In doing some research this past week, I came upon a thread encouraging readers to talk about their worst investment or stock trade they’ve ever been a part of. It was a fascinating read that reminded me of the one thing that most people don’t feel like talking about. And that is that everybody has losing investments. Everybody. Even the pros. I shared my worst trade on that thread and, in the spirit of having a little fun, I figure I’d share the story here as well!

Around 1999 or 2000, right as the tech bubble was peaking, I bought stock in Internet Capital Group. It is (or was, the company has since transformed into cloud technology company Actua) a venture capital firm for internet startups. I bought the stock right after an analyst upgrade at around $117. Like most tech stocks, the price rose rapidly and, within a few weeks, the stock hit an all-time high of $212. Being young and stupid (and believing at the time that everything was going to continue going higher), I hung on. Of course, the tech bubble burst not too long after as people began realizing that many of these stocks were getting bid up to ridiculous valuations despite having questionable business models and little revenue. Still, I continued to hold on to ICGE for no good reason, and eventually sold some time later for around $45.

Why am I sharing this? Because losses happen. While it was painful seeing a significant gain turn into a significant loss, it taught me to always have a reason for buying or selling something. And also to have a plan for if something goes wrong. Today, there’s no way I’d hang on to a falling knife for that long, so, in that sense, it’s made me a better trader and investor. Losing investments are painful to acknowledge but they make for great learning experiences. If you’ve had a big loser over the years, I’d love to hear about it. I promise that everyone has such a story!

On a brighter note, here are the four ETFs that I’ll be keeping an eye on this week.