Not All or Nothing: The Power of Slowly Adding to Your Positions

How often have you heard that anxious voice in your head or from a friend saying, "Don't just sit there, do something!"

When it comes to investing, this couldn't be worse advice. The biggest mistake a new investor can make is feeling pressured to act—or to go "all in"—when they aren't 100 percent certain. In fact, often by doing nothing, you actually learn something valuable about the market and yourself.

Remember: No one is keeping score but you. It's okay to make portfolio mistakes sometimes. The goal is to learn, not to achieve instant perfection.

The Wisdom of Stepping into the Ocean

Let's look at a real-world example.

When we opened our first account and started mirroring our own research, we bought our initial shares of Micron Technology (MU) in July and August of 2024. What happened next? It went up, then down, then up again.

When it sank and stayed below our overall cost, we held on. Fast forward to today, September 12, 2025, and that stock has nearly doubled. We ended up with only ten shares because we were slowly adding to our holdings month by month.

Here's the core lesson: When a stock rises, you will always wish you had bought more shares. But since no one can see that far ahead, trying to buy "all of it" at the perfect low is pure gambling.

It is far better to build a stock position the way you go into the ocean in May—one step at a time. If a stock like Micron is truly in a sweet spot, that trend will remain for some time, giving you plenty of opportunities to add more shares later or look for a new winner.

You Don't Need to Buy 10,000 Shares

As a novice investor, you might read about a big money manager who buys 10,000 shares of a stock or sells a similar amount. This can be intimidating.

But here is a fundamental truth for the retail investor: You can purchase just a few shares of a security.

It is absolutely no sin to only purchase a few shares of a winner when that’s all the money you have available. No one is tracking your decisions. Your broker doesn't care if you buy one share or one thousand.

Think of it like batting practice. You’re stuck in a cage and a machine is throwing you one pitch after another.

• Each day the price of the stocks you own will go up, and you’ll wish you had bought more.

• Or, they will go down, and you’ll wish you didn’t own it at all.

Your job is to keep purchasing the stocks that are doing well and that you still believe in.

Holding Through the Downswings

What happens when the price goes down? Don't sell out of fear.

Imagine you actually own the company. Would you panic-sell your entire business because of a bad quarter or a temporary market dip? Probably not.

Even in long periods of price declines, hold on if you still have fundamental belief in the stock. It doesn't take long before all those who want to sell out of fear are gone. Then, the true believers and smart money start buying again.

The reward in investing is rarely found in the short-term noise. It's found in the long, long run, built through the discipline of slowly adding to great companies and having the patience to hold through volatility.

It’s not about "All or Nothing." It's about consistently asking yourself: "Should I add to my position today?" That small, mindful action is what builds true wealth.