One million pounds is a lot of money. It’s more than enough for most people to retire on, and becoming a millionaire remains a long-term dream for many. That’s why I’ve chosen one million pounds as the new long-term goal for my defensive value … [Read more...] about My journey to a million pound portfolio
Investment strategy
Some more questions to help you avoid yield traps
Last month I outlined six questions designed to help investors avoid potential yield traps. This month I’ll cover four more. These four questions, plus the six from last month, look for a variety of warning signs including: bad management … [Read more...] about Some more questions to help you avoid yield traps
How many defensive shares should you hold?
If you’re a relatively defensive investor like me, you probably like to have a decent number of defensive shares in your portfolio. But what number should that be? Or more correctly, what proportion of your portfolio should be invested in … [Read more...] about How many defensive shares should you hold?
6 Questions to help you avoid yield traps
As a dividend-focused investor I’m always on the lookout for high yield shares, whether that yield is high relative to the market average or high relative to the company’s peers. However, as most yield-seeking investors soon discover, high yield … [Read more...] about 6 Questions to help you avoid yield traps
Regular investments: How I add new money to existing shareholdings
Most investors make regular investments into their portfolios as they work towards retirement. But what’s the best way to do that? Should new money be used to buy more holdings or to top up existing holdings? And if it’s going to be used to top … [Read more...] about Regular investments: How I add new money to existing shareholdings
Should you sell your shares when a company starts to underperform?
At some point you’re going to buy shares in a company and then that company’s is going to issue a profit warning, stop growing or perhaps even cut its dividend. The question then is: What to do next? You have three main choices: Buy more … [Read more...] about Should you sell your shares when a company starts to underperform?
IG Group plc still looks cheap despite recent gains
IG Group is a world leader in online foreign exchange (forex) trading, spread betting and CFDs (contracts for difference) and it’s a stock I’ve owned for about two years. I bought into the company at 603p in 2014 and since then the shares have … [Read more...] about IG Group plc still looks cheap despite recent gains
My secret investment plan for surviving and thriving after Brexit
So far I have managed to stay completely silent on the topic of Brexit, at least on this blog. However, I have been asked many times if I have a secret investment plan for surviving and even thriving in the event that the UK voted to leave the … [Read more...] about My secret investment plan for surviving and thriving after Brexit
The capital cycle is something every investor should be aware of
In common with many value investors, I spend most of my time analysing individual companies and very little time thinking about the economy or economic cycles. I now realise that this is a mistake and that being aware of economic cycles, and the … [Read more...] about The capital cycle is something every investor should be aware of
Looking for companies with a durable competitive advantage
Today's blog post is an excerpt from my new book, The Defensive Value Investor, outlining how I analyse companies to see whether they have any durable competitive advantages or not: Competitive advantages can make a company more profitable than … [Read more...] about Looking for companies with a durable competitive advantage