159. Everlaastia
Everlaastia brings valuable expertise and input to the Forum on topics where few here have in-depth knowledge—often, even I haven’t known much of anything about the subjects or companies he discusses beforehand.
The value of his contribution is enhanced by the fact that his posts are comprehensive, carefully written, and well-reasoned. Furthermore, it’s a huge plus that he often includes clear sources from which the information was gathered, along with other good background information.
The topics and companies he writes about can be challenging for many to grasp, but thanks to his clear writings, many of us have had the opportunity to become more educated. Without his contribution, the discussion in these fields would be considerably more modest. 
1. Describe who you are in fifty words.
I am a family-oriented man approaching middle age with a sense of humor. My family includes a wife, a small child, and dogs. We live in our own peace and quiet, which suits our family’s style very well. I have a technical background and work in an industry that strongly touches upon the national defense sector. As a person, I am perhaps more of a “jack of all trades, but master of none” type, and I try to use this trait to my advantage both in my career and in life in general.
2. Name three things that few people know about you.
Animals and nature are really important to me.
I am an absolute horrible singer. Despite that, I once earned 3 beers at karaoke when I sang Juice’s song “Norjalainen villapaita” to an elderly lady at her request.
I can eat an insane amount of food.
3. What interests and hobbies do you have besides investing?
I exercise regularly, spend time in nature, and try to read books a bit. I am blessed with a curious mind, so I have several other interests. I love cars and that world, and I also have a great interest in history and the wonders of the world. In addition, space fascinates me on many levels.
4. What is a normal weekday like for you?
I wake up to the sunshine feeling well-rested, then drink a soy latte, do yoga, and am in a harmonious and productive state of mind. The truth is, of course, completely different. I live a family-with-children chaos, to which a rather demanding and irregular job brings its own additional challenges. Normal everyday life requires flexibility from the family, and I have to think a bit about how I spend my time.
Despite this, I strive to exercise every day, spend quality time with the family, and do certain routines related to investing. That’s the basic framework of my day.
5. What kind of an investor are you?
I am a long-term owner. I make purchases and sales quite rarely and genuinely give the company time to develop. I handle trading using leveraged instruments. This prevents me from turning from a swing trader into a bagholder.
6. What is your investment history like?
I have a dirty history in this regard, meaning I started fund saving in the last decade. In addition, I previously owned a hobby car for investment purposes, which brought good financial returns and an unbelievable amount of great experiences and cherished memories. Empowered by these experiences, I set off bare-chested toward stock picking and tax-loss selling.
7. What kind of a portfolio do you have? How have you thought about the diversification of your investments?
I think of it this way: my portfolio is a constellation of various companies related to sectors that I understand myself. What the companies have in common is that I see them as being relevant companies in the future as well. I don’t take companies into my portfolio whose future I think is foggy for one reason or another.
Diversification in my portfolio comes from striving to pick companies sector by sector and staggering my purchases over time. I don’t go all-in in a short period. However, the diversification of my portfolio is quite limited, as I only buy from sectors where I understand at least something, and I keep the number of companies quite limited. So I don’t buy sectors or companies that I don’t understand. I manage risks through position sizes, and I have my own system for determining these.
8. What are the last two stocks you bought for your portfolio? Explain your reasoning for stock sales.
Rocket Lab and SoFi Tech.
I only sell if a company has driven itself into a FUBAR state and I recognize it. Another reason for sales is if I want to reshuffle my portfolio, which I don’t do very often. The last time I did this was when I sold my Palantirs and diversified into, among others, Rocket Lab, Hims, and SoFi. However, I try to keep winning horses running, so I avoid selling on the first +70% upward surge.
9. What does your stock-picking process normally look like step by step?
I have my radar on all the time. When I stumble upon an interesting company, I research it lightly for several weeks through various channels. So I monitor from the sidelines what various social media pumpers and influencers are writing about the company and its owner/CEO. If I see reason to proceed, I start breaking down the company’s earning power and future prospects. I strive to get at least some kind of picture of when the company will start making a profit and what its growth prospects are. After these, I consider whether I want to invest in the company and if it actually fits my own portfolio. The vast majority of companies do not pass this threshold.
Once I have taken an initial position, that’s when the deeper investigative work begins. I examine more closely what kind of management the company actually has, and I dissect quarterly reports in more detail. Based on this work, I make a decision on possible additional purchases, what size position I will allocate to the company, and in what timeframe I want to make the purchases.
10. What has been your best memory in investing?
Realizing that investing is possible for everyone.
**11. Name your three best traits as an investor, and also tell what your biggest area for improvement as an investor would be.**As an investor, my strengths are long-termism, patience, and the ability to control my emotions. My biggest area for improvement is that my mind should be even more open to all investment targets.
12. Tell us about these companies as an investment target in 100 words.
- Hexagon Purus AS
It has been a bad investment. Right now, the company is starting to see light at the end of the tunnel, but the risk/reward ratio is still quite poor. The company has made the same mistakes that other Norwegian new energy companies have made. Meaning it perhaps spread its resources too thin across different technologies and cannot finalize deals with sufficient certainty. However, the company’s operations have been steered toward a level where current demand growth will achieve a profitable level in the short to medium term. Risk is brought by the battery side of development. It is pure US business, and the journey of battery trucks looks weak there. In practice, they are still pilot-level projects and sales volumes amount to just a few trucks over the last 17 months. On the positive side, both hydrogen infrastructure (in H1/25 we were on the wrong side of the demand S-curve 
) and aerospace sectors continue to grow, the latter even faster than anticipated.
- Plug
Risk is on offer here as well, but with a better return expectation. The company has worked hard to drive down costs, and by all accounts, it has succeeded. The electrolyzer sector is growing strongly and currently looks extremely promising. The fuel cell sector has also returned to a growth track. The simultaneous growth of these two sectors could harbor the potential for a small-scale surprise. In the long run, I expect all sectors to become profitable, which in turn provides a strong foundation for the company to operate on.
Risks are created by political winds. Trump has canceled billion-dollar corporate subsidies from the clean energy sector. On the other hand, that spending cannot continue because the growth of energy consumption in the US is also drastic. In Europe, regulation and bureaucracy are very slow, although the latest low-carbon hydrogen law passed a couple of days ago. In addition, risk is increased by the fact that the company may still need to raise cash. That is worth keeping in mind.
13. Which energy technologies do you currently see as the most significant drivers of the transition — and where is the greatest potential for surprises?
Renewable electricity is genuinely scaling up, and it is a major driver. I think the greatest potential for surprises lies in the fuel cell and electrolyzer sectors. Natural gas-powered fuel cells are likely to be a hot topic over the next year.
14. Are there technologies that you consider overhyped or whose commercialization is still years away, even though they receive a lot of attention?
Zero-emission trucks still face major challenges; they still require extensive purchase subsidies and investments in infrastructure. The situation in the US is even more challenging than in Europe. South Korea and Japan are also problematic, but things are certainly being promoted there as well. For example, Hino released Japan’s first commercial hydrogen truck last month.
15. What do you think is the biggest misconception investors have about the hydrogen sector?
That it is a waste of energy.
16. What are your most important sources of information in these “fields of yours”? Mention at least five with justifications.
1. Financial Times
- Brings realism to the situation
2. Hydrogen Europe on LinkedIn
- Reports well on the European hydrogen situation regarding bureaucracy
3. H2 views
- Creates an overview of project and technology progress
- Great for finding news on where the defense sector is heading
5. Driving hydrogen
- Focused on the implementation of hydrogen in road transport.
17. Why do you pick stocks yourself, why not just buy “ordinary low-fee funds?”
Three reasons why I pick companies for my portfolio myself. I see it this way: life is a journey, and investing is a skill on that journey that I want to learn and master. In my opinion, learning new things and continuously using one’s own brain are essential parts of investing—thinking is humanity’s greatest gift. The second reason is that I want to control my own life; I want to decide for myself what companies are found in my portfolio. The third reason is high goals.
Of course, funds would probably make you more money ;(`
18. Do you have monetary and/or percentage goals in investing? How have you enjoyed the wealth brought by investing?
The annual goal is a double-digit return. Right now, when the portfolio’s YTD is +34%, it’s easy to boast, but it is indeed a big challenge with all its ups and downs. In any case, I believe that a person must have goals to get things done. My ultimate goal is to be a gentleman of leisure.
Growing wealth has brought peace of mind, and I enjoy that every day. More concretely, it shows in the fact that we can live and enjoy the present moment without the worry that it would be at the expense of the future—the portfolio chugs along in the background doing its own thing. As a family, we live precisely as we have dreamed. It’s an important thing to also remember to live in the moment. I have tried to avoid turning into a miser, which is certainly not easy.
19. A novice knows nothing about the energy sector, but would like to understand why hydrogen and the energy transition can be a big investment theme — how would you explain it simply?
According to Kardashev’s scale, civilizations can be divided into different levels based on their energy consumption. Moving to the next level requires much more energy than before. We are now facing such a leap because AI requires so much energy. Tainter’s theory of complex societies supports this anticipated growth in energy demand.
In short, the need for energy is growing.
**20. What would you especially like to thank Inderes and its Forum for?**For intelligent and high-quality dialogue. There are a lot of smart folks hanging around the forum who do great work for the benefit of Finnish investors. That has to be appreciated, because it requires time and effort from those who do it, and benefits the rest of us writing-challenged individuals.
Thanks for the thought-provoking replies!
There are a great many excellent contributors here who bring valuable input for other investors, even from fields that very few people understand. It is admirable that some are willing to go to such great lengths for the joy and benefit of fellow investors (I can throw out gut feelings, but nothing like what these folks do). Often, it is really difficult to put together a comprehensive picture of a completely foreign topic… meaning even a “basic level” view + understanding, but fortunately we have Everlaast and company – a special thanks to all of you!
Thanks everyone and have a great rest of Sunday! 