Money-savvy teen who bought stocks at 14 and now drives a Tesla offers her best tips for getting started investing and reveals how she manages risk

A high school student is encouraging others to invest after making nearly six figures buying and selling stocks like Amazon and Tesla.

Sophia Castiblanco, now 17 years old, started making her own money through social media at just 14 years old, primarily producing lifestyle content.

Now she’s eager to share investment tips after her own success.

“I’ve always had an entrepreneurial mindset of wanting to make money and I’m very okay with taking risks,” Castiblanco said. FOX Business’ ‘The Big Money Show’.

Noticing her drive, the teen’s parents provided her with the funds to start investing.

They encouraged her to invest money in Vanguard and Berkshire Hathaway stocks to start building long-term wealth.

The teenager also chose to buy shares of some of her favorite companies: Tesla, Apple and Amazon.

Castiblanco eventually made nearly six-figure profits, enough to buy his own Tesla.

And he believes other teenagers can do it too. Regarding the appropriate age to invest, Castiblanco states that “there is no minimum age to start.”

“I think it’s important to realize that even if you only invest about $20 a month, or I mean a very small amount, you can still increase that amount over time,” he said.

However, Castiblanco advises teenagers to open custodial accounts in their parents’ names, and for good reason: Trading platforms like Robinhood require users to be at least 18 years old.

In one of his TikTok videos, he promotes the platform as an option for young investors.

“Don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert,” he says in the clip, which was posted earlier this year and has racked up almost half a million views.

In the video, he urges his peers to “keep learning and stay updated,” holding up a copy of Robert Kiyosaki’s “Rich Dad’s Guide to Investing.”

“Just start small, do your research, and remember that if I can do it, you can do it too,” he says.

While today, the home-schooled teen makes most of her income through brand deals on TikTok and ad revenue on YouTube, where she has 390,000 followers and 36,000 subscribers, respectively.

Speaking to FOX Business, the teenager suggested investing in index funds, which she considers her “best” approach to managing risk.

“That helps diversify the risk of investing more than if you just invested in individual stocks,” he said.

Castiblanco also encouraged potential investors to “be okay with stocks losing value.”

“I think it takes patience and perseverance to know that you’re taking a risk, but it’s worth it,” he said.

speaking to USA TODAYCastiblanco said he continues to focus on content creation, but also aims to dive into real estate and start his own business.

As for the new publicity surrounding her success, the 17-year-old said it has been “a positive experience.”

Of course, there are disadvantages, including mass hatred. One of Castiblanco’s most viewed videos is captioned “reacting to my hateful comments about owning a Tesla at 17.”

In that clip, Castiblanco reads comments from other Internet users that become increasingly aggressive.

In response to a comment that urges her to “shut up and stop using daddy’s money to buy things,” the teenager claims to have four sources of income that allow her to earn close to $100,000.

“Most of these comments come from adults,” he says.

“As if you’re telling me you have nothing better to do with your time than hate a 17-year-old girl who bought her own car?”

Although her online notoriety has raised some safety concerns, the teen has expressed gratitude for the “supportive community” she has built online.

This includes the thousands of visitors who continually flock to his TikTok page to watch “walk-through” videos filmed in his car and childhood bedroom.

“I have enjoyed being able to inspire other teenagers to invest and pursue their dreams,” Castiblanco said.