Phil has over 25 years experience of investing. He started out as an investment analyst for asset managers and City stockbrokers before becoming a writer. He has worked for MoneyWeek and Investors’ Chronicle and was the CFA UK Financial Journalist of the year in 2020. He worked for ShareScope between 2014 and 2018 and helped to develop many of the investment tools in SharePad. He has written a number of educational investment articles for ShareScope and is also the author of the book How to Pick Quality Shares.
I am passionate about investor education and try and make what might seem complicated subjects easier to understand. Investing is not just about picking winners but also avoiding losers and learning from your mistakes. My aim is to make investing as simple as possible by focusing on what matters and avoiding what doesn’t.
Not so long ago, Domino’s Pizza was seen as an attractive growth stock with a lot going for it. Investors viewed the company as a classic retail “roll out” situation where strong growth from existing stores could be turbocharged by opening lots of new ones. This was then rounded off with an asset-light business model
Shares in kitchen supplier Howden Joinery have rewarded long-term investors handsomely. For me, it is one of the highest quality UK businesses in the FTSE 250 index. It is very shareholder friendly, whilst its annual report is one of the best I have read when it comes to explaining how a business works. Howden has
Investing in shares is risky but if you want to grow the value of your investments you have to take some risk. Getting the balance between risk and potential returns is one of the key decisions you must make as an investor. There’s often a lot of focus on gains but very little on risk.
Investors are often intrigued with companies where the share price has fallen a long way. If it can recover, then there could be potential for big gains, especially if the company’s business can improve. Premium soft drinks company Fevertree was loved by the stock market five years ago, but has experienced a dramatic fall from
One of the best things you can do to really understand a business is to spend some time studying how and from where a company generates its revenues. A series of simple and straightforward questions can allow you to gain a great deal of insight into how a company works. All of the information you
A cash flow analysis of a company has long been seen as a good thing for an investor to do. Often, if you want to get a feel for what’s really going on with a company and the numbers it produces, its cash flow statement will tell you a lot more than its income statement.
It’s nice to be back writing some articles for SharePad. As some of you may know, I worked for ShareScope between 2014 and 2018 and helped to design many of the financial analysis features that are in the SharePad software. I remain a very happy user of SharePad today and use it extensively for my
For many years Next has been a very profitable retailer of clothes and homewares. Like most of its peers it has had to face up to the changing world of shopping that has led more people to buy stuff over the internet instead of from shops on the high streets or in retail parks. Profits
Portmeirion Group is based in Stoke on Trent and is a leading maker of homeware products such as tableware, cookware, placemats, candles and fragrances. It trades under some well-known brand names such as Portmeirion, Royal Worcester, Pimpernel, Spode and Wax Lyrical. Around half its products are manufactured at its own site in Stoke on Trent
Buying shares that are out of favour is a favourite strategy amongst contrarian value investors. However, in recent times it is not one that has worked particularly well. In fact, much more success seems to have been had with momentum strategies. These involve buying shares that are very popular and, in many cases, have been
Ten years ago, Morrisons was doing reasonably well. Under the leadership of Dutchman Marc Bolland it was wooing customers with a very simple and powerful strategy – offering good food at low prices. When he left to run Marks & Spencer, the supermarket industry was beginning to change and the company lost its way. It
If you’ve been investing in individual shares for a while then you’ve probably gone through the experience of losing some money on one or more of them. It’s a horrible feeling that happens to the best investors. You’d rather it hadn’t happened but the lessons you can learn from it can be invaluable in making