Edward's Story

Before subscribing to Stockopedia I had run my own Stocks and Shares ISA by picking funds and investment trusts to try and provide a balanced portfolio. I aimed to mimic an adventurous-type pension fund which I was paying to be managed for me by a financial advisor. I thought I could probably do a similar job without the fees, and used info from my brokerage platform and free data sites.

I hadn't had the confidence to buy any individual shares prior to joining Stockopedia, but now have 20 in my portfolio. Being a complete novice, it has given me the confidence and information I needed to start investing in individual companies. I find the StockReports and particularly the Small Cap Value Report invaluable, and I appreciate other contributors' insights and experiences.

It's a bit early to say whether it has impacted my investment results after 6 months, although I find the information on Stockopedia has also helped with ETF and Investment Trust investments. I have a couple of shares up over 100% since purchase which is very encouraging and I wouldn’t have been aware of them without Stockopedia.

Regarding my quality of life, the main thing for me is that it has provided a new interest and outlet at quite a challenging time for all of us. It's amazing how the time can fly reading through the information on Stockopedia, and I have enjoyed the educational resources. With so much to learn, I am lucky to be in a position where I am still looking at investing as a fun pursuit rather than needing it to be financially supporting my lifestyle. I have made back my subscription already though!

I consider myself to be an investor just starting out! Reading the NAPS portfolio articles and understanding the principles was a great starting point. I also benefitted from the realisation that you need to try and balance a portfolio to offset risks. I particularly enjoy Edmund Shing’s contributions, his recent commentary on a fidelity study from 2003-2013 showing that the best performing investors were dead is a timely reminder that we are in this for the longer term.