Forget fundamentals. 4 everyday investors have made winning stock picks with a much simpler strategy.

Christine Ji

Sat, Jul 5, 2025, 1:20 PM 4 min read

• Some retail investors have picked winning stocks without utilizing extensive Wall Street insights.

• Instead, they're following Warren Buffett's strategy of investing in what you know.

• Paired with a broader diversification strategy, it's a great way to learn more about the market.

Say goodbye to Excel spreadsheets, financial statements, and fancy Bloomberg terminals. Some everyday investors have a secret weapon that's leading to winning stock picks.

Bob Vanscoy bought Nvidia in 2020, years before the AI boom propelled the company to its current position as the world's most valuable company.

The 54-year-old father of two invested after observing his children playing video games during the pandemic. Vanscoy was surprised by the level of detail in the games.

"I got to thinking that these were becoming more than just games. They were becoming stories," Vanscoy told Business Insider. "My kids told me Nvidia graphics cards were really, really popular and everyone was to get them."

Fast forward to today, and Vanscoy holds 1,292 shares at a cost basis of $6.76 per share, brokerage statements viewed by Business Insider show. He's notched a gain of 1,593.15% on his investment, which is worth about $147,977.

Vanscoy isn't the only investor who's made stock picks based on things his kids were into. Mikhaela Delahunty, a 42-year-old PR specialist, bought Crocs stock in 2022 after seeing the shoes everywhere.

"They were sold out, and my kids were begging me for some really strange colored plastic shoes," Delahunty said. She did some more research, found that Crocs had recently completed an acquisition and posted strong earnings, and bought in.

While Delahunty sold out of her stock positions last year to free up liquidity to grow her business, her gut instinct was correct. Today, Crocs is rated favorably across Wall Street, with an over 60% buy rating among analysts, according to Bloomberg.

"The power that tweens have on the purchasing decisions of their parents is remarkable, and you can't ever discount that," Delahunty said.

While picking stocks based on vibes of the moment might seem a lot less precise than what the Wall Street pros are doing, it's actually not that dar removed from traditional investing wisdom.

As Warren Buffett famously advised: invest in what you understand.

Some retail investors have put this mindset into action by using their day jobs to glean investing insights. Etienne Breton, a 47-year-old technical expert at a manufacturing company, invested in Palantir after realizing the software company's solutions were sorely needed at his job.