Fundamentals Orientated Investing

Investing for Growth

“Investing for Growth” is a recently published book by Terry Smith, the founder of the Fundsmith fund management company. Anyone who has invested in his Fundsmith Equity Fund, as I first did 7 years ago, will find the book to be simply a refresher on the principles Terry Smith first laid down and has stuck to ever since. That can be summarised as “buy good companies, don't overpay and do nothing” – the latter meaning don’t over-trade. The book consists of a ...

Business Perspective Investing – Why Financial Numbers Are Not Important When Picking Shares

Roger Lawson, is an active private investor who has made important contributions to the cause of private investment through his involvement with both UKSA and ShareSoc.  He is also pugnacious, stubbornly pursuing a good number of important campaigns over the years, including on the disenfranchisement of investors in nominee accounts and on the failures at RBOS, Lloyds Bank and others.  He writes interesting and topical blogs (https://roliscon.blog*) on investment matters and is himself a successful investor. All this means that he ...

Business Perspective Investing – Why Financial Numbers Are Not Important When Picking Shares

153 pages. Paperback £13.25, Kindle £9.95. Roger Lawson has recently published a new book, Business Perspective Investing - Why Financial Numbers Are Not Important When Picking Shares. In it, he argues that financial ratios are not the most important thing to look at when selecting shares for investment.  More information on the book is available at https://www.roliscon.com/business-perspective-investing.html There are some principles explained in that book that helped Roger to avoid investing in Burford, in Quindell, in Carillion, in Silverdell and many other businesses with dubious ...

Selecting Shares That Perform: 10 Ways to Beat the Stock Market

320 pages, Paperback £21.99 (Amazon) This book was originally written by Richard Koch and published in 1994. It was updated in 2009 when Leo Gough was added to the authors. The first few sections of the book give some general background on the stock market, the problem of volatility and what advantages individual investors might have. The chapter on “Rules to stop you losing” is particularly good and useful for the inexperienced investor. Here are some of them: “Never buy on tips”, “Do not ...

Exchange Traded Funds: A Concise Guide to ETFs

Harriman House, £20.99 from the publisher (RRP £34.99). This is another of Harriman House's admirably clear guides for investors, written in this case by a financial editor on the latest generation of collective investments exchange traded index trackers. The first part of the book describes how ETFs work and puts their development into historic context. Their rapid growth (now over $1,000 billion worldwide) reflects their efficient tracking of indices, their liquidity and their low cost and their significant tax advantages in the US. Whilst positioned ...