Ask most private investors about their opinion of investing in small companies and they will happily tell you that ‘investing in small caps exposes investors to an information mismatch which enables outperformance’. The idea is a simple one. Big funds with professional analysts have too much capital to deploy to worry about investing in companies […]
Anyone with half an eye on financial markets will have seen the headlines about Silicon Valley Bank becoming insolvent over the last few days. The situation is rapidly escalating and with it the entire financial press and half of my financial contacts have become consumed by producing coverage. I am joining them. In this article,
As we leave 2022 behind, it’s traditional for many of us to review our performance over the last twelve months. I thoroughly enjoy reading these reviews and as usual there has been a wide spread of results across the board. A small number of investors I follow managed to turn a profit, my 11% loss
Another year draws to a close and 2023 begins. After an incredibly successful 2021, I ended this year with my portfolio down 11% – my first ever loss in a year of rampant inflation, an energy crisis, the start of the Ukrainian war, routing stock markets and the collapse of tech, crypto and growth shares.
It feels like a constant mantra when I sit to write a new article but I hardly know where to start this week. So much has happened that I feel as though I could almost write an article a day and still struggle to keep up with events. Rather than try to dissect all the
Well, we’re having quite a year aren’t we? UK inflation is now comfortably over 10%, the Bank of England base rate is at 2.25%, the FTSE250 is at 17,250, we’ve had three Prime Ministers, four Chancellors, COVID is still floating around, the war in Ukraine is still grinding on, the pound has fallen further against
The death of my Grandmother has been a moment of deep personal sadness for both myself and my family. I have been deeply touched by the many kind messages of support from friends around the world that have contacted us to share their condolences. The past few weeks have been a period of mourning for
After publishing my 2022 Half Year Review, I was contacted by a reader asking whether I could provide further insight into my trade decisions. Although I responded positively, I decided that I needed to include a more detailed caveat around releasing the information. Firstly, the information in this article is in no way guaranteed for
Six months into 2022 and like most private investors I’m finding the markets increasingly challenging to handle. After 2021’s fantastic returns of 24% my portfolio is currently down around 10% year-to-date. That gives me a truly wonderful feeling considering inflation is running at 10% – meaning that I’ve effectively lost all my gains from last
A recent scroll through my Twitter feed uncovered one of two responses to the recent market volatility. Firstly, that the world is ending, we’re all doomed and accordingly that someone’s portfolio has been smashed to smithereens. Alternatively, that this is all temporary, that anyone urging caution is an idiot, and that investors really ought to
Last week, I was invited to guest star on the Twin Petes Investing Podcast Episode 73, starring alongside my good friend Peter Higgins and acting as a temporary stand-in for the missing Pete “WheelieDealer” due to health problems. The episode was an absolute delight to film, and despite having relatively little warning of the invitation,
Guest Starring on the Twin Petes Investing Podcast! Read More »
One of the most common statements I hear from fellow investors is the idea that they are ‘long-term’ investors and that short-term price fluctuations do not concern them. In today’s blog, I want to unpack the idea of what it means to be a long-term investor and consider some of the challenges and benefits that
A few years ago, I wrote an article about the importance of financial literacy and education. At the time, I listed a number of sources such as podcasts as being key to my own self-directed programme of education. Today, I want to write about one of my favourite sources, both from an enjoyment and education
For the first time in a while, I picked up a paper copy of the Financial Times this weekend. Although I’m a regular reader of the paper, I tend to consume the digital copy more than the paper version these days and it was quite a decadent treat to enjoy leafing through the original format.
Blimey. Well, I don’t know if crazy is the right word for it but if you’d told me back in 2019 that over the next two years I would face a multi-year global pandemic, a stock market rout, a six month recovery following by ever more rich valuations, then a collapse of global supply chains,
