THE BLOG

Wealth Audit

Lessons from Silicon Valley Bank’s demise

Our latest blog examines the news about Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) this week. It covers the causes of its demise, resolutions both here and in the US, and most importantly, lessons we can draw. Diversification of large cash holdings is essential. Fortunately, at a portfolio level, SVB represents only around 0.03% in a global index.

Five lessons from a legend

In anyone’s eyes, Warren Buffett is a highly successful investor. Paradoxically, his legendary status as an active investor provides some useful lessons in support of adopting a systematic, low-cost approach to investing.

Avoid predicting the unpredictable

Each year, investors face a barrage of commentary and speculation from the financial press about which stock, sector or country is set to do well in the coming months. We discuss the validity of some of these forecasts using the classic investment ‘patchwork quilt’ chart and sector returns in the last decade.

Missing the best days in the market

Timing markets is hard work. The temptation to avoid falls is strong when we look at the relatively recent examples of the COVID crash (March 2020), the global financial crisis (2007-08) and the dot com boom (2000-02). On the flipside, in this blog we look at the huge impact of missing the best investing days on longer term outcomes.

The error of reacting to market falls

This blog shows that in any year both equity and bond markets fall from their intra-year highs, sometimes materially. But to react to this information, either by trying to time movements or simply reacting to these falls, risks missing out on the returns that markets deliver.

Got ‘Enough’ to Retire?

In this short film we explain 5 key steps to take to prepare for retirement & achieve Retirement rule No 1, which is: ‘Don’t run out of money!’

Value – worth waiting for

We explain how the tilt to value stocks, as found in our portfolios, has performed relatively strongly over the past two years, rewarding the patience and discipline of investors for holding this risk factor.

Expected outcomes

This short blog focuses on the topic of expected returns, the due care that should come with interpreting them, and help with understanding their role in the financial planning process

In defence of democracies, markets and the media

It is sometimes easy to miss the positive aspects of the society we live in due to the noise of day-to-day events.

Our latest blog is a reminder that at least we live in a society where we are free to express our views, where markets work and the media – however annoying it can sometimes be – helps to hold our politicians’ feet to the fire.