Tapping Twilio

So Twilio had its IPO on Wednesday, and I bought in. I originally wrote this on June 24, but got lazy about putting it up.

I always regretted not investing in Facebook stock back when they had their IPO in 2013. At the time, I had the money, and I could have put down $10,000 in the IPO easily, but I got frustrated with the difficulty of opening a Merrill Lynch account (I’m not a US citizen), so I gave up, and being financially irresponsible, I spent the money on some rubbish I have absolutely nothing to show for.

This time I wasn’t really prepared either. I found out about the IPO much later than I’d have like to, and by this time of the month, almost all my money’s tied up where I’ve budgeted it to be, so I was frustratingly short on cash, but I was still excited to participate in the launch and buy some stock.

10:31am, and I was in.

I could only afford a few shares for the spare money I had, but I think even the 10 shares I bought did pretty well in all the excitement of the first day. The stock debuted at $23.99, so I didn’t buy in as low as I wanted to, but at $24.89, still not bad.

In less than an hour, it was gaining pretty rapidly, and it was really exciting checking the stock market every half hour, checking StockTwits, and reading all the chatter about the IPO on Twitter.

I’ve heard from people who know a lot more about investing than I do that buying into IPOs is akin to gambling, and from the way my first ever IPO buy went, I can definitely see why people do it. It was so much fun. Very much like watching a race and hoping for your favourite to win.

 

Final results at market close. All in all, a really fun experience, and a good day.

Woke up the next morning to this shit show due to Britain’s decision to leave the European Union.

Thanks, Brexit ?.

 

Notice how only gold is up? Yeah, people return to their comfort zones when they panic.

I’m not a knowledgeable investor by any measure. I only recently got into stocks thanks to an old acquaintance, and I’m still very much a dilettante. I want to try and learn, but considering I slept through Finance class in college, I’ve got my work cut out for me.

Ultimately, I’d like to invest in real estate though. And sooner, rather than later. Is land still affordable in Abuja?

What have you invested in? Anyone got any tips or investment advice for me?