Professor Glen Arnold

The experience of Philip Fisher, father of rational growth investing, can teach us a lot about the investment process that has great applicability to us today. Even though he was investing a long time ago human nature and the behaviour of markets seem unchangeable so we face the same issues  that he did.     […]

Philip Fisher is the leading light of growth investors.  There is a common misconception that growth investors overlook whether the share is selling at a value price. While some growth investors are careless in this regard, Fisher was always insistent that the growth share was selling at a value price. Even high growth potential companies […]

Following a strict value investing approach I sold a lot of shares before and during the first Covid wave.  The pile of cash was very useful later in 2020 and 2021.  The shares bought in the last year or so have generally risen nicely. A list of all the shares I bought in the crisis […]

Advice that any investor would love to follow would be ‘Sell before the next economic downturn’ or ‘Sell before the company hits a bumpy patch’.  If only it was as uncomplicated as that! The golden rule on selling can be simply stated: the investor does his research, buys his investment and keeps it so long […]

Do not automatically sell the shares that have risen in price, while holding on to those that have fallen hoping to come out even.  Equally silly is the automatic selling of losers and holding onto winners. These two strategies don’t make sense because they use the current movement of the share price as an indicator of the […]

All the great value investors from Benjamin Graham to Peter Lynch and Warren Buffett agree that the short term movements (over a few months) are irrelevant to good investing except that they might offer the opportunity to buy at a bargain price if other investors are being foolish. The investor must concentrate on the underlying business […]

​The obvious answer to the question ‘When should I buy?’ is when all the painstaking research stacks up, and the company looks a good bet.  The problem is, there are investors who buck the trend and act contrary to the general consensus.  These contrarians zig when everyone else is zagging, but the true contrarian does […]

​The amateur investor should develop their own particular method of investing, a tried and proven investment strategy that suits them, and should stick with it, ignoring transitory but probably insubstantial trends in the stock market. There will be occasions when the temptation to act rashly is overwhelming, but strength of character is needed here.  Losses […]

The investor should not be drawn into investing in the latest hottest shares, the “whisper” shares.  These frequently turn out to be no more than hope and thin air  These shares rise in value astonishingly quickly, but there is nothing astonishing about their subsequent spectacular drop in price. There are constant whispers circulating about the […]

​Investors should limit themselves to researching companies where they have an edge, and they have time and knowledge to ensure each company passes all the tests of prudent value investing.  If you are only going to take on shares where you have devoted enough time to have a complete grasp of the company’s situation, eight […]