Michael Flender can also be found under the blogger name “Goldesel”. Getty Images/Yuichiro Chino
Michael Flender has been trading on the stock exchange full-time since 2007. As a result, he has built up five portfolios worth six figures.
The 41-year-old has three trading portfolios and two portfolios in which he invests long-term. In an interview with Business Insider, he tells Business Insider which stocks the trader is betting on in the long term.
“I have been trading on the stock market full-time since 2007,” says Michael Flender. The 41-year-old primarily focuses on dividend and tech stocks. “I got into investing through my parents’ house,” remembers Flender. After his parents began investing in a stock fund for him, he started regularly reading the Teletext in the 90s and checking the stock prices there. “My first own share purchases were Deutsche Bank and SAP. I just bought something back then.”
During his studies, Flender became more interested in the stock market and also read diligently in stock market forums about which stocks were currently promising. “But as is the case with such gambling stocks, most of it was more bad than good,” he remembers.
I told my employer that I was traveling around the world.
Through stock exchange forums he also met people who trade full-time, i.e. trade in stocks. “I studied business informatics and traded on the side. A year after completing my studies, I was still working in controlling – but then decided to go public on the stock exchange full-time too.” He told his employer at the time that he was going on a trip around the world. “When I think about it today, it was very risky. I don’t advise anyone to quit their job because they have a bit of success on the stock market.” At that time he was simply “young and naive”. He still lived at home and had hardly any fixed costs.
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Flender relies on individual stocks in its investment strategy. “Stocks are my passion,” he says. He has a total of five depots. Three of them are pure trading depots. “When I trade, I sometimes hold stocks not just for a few hours, but sometimes for several days or weeks.” He is particularly interested in the development of companies. With his two other portfolios, he invests long-term in dividend and tech stocks. All deposits are in the six-figure range. This brings him to a portfolio value in the millions. Business Insider got an insight.
However, Flender strictly separates his investment strategies: “When investing long-term, I don’t care whether a stock falls or rises. When I’m trading, I tend to make sure that I take profits from time to time.”
How Flender chooses his titles? “There is no holy grail in the stock market. There is no indicator that always works. I act news driven. I look at quarterly figures, news, sales increases, profit increases and estimates. Above all, whether these are met or even exceeded. I also think it’s important to check what analysts say – even if they sometimes talk rubbish. Good impulses can come from them.”
1. These are four top positions in Flender’s dividend portfolio:
When it comes to long-term investments, Flender primarily focuses on dividend and tech stocks. His dividend portfolio amounts to around 550,000 euros. Last year, Flender earned around 15,000 euros in dividends, which he reinvested.
These are Flender’s four top positions: