Investing Without the Hype

About this course

A long, practical course on investing for people who want to understand what they own rather than follow tips. It starts from what a share actually is, works through compounding and the real cost of fees, then builds a portfolio you could hold for thirty years: index funds, asset allocation, bonds, rebalancing, and the account types that change the arithmetic. The last two sections deal with the part that decides most outcomes, which is behaviour, and how to recognise a bad pitch. There is no stock picking here and no predictions. Every figure is worked through so you can check it. You will finish with a written one-page investment plan you can actually follow, and enough understanding to know why each line of it is there.

What you will learn

• Explain where investment returns actually come from, and why time horizon changes what you are betting on
• Calculate the true lifetime cost of a fund fee and a delayed start
• Read a fund factsheet and judge it on the things that predict outcomes
• Choose an asset allocation you can hold through a severe decline, and write it down
• Use retirement and taxable accounts in a sensible order for your situation
• Recognise the biases and sales tactics that cost investors the most money

Before you begin

• No prior investing knowledge needed
• A calculator or spreadsheet for the worked exercises
• Willingness to write down a plan and follow it