I am a self-funded retiree and in my working life I enjoyed a 25 year period as a financial planner. This gave me a good understanding of investment fundamentals and behavioural finance. However, nothing really prepares you for investing in anger, with the need to conserve capital and produce a return.
Prior to my introduction to Stockopedia, I used a number of services to identify potential investments. I used fundamental and technical indicators found in various software packages and I even spent a lot of time and money investigating the use of options strategies. I still use those services but will probably let my subscriptions lapse soon. At best I am taking their suggestions as a base for my own research through Stockopedia, and I rarely find that they come out the other end as a buy.
I have a long-standing relationship with a stockbroker that I knew when we worked together many years ago. I use his transactional services, even though I no longer take his advice and he no longer pitches suggestions to me. Early on there were some good calls but also some absolute disasters where we rode the company right into the ground. This was a very painful and expensive lesson. Brokers have lots of ideas for buying but will never ring you with a sell idea. I learned from this that you need to be absolutely independent, very resilient and above all very patient.
Since embracing Stockopedia, my investment style has evolved only slightly - but my results have improved significantly. My losses are much smaller and my average winners are consistently outpacing the decisions that did not work out.
The stock reports and the ranking tools are the basis of my present investing. I use a system very similar to Ed’s NAPS system where I buy the best ranked companies in each sector. I further select on market cap, risk rating and stock rank style so that I have a diversified portfolio of high scoring companies that are low risk and good quality.
For me this is a very simple approach. I have 20 odd companies that have good prospects and low volatility. Performance has been more than adequate over the past few years and I feel very confident that I can continue to find good companies with this approach indefinitely. I review performance regularly but do not obsess about the numbers.
I held most of my positions during the rout on the ASX 12 months ago and have done very well since as the good companies just seem to get going faster and run further. The StockRank system just works.
My approach to investing has also been informed by a number of books that were recommended on the Stockopedia site. In particular, I have found the works by Van Vliet, Freeman Shor and Falkenstien to be very important. I have read them several times now and still gain new insights from them. It is very likely that I would never have found these works had I not read their reviews on Stockopedia.
Philip uses Stockopedia to help him find investment strategies and improve his returns
My initial results were very inconsistent and I was probably looking at running through my capital in the near future unless I made some changes. Stockopedia was the change that I was looking for. My results since utilising the tools that you provide have secured our future and removed the stress that comes with vulnerability.
Yes, I still lose money on some calls, but my losses are outweighed by my gains and I know what to do when markets are uncooperative. I have confidence in my system and that in turn gives me confidence in our future. Investing is less stressful and more interesting!
Disclaimer - Testimonials are provided by third parties for informational purposes only and are not intended and should not be taken to be financial product advice.
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