How to tell if you’re a prudent investor or a reckless gambler

Gambling and investing are worlds apart. One could lose you all your money. The other is a slow and steady route to long-term wealth.  Yet telling the difference between the two is easier said than done. After all, both can involve holding shares in companies or trading other financial instruments. A new type of investment … Read more

THE PRUDENT INVESTOR: Why I’ve fallen back in love with my Isa

I have fallen in love with Isas all over again. For years, my Isa was the poor relation in my investment portfolio as I piled money into my pension to gain tax relief on contributions. But punitive recent tax changes have taken the gloss off pensions for anyone who saves hard and invests successfully. Those … Read more

PRUDENT INVESTOR: 10 golden rules for rookie investors

10 golden rules for rookie investors: The PRUDENT INVESTOR has seen it all over three decades of stock market ups and downs… here’s his top tips UK shares have halved twice since turn of the century – but each time recovered  Most investors hold too much money in the UK and too little in the … Read more

THE PRUDENT INVESTOR: Covid cost me, and I still fear a second wave 

Did you hold on through the roller-coaster ride? It has been a nerve-jangling few months since Covid-19 sent the stock market into a spin. At the time of deepest gloom, I produced figures showing how quickly share prices had rebounded after previous dips, and highlighting the risks of panic-selling. We’ve already had a healthy bounce-back, … Read more

THE PRUDENT INVESTOR: Why I long to take an axe to pension red tape

Doctors turning down overtime and taking early retirement because of insane pension regulations have grabbed attention in recent days. But as investors, we are all enmeshed in this tangled web. Chancellors, tax officials and Treasury bureaucrats, intent on preventing tax avoidance, have created a complex mess, with opaque rules and severe penalties awaiting those who … Read more