Defaults in the property development sector have shone a fresh light on the need to de-risk with good due diligence and having awareness of marketing tricks used on investors.  This article provides guidance on how investors can de-risk opportunities.  Before that, let’s recap and clarify how “volatility” is different to “permanent loss”…   Investment Risk…
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** Your Capital is at Risk **    This is not investment advice. Markets have been in correction mode, particularly since the start of April.   I wanted to update investors with my thoughts along with any potential action points – together with what I’m personally doing. What caused the volatility? With inflation remaining persistent, central…
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Long-standing readers will be aware of my views on inflation – i.e. how the official data is a joke.  Back when inflation was running at 2%-odd, I suggested baking in 7%.  With the official rate now reaching that level I still don’t believe it!   I’d say it’s safe to assume double-digits.   Wealth Leakage #3 of 3:  Inflation We previously…
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In a previous article we discussed how to avoid leaking your wealth to the taxman – for example, by simply using your annual ISA allowance to keep your investment gains tax-free-forever.  Tax is leakages #1 of 3. In this article, we cover Leakage #2 – Investment Fees.  Plugging this hole is fairly easy and will…
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Warren Buffett says “The stockmarket is a device for transferring wealth from the impatient to the patient”.  It sounds strange but sell-offs enable positive returns.  Without the occasional sell-off, everyone would invest all their money at once, meaning no marginal new buyers, meaning no upside.  So don’t be afraid of sell-offs.  When you embrace them, you increase your…
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2021 proved to be some year for investment performance.  We saw strong returns across most popular asset classes (see chart).  Very few people would have expected these types of returns, particularly following a reasonably strong 2020 … The risk warning to not rely on past performance to indicate future performance is as valid as ever. …
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The thought of inflation usually evokes anxieties about interest rates, higher cost of living, becoming worse-off or just general uncertainty.  These are all valid concerns but in economics and investing, you can often find beneficiaries amongst all the uncertainty.  Investors can turn pain into gain – as many on our Investment Academy programme have done…
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The post-Covid global recovery brings opportunities – and problems – as economies normalise.  The notable issues right now are shortages and inflation: prices of everyday items such as food, fuel, timber and energy have accelerated upwards.   This has reflected in official inflation data which is recording multi-year highs in the UK and around the world….
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September 2021.  This week, we began our latest Investment Academy with an initial  session around diversification of asset classes, compounding your returns and how to beat the inflation monster, amongst other things. During the Q&A session we had a lively discussion around equity valuations … which I thought would be useful to articulate further here….
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