The investments we bought in May 📈

As regular readers will know by now, we invest in the stock market every single month when we get paid - no matter the economic backdrop.

When we sent out our monthly investments in April, this is how the newsletter started:

“With markets falling and chaos in the headlines, it might’ve felt tempting to pull back.

But for us, it felt like the perfect time to lean in.”

Whilst we (sadly) can’t predict the future, this turned out to be the right call!

The major stock market indexes have delivered the following return over the past month:

🇺🇸 S&P 500: +13.5%

🤖 Nasdaq-100: +17.0%

🌎 FTSE All-World: +13.7%

Yet more proof that it is near-on impossible to know when the right time to buy or sell is…

Which is why investing isn’t a decision for us - it’s something we have to do each month.

But there are some decisions that need to be made, such as what to actually buy.

This year, we’re increasing our monthly investments from £750 to £1,000.

That’s part of the reason why we added money to 8 different investments this month.

Here’s what we bought:

Please note that nothing in this newsletter should be taken as financial advice, and these are not recommendations. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Always do your own research and apply your own judgement before making any financial decision, or contact a financial advisor. Remember that shares can rise and fall, and you can lose money when investing.

💸 Adyen - A brand new investment (for some)

Andreea’s biggest investment this month was £500 into Adyen (AMS: ADYEN) – a Dutch payments company and a brand new addition to her portfolio.

It helps global brands like Microsoft and Spotify accept payments smoothly, thanks to its single payments platform built from scratch.

(Unlike its competitors, who offer a mishmash of different technologies and tools and acquisitions all stuck together in a pretty awkward and inefficient way).

And yes… I might be biased, since Adyen is one of my top holdings.

But it feels like a strong, long-term pick for her portfolio.

🔎 Alphabet - Greedy when others are fearful?

Andreea also added £200 to her existing investment in Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL).

By investing in Alphabet,  investors get exposure to Google Search, YouTube, and Google Cloud - three incredible businesses (and more!).

All at a valuation that’s cheaper than the broader market.

Alphabet’s shares have since taken a hit over fears that AI search (i.e. ChatGPT) could be taking away from Google’s core business…

Whilst that might happen, I think these risks are fairly well accounted for in the pretty cheap stock price.

🧘‍♀️ Global Pie: calm in the chaos

It’s been a pretty full-on start to the year in the market, so Andreea continued to top up her Global Pie to provide a bit more stability in a sea of uncertainty.

She invested £300 into it, keeping her long-term plan on track: consistent monthly investing into diversified global funds.

By the way, all these investments were made through our Trading 212 Stocks ISAs.

Trading 212 is the investment platform that we’ve trusted with our Stocks and Shares ISAs since we started investing.

That is because they have some of the lowest fees in the industry and a great app.

You can use this link or code SNSBONUS to get free fractional shares up to £100 when you sign up to a “Stocks ISA” or “Invest” account and deposit £1.

This edition of the newsletter was brought to you in partnership with Trading 212. Please bear in mind that when investing, your capital is at risk and your investments may rise and fall. Terms and conditions apply to the referral offer.

Now, moving onto my investments.

🦉 I topped up on Duolingo, PayPal, Amazon, and The Trade Desk

• Duolingo (NASDAQ: DUOL) - A small £100 top-up this fast-growing young company that continues to defy expectations.

• PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) - Another £100 top-up, as the company starts to show promising signs that its turnaround is working.

• Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) - A £250 addition as profits continue to rise, and I don’t think the market appreciates just how efficient this business is becoming.

• The Trade Desk (NASDAQ: TTD) - A £250 addition, meaning I’ve added well over £2,000 to this investment over the past couple of months. Despite missteps in February, I still think this is one of the best long-term investments around.

  
  

🐶 Who’s a good Datadog?

My largest investment this month was adding £300 to my existing (albeit small) investment in Datadog (NASDAQ: DDOG).

Datadog helps businesses monitor their apps and systems in real time.

The company’s land and expand strategy is simple but powerful

Land a customer, then keep adding tools they’ll actually want to use.

That’s exactly what has driven Datadog’s rapid growth over the years!

I hope you found this newsletter helpful and interesting - if you did, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts!

A big thanks to Trading 212 for sponsoring this edition of the newsletter.

Remember to code SNSBONUS to get free fractional shares up to £100 when you sign up to a “Stocks ISA” or “Invest” account and deposit £1

If you want to see our newsletter archive or recommend our newsletter to a friend, you can send them this link: https://www.stocksandsavings.com/newsletter

Please know that this is not financial advice, this is for educational purposes only. When investing, your capital is at risk and your investments can rise and fall.

Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you again next week!

- Andreea & Jamie