# Biggest Investing Mistakes of the Year & How to Avoid Them

An episode of [Earn Your Leisure](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1450211392), 10 Dec 2025, 6:50.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/8dbc4f54-a337-4481-9ef2-b355012b0a3d/8b40578c-6a59-428b-b81d-b3af01095938/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=eac4c628-29cb-469a-b5c8-b355012b0a48

In this insightful Market Mondays clip, Rashad Bilal, Ian Dunlap, and Troy Millings break down the most critical investing mistakes of the year and share powerful lessons for smarter investing going forward. Ian Dunlap highlights the missed opportunities during the market’s April run, emphasizing how not deploying capital during that crucial window was one of the biggest blunders. He reflects on the rare “guaranteed win” and urges viewers to always be ready to act when markets present powerful opportunities. Ian also advises investors and traders to hunt for the next big sector winner – naming quantum computing as a future disruptor and encouraging in-depth research to find groundbreaking companies for 2027 and beyond. Troy Millings echoes the importance of sticking to a disciplined plan, especially in times of market downtrends. He points out how ETFs and index funds soared for those who maintained their investments, and shares personal stories about leveraging ETF positions for significant gains in the semiconductor space. Troy’s experience with trades like XOXL and understanding the impact of ETF splits adds practical value for anyone looking to navigate stock and options trades with confidence. This clip also tackles the lessons learned from short market pullbacks, such as the November 5% dip, and how the uncertainty in sectors like AI technology can turn into profitable opportunities for those prepared to act. Plus, the team shares candid moments about overcoming losing trades and remaining steadfast in their long-term investment strategies. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned investor, this Market Mondays discussion will help you identify common mistakes, strategize for future wins, and learn from top minds in finance. Watch now to level up your investment approach, discover which sectors to watch, and take advantage of hidden market moments! *#MarketMondays #InvestingMistakes #StockMarket #ETFs #OptionsTrading #QuantumComputing #FinancialEducation #IanDunlap #RashadBilal #TroyMillings #InvestingTips #StockMarketNews #AIStocks #ETFInvesting #FinanceYouTube* See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:01] Speaker 1: This episode is brought to you by P and C Bank.
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[0:43] Speaker 2: Let's talk about what do you think the biggest investing
[0:47] Speaker 2: mistake of a year was? For me, it was two things.
[0:51] Speaker 2: Number One, anyone who missed out on that April run.
[0:56] Speaker 2: I don't know if you're ever going to have a
[0:59] Speaker 2: better opportunity, Like when I go back and look, because
[1:02] Speaker 2: that Friday I did a good day in New York.
[1:05] Speaker 2: Shots to them and they were like which stocks were bad?
[1:08] Speaker 2: To invest in them? Like all the qualities were great
[1:10] Speaker 2: boys at that time. For the first time in the
[1:12] Speaker 2: long maybe since COVID did you have such a chance
[1:15] Speaker 2: to almost have a guarantee win. So I think any
[1:20] Speaker 2: capital that you did not deploy in April when we
[1:23] Speaker 2: were screaming to buy is A is probably the biggest
[1:27] Speaker 2: mistake of the year.
[1:30] Speaker 3: I have that exact thing in my notes said not
[1:34] Speaker 3: taking advantage of the down trends. I started in January though,
[1:38] Speaker 3: when people felt, oh my gosh, what is happening and
[1:41] Speaker 3: video is not real? Here comes dec it's not real.
[1:45] Speaker 3: The whole AI thing isn't real. And we saw all
[1:48] Speaker 3: of these companies drop. That was the first one. Then
[1:53] Speaker 3: April got compounded with the quote unquote Liberation Day, and
[1:57] Speaker 3: then we had a class and it was like it
[1:58] Speaker 3: goes back to the original question of like stick to
[2:01] Speaker 3: the plan, because I remember in April when we had
[2:03] Speaker 3: the class, I'm like, look, let's just stick to the plan, right,
[2:05] Speaker 3: Let's let's find some indexes to invest in, let's find
[2:08] Speaker 3: some ETFs investing, and let's build from there. Right those
[2:12] Speaker 3: indexes and those ETFs are up two hundred three hundred
[2:15] Speaker 3: percent right now, easily.
[2:16] Speaker 1: Just because it was like we know what the plan is.
[2:18] Speaker 3: Oh, it's the moment that's happened, implement the plan, let's
[2:22] Speaker 3: watch it happen. Those are up three hundred percent. And
[2:23] Speaker 3: then you got the companies that were inside those ETFs
[2:26] Speaker 3: that were going to lead it to the AMDs of
[2:27] Speaker 3: the world, the nvideos of the world, MI crime so
[2:30] Speaker 3: the world. And so now you got the ETF running
[2:32] Speaker 3: and you got the individual equities. I actually did a
[2:35] Speaker 3: leverage ETF, was the first time I did that in
[2:37] Speaker 3: a semiconductors because I believed in the space so much.
[2:40] Speaker 3: That's up over nine hundred percent. Sticking to that plan,
[2:43] Speaker 3: but taking advantage of opportunities. What do we do in November? Right,
[2:47] Speaker 3: there was a five percent pullback last month. People were scared,
[2:50] Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, this AI thing is and it's only
[2:52] Speaker 3: five percent. Five percent pullback. Another opportunity, another opportunity. Somebody
[2:58] Speaker 3: shout to somebody in the chat. They said, yeah, SOXL
[3:00] Speaker 3: was at eight dollars. It was at eight dollars. I
[3:02] Speaker 3: bought a twenty eight dollars call. So imagine what that
[3:06] Speaker 3: looks like. Right, So it's about taking advantage of those moments.
[3:09] Speaker 3: When you see those moments happening, it's like, oh, you waited,
[3:11] Speaker 3: you waited, you waited. You waited here it is what
[3:14] Speaker 3: are you doing? You got the script, stick to it.
[3:18] Speaker 2: And the second mistake, if I can give one for
[3:20] Speaker 2: every investment trader, I think you need to hunt for
[3:23] Speaker 2: what the next sector is that is going to rise
[3:26] Speaker 2: outside of quantum like all of your investing prowess. We
[3:31] Speaker 2: have the gentleman from black Rock come on and he
[3:33] Speaker 2: kind of gave you, like the three tier plan. If
[3:36] Speaker 2: you're not spending all of your time figuring out which
[3:39] Speaker 2: company is going to boom next in twenty seven, you
[3:43] Speaker 2: are going to be sadly mistaken because now we're getting
[3:46] Speaker 2: into a space I don't know if we're ever go
[3:49] Speaker 2: back to when value investing is ever needed or popular again.
[3:54] Speaker 2: You need to hunt for the next company that will
[3:57] Speaker 2: have a meteoric rise, that are sustainable, that will be
[4:00] Speaker 2: life changing to the economy. And also too, they're going
[4:03] Speaker 2: to be a company that is currently dominating their sector
[4:06] Speaker 2: now in terms of market share and mind share. So
[4:10] Speaker 2: when we think of this chip race, we think in video,
[4:12] Speaker 2: and we think the smartphone, we think of Apple. You
[4:16] Speaker 2: need to search high and low for the next company
[4:19] Speaker 2: that is about to break out in twenty seven or
[4:21] Speaker 2: twenty eight for a long period of time.
[4:24] Speaker 3: Yeah, right, shout out to the chat. Yes, XLU spider
[4:27] Speaker 3: ticker ETF did split to the one. XLK also split
[4:30] Speaker 3: to the one. So yeah, so if you had one share,
[4:34] Speaker 3: that now turns into two shares. If you had ten shares,
[4:36] Speaker 3: now you have twenty, and that goes as well for
[4:39] Speaker 3: options contracts. If you had ten, now you have twenty.
[4:43] Speaker 3: So those two to one splitch just be mindful. I
[4:45] Speaker 3: know it was kind of weird when you open your
[4:47] Speaker 3: broker's account and you had an option and the contracts double,
[4:51] Speaker 3: but the money is like, you're down more than you
[4:53] Speaker 3: ever thought. It's just because the options they haven't adjusted.
[4:56] Speaker 3: The business ass haven't adjusted. Somebody act. Have I ever
[4:59] Speaker 3: had to lose in trade? Yeah? I've had to lose
[5:01] Speaker 3: in trade. I think I was on here.
[5:03] Speaker 1: I talked about CAPA.
[5:04] Speaker 3: And I talked about where my entry was and where
[5:06] Speaker 3: I was going to exit if it got to that point.
[5:08] Speaker 3: It got to that point and it's falling ever sense,
[5:10] Speaker 3: So yeah, I've had to lose in trade.
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