Smarter Investment Ideas

How to overcome fear

without trying to avoid it

Fear of freefall

How to overcome fear

without trying to avoid it

If you google ‘How to overcome fear?’ you’ll find c. 250 million results… and that’s quite a lot of stuff to read 😉 What’s interesting though, is that there are three times as many Google results (750 million) on the question of ‘How to avoid fear?’ So, when you get fearful about certain matters, as…

The myth of stability and certainty

And the truth about various economic schools of thought

Minsky. Stability to Instability. Paul Claireaux

The myth of stability and certainty

And the truth about various economic schools of thought

Whatever your interest (or leaning) in politics, and unless you’re very young, you surely can’t have missed Theresa May’s promise of stability and certainty in the run up to the messy 2017 UK election.

CAPE of good hope

A powerful tool for investors to value markets

Cape of good hope

CAPE of good hope

A powerful tool for investors to value markets

Yes, that picture is of the Cape – of good hope, just outside Cape Town in South Africa. I was lucky enough to get down there in 2016 to visit my son who was completing his medical studies in Cape Town Hospital.  If you get the chance, do visit Cape Town at some point; the…

Why you need balanced views when investing

and where you can find more of those

Why you need balanced ideas on investment risk

Why you need balanced views when investing

and where you can find more of those

In this Insight, I’ll talk about where you might find more balanced views when investing your money in stock markets. The above video covers a lot of what’s in this Insight. So, if you prefer that format, watch that. Images in the video used under a Creative Commons License listed with attributions here

How to test your investment adviser

Before it's too late

Mencken. Clear, Simple & Wrong. Paul Claireaux

How to test your investment adviser

Before it's too late

This Insight will equip you to test your investment adviser about your expected investment returns. If you think this is useful guidance and you want to help me stop the spread of misleading information from parts of the multi-trillion pound (dollar) investment industry, then please share:-)

Investment risk bubbles are everywhere

But, incredibly, not all the experts believe they exist

bubbles everywhere

Investment risk bubbles are everywhere

But, incredibly, not all the experts believe they exist

Hey guys, I’ve just (October 2020) updated some parts of this long post on investment risks. The last time I updated it properly, was in February 2018. I may update it again, at some point, when something significant changes. For now (October 2020) my message is simply this: The risks in markets are getting higher

Can you help spread betting Joe?

Or any of your friends from getting sucked into this hideous gambling activity?

Joe and Naomi

Can you help spread betting Joe?

Or any of your friends from getting sucked into this hideous gambling activity?

Updated following the tragic recent death of ‘day trader’ Alex Kearns. This Insight is aimed at helping anyone (like my fictional character Joe, in the story below) to understand the real and horrendous risks of spread betting before it’s too late. Please share with your friends.

A story about a banker and his standard deviations

and the lesson it offers on Investment Risk

No golden rules, Shaw

A story about a banker and his standard deviations

and the lesson it offers on Investment Risk

If you’ve not yet heard this true story of the Investment Banker and his standard deviations, read on. This ludicrous but funny story might just help you remember one of the most important things about investment risk – and it’s this. The model the ‘experts’ use is wrong!