Archive

Terry Smith reveals the words that management team's use to befuddle and explains why a company's management being straight talkers can be a positive indication for investors.

Terry Smith argues that many investors are sacrificing all of their income and more to investing charges and suggests a ways of reducing or avoiding these costs.

Terry Smith says that investors should beware of ‘diworsification’ and explores the negatives to owning too many stocks in a portfolio.

Terry Smith points out that people who invest just to avoid tax often fail to look as closely as they should at fee structures and would be better off putting money into something they really want to own.

Terry Smith explains what he means by investing in 'good companies' and argues that Warren Buffett was right when he said that return on capital employed is the best way of assessing the performance of a company.

Terry Smith states that in deciding whether Britain want to be part of the EU, voters should ask themselves whether or not it is advantageous to the UK to be part of that trading bloc.

Terry Smith writes that trying to time markets can achieve the opposite of what is desired and points out that there are only two types of investors – those who know they can’t make money from market timing, and those who don’t know they can’t.

Terry Smith details his ten golden rules for investing, which are designed to help private investors avoid many of the common basic mistakes that people make.

Terry Smith explains why instead of chasing high-risk stocks on the promise of superior portfolio performance, investors should seek to buy 'boring' quality companies and hold them for the long-term.

Terry Smith says George Osborne should look to Estonia and stop talking about growth and instead say: ‘It is unrealistic to target significant growth, and a change of strategy to spend more would simply demonstrate the Law of Diminishing Returns.’

Terry Smith explains what investors can learn from the Tour de France - like cycling, investing is a test of endurance and the winner will be the investor who finds a good strategy or fund and sticks with it.

Terry Smith argues that the City's travails are part of the wider financial crisis which started in 2007. For a historical precedent, go back 80 years he says – but beware the conclusions you draw from the Great Depression.

Terry Smith comments on the UK political party conference season in 2012, stating that politicians offered only half-baked ideas and little insight into how to address the UK’s problems.

Investment Week - What is the Spanish word for zombie?

Terry Smith comments on the implications of the Libor scandal on retail banking, arguing that it demonstrates why investment and retail banks must be separated.

Terry Smith writes to the Financial Times to point out that investors are only starting to realise what Warren Buffett has known for decades - that return on capital employed is the best measure of managerial performance.

Terry Smith argues that David Cameron was right not to agree to the proposed changes to the Treaty of Lisbon at the latest summit, as financial services are a far more vital part of the UK’s economy than they are of any European country.

Sir, I refer to Alice Ross's article " Market timing errors prove too costly " (FT Money, November 20). The article quoted Skandia saying that behaviour on its investment platform reflects the fact that many investors buy UK equities in response to what the FTSE has been doing - buying more when it is high and less when it is low - a recipe for poor investment performance adding further justification to the notion that most investors are their own worst enemy.

Terry Smith writes on the loss of a unique boxing champion, Joe Frazier.

The losses of $2bn incurred by an allegedly rogue trader on the Delta One desk at UBS have again raised the subject of the (lack of) risk controls by banks dealing in opaque instruments, the need to separate investment and retail banking and the risks inherent in ETFs.