The holiday conversation finance pros dread: Which stocks should I buy?

• People who work in finance get a lot of requests for investing advice from family around the holidays.
• Many encounter the same dreaded question from relatives every year.
• "What's a good stock pick?" is a request industry pros tell Business Insider is the most irritating.

For finance professionals, the holidays bring festive cheer and optimism for the new year that we all enjoy. For them, it also brings requests for investing advice and stock picks that sources tell Business Insider they'd rather not have to deal with.

For many investors, advisors, and others who navigate markets for a living, seeing their relatives during the holiday season often means being asked the same question: What stocks should I buy?

There's no easy answer, as the stock market is unpredictable and everyone has different risk tolerance, investment horizons, and goals.

Colin Sahagun, the founder and CEO of Stelrix, a fintech startup that recently launched an investment-backed spending card, says the question often amounts to, "How do I get rich quick?"

"Every year, someone asks, 'Tell me the next 20 high-growth stocks I should buy,'" he recalls. "I will have older relatives asking for 'the next Oklo under 10 dollars' or 'the next Vertiv at fourteen.' They want moonshot ideas and total reassurance at the same time."

Oklo and Vertiv are two stocks that have enjoyed big runs in 2025. Vertiv has jumped 44%, while Oklo is up a whopping 280%.

Steven Rick, chief economist at financial services firm TruStage, says he's routinely asked for the next hot stock when visiting family for the holidays.

He notes that a common question is something like: "Why didn't you tell me to buy Nvidia stock two years ago?"

"This is annoying because 'hindsight bias' occurs when family members perceive a past massive rise in a stock price as more predictable than it actually was."

Anthony Rasotto, CEO of wealth management firm ARC Wealth, echoed that sentiment, adding that requests for advice on the direction of the market are among the most irritating.

"The most annoying question is, 'Which way is the market going in the next few months?' It's usually from an uncle near or at retirement," he said. "I always answer: 'I don't know.' If I could predict the market, I wouldn't need to work at all."

People who work in crytpo also get bombared for advice at the holidays. Adrian Fritz, CIO of digital asset brokerage platform 21Shares, told Business Insider that while he's often asked about the best time to buy bitcoin, he's sometimes asked to name the best asset to buy in the coming year.

"It assumes there's a single 'best' asset for everyone, as if I've been hiding a secret Christmas stock pick all year waiting to unveil it at dinner," he said. "The reality is a lot less cinematic: good investing depends on personal circumstances, not holiday fortune-telling."

Finance pros stress that there is never a clear answer to the annoying stock market questions they receive from relatives. Anthony Termini, a former hedge fund CIO turned investment analyst and commentator, highlighted why many people don't want to discuss these topics in depth.

"The answer is always, 'who knows?'" he said. "More importantly, who cares? Whatever the answer is, it may never be an asset class or security that is appropriate or suitable."