Breaking the cycle with 'storage as king'? Memory chips become AI's core asset

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[Investor Story] A Tech Enthusiast's Memory Chip Gamble: All-In on 2x Long SanDisk ETF, Annual Return Over 500%!

From taking losses and exiting Tesla to conceding defeat and leaving stablecoins behind—after six years of investment ups and downs with mediocre returns, he went all-in on the memory sector this year, driving his returns up by over 500%. How did this aggressive investor, who claims he’s either fully in or completely out, turn his hand into a doubling play amid the stormy seas of the US stock market?

He never reduces positions or takes profit lightly. He firmly believes AI is rewriting the cyclical fate of the storage industry and has bet his entire net worth on the 2x leveraged long SanDisk ETF, targeting an $800 billion market cap.

This Investor Story features a tech enthusiast from Hangzhou@杭州吕布, sharing how heearned over 500% returns with just one 2x leveraged long ETF, and his most sincere advice for beginners.

1. Performance Reveal: Achieved over 500% return this year—core strategy is simply 'holding tight'

Q: Could you show fellow investors your performance this year? How did you achieve it?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: My return this year is around 500%+. I’ve been investing for about six years—I’ve done both private and public funds, but returns in previous years weren’t great. This year was truly explosive, and honestly, it boils down to just two words—Hold on to。

99.9% of my position is in $Tradr 2X Long SNDK Daily ETF (SNXX.US)$ . I bought in January and haven’t sold a single share since. The volatility in U.S. stocks during this period was extremely fierce—most people couldn’t hold on. If I had sold even three times along the way, it would’ve been very hard to achieve such a high return.This 500%+ return actually comes from compounding—it’s only possible by staying put.

Hangzhou Lü Bu’s Futubull account achieved annual returns exceeding 500%

2. Path to Profits: Picked the right stock after losses

Q: What was your investment experience like before?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: I started trading $Tesla (TSLA.US)$ , lost money, and couldn't hold on. Later, I looked into $Circle (CRCL.US)$ , that stablecoin—its IPO price jumped from around 50 to over 200, but then crashed hard, and I lost money again. There was also one other stock, $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ , which made a profit. Some losses, some gains—but none were significant.

So I realized two things:First, pick the right investment target; second, hold on to it.。

Q: When did you pick SanDisk? How did you trade it at the time?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: In January this year, when I bought in, $SanDisk (SNDK.US)$ it was trading above 200. I initially took a small position in the common stock to test the waters. The more I analyzed it, the more the thesis made sense—so I went all-in, buying both the common stock and a 2x leveraged long ETF to full capacity. Later, I gradually converted my common stock position into the 2x leveraged long ETF, eventually holding 99.9% in the 2x leveraged long ETF. .

Q: Why go all-in on a 2x leveraged long position? What makes you so confident placing such a heavy bet?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: Because I’m personally a tech enthusiast and have deep knowledge of the memory industry.

SanDisk was originally a cyclical product, but NVIDIA’s explosive growth and the AI boom have transformed its fundamentals—turning it intoa structural bull marketThat's it.Demand for HBM can currently meet only 50% of NVIDIA’s needs. Supply and demand dictate pricing, and with supply far below demand, prices will keep rising.

Looking further at the development of AI Agents—Agents require extended conversations, unlike before when interactions were just one-off queries. These long conversations constantly require SSDs to store intermediate data, and this demand is also severely undersupplied. This is bullish for SanDisk.

Additionally, SanDisk’s market cap was only around $100 billion at the time, while Micron’s had already reached $500 billion. A smaller market cap means higher elasticity and greater upside potential—and that’s exactly what I’m after.

Position details: 100% of my portfolio is concentrated in the 2x leveraged long ETF on SanDisk

III. Trading Rule: Either be fully out of the market or fully invested

Q: Did you rebalance your position during the holding period?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: No. I don’t like reducing positions, clearing positions, or adding positions. My strategy is:Either fully out of the market or fully invested.。My holdings have already multiplied several times—I’ll let compounding continue working for me.

Q: Under what circumstances would you exit the position?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: When SanDisk reaches a market cap of roughly $500 billion, I’ll reassess—checking whether the market trend remains strong. If it’s still strong, I’ll hold on. If it shows weakness or plunges sharply, I’ll exit, take a break, and re-enter later.In my view, it could reach $800 billion—I’ve got six months left until year-end.

Q: SanDisk has been quite volatile lately—have you adjusted your position?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: I haven’t made any adjustments. The pullbacks along the way are just profit-taking by winning traders—it’s normal to get shaken out like this. This is simply part of an upward-trending consolidation phase. The fundamental thesis hasn’t changed—the AI-driven demand for storage is structural, not short-term speculation.As long as the thesis remains intact, I won’t move. Many people get shaken out by this kind of volatility—and then never manage to get back in.

IV. Thoughts on Leverage: Why Choose 2x ETFs?

Q: Why choose a 2x leveraged long ETF?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: First,No interest payments required; Second,It won’t go to zero. Options involve many strike prices and expiration dates, and you can go long or short—many people, including myself, struggle to decide which option to buy. A 2x ETF is simple—if you’re bullish, just buy it; if your thesis holds, hold onto it.

I don’t even touch 3x leveraged ETFs because I’ve been wiped out before. 2x leverage is sufficient; combined with patience and holding, the compounding effect is very impressive.

I previously traded AMC during the theater short squeeze saga. I made $50,000 in one night, only to wake up the next morning and find my position wiped out. At the time, my total capital was just $50,000—I doubled it and then lost everything.

Q: Have you used other forms of leverage?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: Occasionally, I use Futubull’s unified buying power for short-term leverage. For example, if the market drops 10% today and the 2x leveraged long ETF falls 20%, I’ll go all-in using unified buying power, then immediately unwind that position the next day when it rebounds. Although I pay some interest, I lock in the profit. Futu earns a bit, and I earn even more—it’s a win-win. But I only do this during extreme market conditions and never carry the interest cost long-term.

5. Position Psychology: How to Trade Amid Extreme Volatility?

Q: What’s it like holding a 2x leveraged position—how do you handle the daily swings?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: It’s extremely grueling. I might lose $8,000 or even $10,000 in a single day—it really weighs on my mood. Sure, I feel happy when I gain $10,000, but dopamine is subject to diminishing returns—the first time I made $5,000 in a day, I was thrilled; later, even making $12,000 didn’t faze me much. Butthe pain of losing money never diminishes, and every loss genuinely hurts.

So don’t envy those boasting 500% returns—you haven’t endured their pain, and you might not be able to handle it.。

Q: What’s your stop-loss threshold?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: I’m aggressive—I can tolerate a 50% loss of principal, but probably not 60%.—At that point, you’ve already lost your rationality and might make poor decisions.

Q: Can people around you affect your judgment?

Hangzhou Lü Bu: Yes. I have a friend who bought leveraged long SanDisk at over 60, got stopped out at 85, and now can’t get back in. When the stock rose, he’d tell me how happy he was; when it fell, he’d come to me again. Over time, this really did affect my judgment. So I told them:Don’t come talk to me when the market is falling, because too many people talking about it will influence my trading. Every investor’s decisions may seem independent, but they actually carry social attributes and are influenced by those around them. You need to maintain your own stance—don’t send me negative energy. I only look at logic, not news sentiment.

6. Feature Recommendation: Auto Stock Lending for Passive Income, Unified Buying Power for Bottom-Fishing

Q: After using Futubull for so many years, which features do you find especially useful?

Hangzhou Lü Bu:Auto Stock LendingThis feature is excellent. I leave my shares there, and when someone wants to short and needs to borrow shares, I earn passive income split 50/50 with Futu. Many people don’t even know this feature exists—they’re missing out白白浪費了.

Unified purchasing powerUsing short-term leverage is very effective during extreme market conditions. When prices drop significantly, I go all-in; as soon as they rebound the next day, I immediately remove the leverage—paying some interest but securing the profit. This approach offers great flexibility.

Futubull provides a comprehensive market-watching experience,You can see profit percentages, how many investors are profitable, and institutional fund flows.。

7. Advice for beginners: Choose the right investment and hold it long-term

Q: What’s your top advice for fellow investors in the community who are new and considering entering the market?

Hangzhou Lü Bu:Don’t join if you can’t handle the psychological pressure.，Even if you join, you won’t be able to hold your positions. Specific advice:

1. Select your target investment and fully understand its underlying fundamentals.Don’t focus on news sentiment—look at the underlying logic: is it driven by supply shortages pushing prices up, or by speculation? If prices are rising due to genuine shortages, don’t fear high valuations; if it’s speculative, proceed with caution.

2. Only long-term holding delivers compound returns.You can only benefit from compounding through long-term holding. The interim volatility can be extremely painful, but you must endure it. 'Those afraid of high prices are destined to suffer.'—NVIDIA has risen so much, yet keeps climbing every day because holders aren’t willing to sell, and limited float means prices can only go higher.

3. Don’t envy others’ returns.High returns come with daily stress that most people can’t bear—the pain of losing $10,000 in a single day isn’t something everyone can withstand.

4. Preserving capital comes first.Always maintain a sense of respect for the market—protect your principal first, then consider profits. You can afford to be bold, but avoid taking on extremely high-risk positions.

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Disclaimer: The content of this article is compiled from an interview with @杭州吕布 by @牛友有料到 , and the images in the article are provided and authorized for use by @杭州吕布 . The case studies presented in this article are for reference purposes only and do not constitute any investment advice. Information in this article does not represent any recommendation regarding specific sectors or indicators. Any mention of individual stocks reflects the personal opinions of the user only, does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not represent Futu's position or professional advice. Past performance of individual stocks does not guarantee future results. The stock market involves risks; please invest with caution.

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