Biography
Stuart Fowler is the anti-guru guru. A seasoned and respected investment professional in both the institutional and retail scene in the UK, he has made a specialty of debunking the myths and monkey tricks on which the investment business thrives. Tough on the industry and regulators, his frequent campaigning on consumer issues in personal finance is marked by an unusual frankness about what customers themselves need to do to avoid inviting harm.
The theme of 'personal responsibility' which permeates his writing and campaigning is borne out in his business activities thorugh two companies, one consumer-facing (No Monkey Business Limited provides wealth management and financial planning services to individuals) and the other industry-facing (Lambda Investment Technology consults on business models and develops decision tools).
His personal philosophy, together with a practical guide to how to adopt it in dealing with the markets and financial firms, is set out in his book No Monkey Business: what Investors need to know and why. He writes occasionally in the FT and other journals but also writes regularly on a wide range of investment topics in his personal blog: www.nomonkeybusiness.org - described as a 'no-nonsense clearing in the personal finance jungle'.
My investment rules assume people select professionals rather than try to do it all themselves:
- Investment is about you: be clear and realistic about what jobs you give money to perform in your life and why
- Seek out advisers who appear genuinely interested in you and not your money and will help you plan accordingly
- Don't deal with anyone unless you understand how they make their money: which usually means 'pay fees'
- Investment is science first and art second: look for proof of technology and respect for uncertainty - they often go together
- Investment is a journey, not a race: make plans that fit that description and travel accordingly
- Markets, not clever people, will get you to your destination: master 'asset allocation' rather than products or securities
- Keep your costs down and markets will get the job done better
- Look where you're going - not backwards at what's already happened or sideways at what other people are doing
Book Recommendations
Against the Gods
A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller "Ambitious and readable ...an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernste...
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Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
First published in 1841, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds is often cited as the best book ever written about market psycholog...
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Seeing Tomorrow
In high-stakes investing and business, success or failure largely depends on how well you play the game of risk - a game in which the rules of competi...
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