Jeremy's Story

Over the years I've tried various approaches with varying results. Previously I would classify myself as a stock picker. I would read investment publications for ideas. I also looked at technical trading books and even wrote my own software to create charts with moving averages and subscribed to a daily stockfeed back in the late ’90s early 2000s. I also read books by Jim Slater, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham etc. and tried modelling their approaches. However, having minimal accountancy knowledge, personal difficulty using alternative software and very limited time, I never had much confidence in my implementation of their models and the software at the time didn't allow backtesting.

Stockopedia was a breath of fresh air for me. By now I had a young daughter, I was in the process of changing profession from software developer to training to becoming an osteopath whilst still working as a developer with literally no spare time but with a realisation that I needed to do something about my pension that has got behind schedule. Stockopedia presented all the information in a clear and more understandable format, and also provided Guru Screens. For two or three years I remained out of the market but just played with creating fantasy portfolios when I had a few spare moments. Reading the various education articles from Stockopedia, I then got interested in the NAPS approach which suits my hectic lifestyle perfectly. So I ran my own NAPS-based fantasy portfolio for a couple of years with the odd difference here and there; I sat back, remained emotionally unattached, and watched and analysed the results.

I was so pleased and confident enough with my market-beating NAPS portfolio returns over a two-and-a-half-year period, that last autumn I consolidated my previous employer's pensions and invested in a SIPP where I use a NAPS-based approach with a few modifications. So far so good; despite recent market sentiment I'm still up overall. The educational articles from Stockopedia including the NAPS approach, Guide to Profit Warnings etc and StockRanks have made investing more mechanical and so far has largely removed personal sentiment.

It's too early to have made a change in the quality of my life, but my retirement in around 20 years if all goes to plan will be less stressful and hopefully long and enjoyable. I actually like the feeling of having control over my SIPP.