20%

I max my 401k and IRA every year and put those in the best low cost funds available (my employer’s 401k unfortunately does not have any S&P 500 indexed choices). Those should be more than enough to cover my costs in retirement.

Anything I invest beyond that, I pick individual stocks because I enjoy it. I am still fairly conservative in my picks though. For tech stocks, I lean blue chip, investing in companies with high margins, cash reserves, and a moat (think MSFT and AAPL). I invested a few grand in a random mining company I never heard of before reading a WSB post (Vale), but it worked out well. Among other things, it mines nickel, so the stock has tended to rise whenever there is good news for EVs.

I’m happy if my individual stock picks average more than 1% annually, because that’s what I would be gaining if I parked this extra money into a HYSA or bonds.