Several stocks are mentioned in this article. Some are no longer listed on ASX because they were acquired. Others may no longer be held by the expert due to changes in company valuation. This article does not consider the risks of each stock, only the expert’s experience in owning it.

Here are the seven experts and the first stock they bought. 

1. Felicity Thomas

Senior Private Wealth Adviser, Shaw and Partners

I bought Galaxy Resources [now known as Allkem – ASX: AKE] in 2007. At the time, I was excited by the emerging lithium story and growing demand for batteries, especially with the early rumblings around electric vehicles and energy storage. I saw lithium as a key ingredient in the future of clean energy and thought I was getting in ahead of the curve.

Looking back, it was a rollercoaster. Initially, there was much hype and excitement, but the company faced significant operational and funding challenges along the way. Although lithium did eventually become a massive growth story, Galaxy itself went through tough times before merging with Orocobre to form Allkem. The investment didn’t perform as I had hoped during my holding period, though the broader lithium sector did take off in later years.

I wish I’d understood the importance of timing in thematic investing. Just because you’re right on the theme doesn’t mean you’ll be right on the stock or the timing. I also wish I had done more diligence on the company’s balance sheet strength and management’s capability to execute, rather than just focus on the ‘big picture’ opportunity.

The biggest takeaway is that investing in emerging sectors like lithium or any other hot theme requires more than just spotting the trend. You must assess whether the company can actually survive long enough to benefit from that trend — things like management quality, project execution, funding risks, and realistic timelines are critical. Also, don’t underestimate the time it can take for a theme to play out — sometimes these stories take much longer than you expect.

2. Chris Brycki

Founder and CEO, Stockspot

I was 10 when I made my first share purchase, Savage Resources, in 1996. [Savage Resources, a coal mining company was delisted in 1999 after being taken over by Pasminco]. 

According to my investment diary I held Savage for five months and sold it for a 22.8% profit.

With a taste for trading, I entered the ASX Schools Share Game every year from 1999 to 2003, winning it three times against 40,000 students across Australia. The game ran for just eight weeks, and I quickly realised that to win, I needed to pick volatile stocks and trade aggressively. It wasn’t investing - it was speculation.

Years later, I came to understand that many of my early wins were purely luck. As a 10-year-old, I had no real advantage in predicting which stocks would rise or fall. Many first-time investors fall for the same costly illusion. Today, with professionals constantly scouring markets for opportunities, picking individual stocks can be an exercise largely dictated by luck, in my opinion. These days, I prefer investing in an Exchange-Trade Fund that tracks the entire market.

3. Elizabeth Tian

Director, Equity Derivatives, Global Markets, Citi

My first share purchase was BHP Group (ASX: BHP) in the early 2000s. I worked in equities research at the time and my then employer discussed China’s emerging demand for iron ore and other minerals in client presentations. The ‘China story’ in minerals wasn’t nearly as well-known back then as it is today, so I felt I was at the start of long-term trend of rising Chinese demand for Australian minerals.

I added to my BHP holding during the 2007-09 Global Financial Crisis and still hold it today. The stock fits my investment style of favouring long-term thematic trends benefiting from structural change. I prefer to look at long-term market cycles rather than focus on short-term trading or market momentum. 

Looking back, I’ve bought some good stocks over the years but have been far less successful at selling. I tend to buy large-cap stocks and have a ‘set-and-forget’ approach. I could have done better if I’d sold some stocks earlier.

4. Cameron Gleeson

Senior Investment Strategist, Betashares

In the early 1990s, I bought my first shares when I was 14 years old. My mum and her stockbroker helped me buy a modest amount of Mount Isa Mines shares [MIM Holdings delisted from ASX in 2003 following its acquisition by Xstrata].

I then sold the shares for an even more modest profit 10 months later. I can’t claim to have developed a deep understanding of the company or markets through the experience, but the realisation that you could make money without doing work or chores was a revelation at the time.

I remember each day checking The West Australian newspaper, flipping to the business section to see which stocks had gone up or down, and whether I had made a paper profit or loss on my MIM shareholding.

I was hooked by how dynamic the sharemarket appeared to be. But, over time, I came to realise my ability to generate alpha [an excess return over the market return] by picking single stocks was patchy at best, which led me to the Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) market.

5. Shani Jayamanne

Director, Investment Specialist, Morningstar

My first listed investment wasn’t my choice. In 2016, I worked at Perpetual (ASX: PPT) and received the company’s shares as a bonus. I considered it a success because I made a small profit, but in hindsight, it was pure luck. The real value came from the lessons I learned.

One important lesson was understanding what you’re invested in and why I made no effort to understand the underlying value of the business, or whether it was actually a good investment. Fluctuations in the share price always had me questioning when a good time was to sell. This is not the mindset of a successful, long-term investor. A successful, long-term investor goes into an investment with confidence in the future prospects of the company. They understand how an investment connects to their financial goals.

Morningstar’s Mind the Gap study found poor investor behaviour lowers returns by 1.6% per annum. Over the long term, this could be the difference between achieving your financial goals, or not. Investing isn’t just about picking investments. It’s about having the right mindset and discipline to stay invested for the long haul. Understanding how your investments connect to your financial goals increases the odds of you getting there.

6. Sebastian Evans

Chief investment officer, NAOS Asset Management

My first investment was Qantas Airways (ASX: QAN) in 1998. I bought Qantas because it’s an iconic Australian business that most Australians are aware of. As a child, Qantas resonated with me as one of Australia’s most successful and best-known organisations. It’s a business that I thought I understood at some level. 

Over the long term, Qantas has been a successful investment for me. But the company has had many trials and tribulations during the past 30 years, including the Asian Financial Crisis, sky-high oil prices in the mid 2000’s, balance sheet issues and industrial relations challenges. 

Qantas faces many variables that are often out of its control and therefore its ability to make a profit each year is not overly predictable, in NAOS’s opinion. Clearly, Qantas’s business model over time has changed with much of its valuation now associated with its frequent flyer business.

I wish I knew back then how highly capital-intensive businesses don’t always make great listed investments, especially those associated with assets that depreciate over a short period of time (like aircraft). Qantas has to keep reinvesting in the business to ensure that it can keep the service levels and customer offering up to a standard that its customers expect and will pay for. 

In hindsight, it’s important to make your first investment in a stock you can understand to a reasonable degree. This may not make it the best investment initially but in this case, Qantas allowed me to learn the difference between what may be considered a great and well-known business as opposed to a great investment. Over time, these subtle differences will become much more obvious. Many of the best investments I have made often share similar characteristics.

7. Arian Neiron

CEO, VanEck Australia

In the mid-1990s, I bought shares in Woolworths Group (ASX: WOW), convinced that groceries were a recession-proof necessity and also remembering that the company’s Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 1993 was the biggest in Australian history at the time, with a significant shareholder registry base. I thought: if so many people believed in Woolworths, surely the wisdom of the crowd would outweigh my ability [to pick stocks].

The timing was dumb luck. Australia’s retail sector was expanding, and the investment succeeded beyond my expectations – but not because of any investing edge or brilliance on my part. I sold my Woolworths for some speculative tech companies, which I ended up trading, losing most of my principal.

I wish I knew back then the virtue of investment patience. In my experience, the biggest returns came from holding, not trading. 

For new investors: invest in what you understand, let time do the heavy lifting and don’t mistake luck for genius. The market rewards conviction, but only if you stick around. Never underestimate the power of compounding or the critical importance of asset allocation and portfolio diversification.

Start Investing on the ASX website has information on the basics of share investing and is a useful starting place for those considering whether to buy shares for the first time.