percent.” Higher fluctuations could be tough, especially at the beginning. But if you carry out your strategy for decades, things look completely different. “I made many, many mistakes, but I just prefer to look at the winnings.”