I’m a bank manager, don’t you know. Okay, I’ve been experimenting with Zopa, a peer-to-peer site for lenders and borrowers. Zopa is like an Ebay for money, in that you deal directly with Joe Public rather than institutions. If you fancy trying it, follow this link to Zopa and we’ll both get an introductory bonus. Please make sure you read the documents and make your own mind up about the pros and cons.
The FT columnist and renowned investor John Lee reckons UK small caps have been battered down so much by the recent mayhem that it’s time to buy. He’s been buying building stocks and hotel micro-chains.
I am not a professional trader. I’m a private investor, like most of my readers.
Why then am I buying in a bear market?
After all, as private investors our investing directly affects our quality of life.
We can spend spare money on shares, or instead we can go on holiday or buy a new TV.
There’s no money made just by playing the game for us, unlike for a salaried fund manager.
Yet despite not being paid to do so, this morning I purchased shares in a FTSE 100 ETF when the market was at 5360.
As I type this post, it looks a brilliant move – the market has moved 300 points higher. But by tonight it could seem folly if the market crashes lower.
How are you supposed to invest at times like these?
My approach at all times is to be ‘fearfully greedy’.
It may sound like something you’d hear an English child exclaim in Mary Poppins, but being fearfully greedy has its roots in Warren Buffett’s strategy. And I believe it’s the only way I’ll prosper through investing.