Every investor has at least one big success and another, just as big a regret that sticks in their minds.
For Andrew A, the high was buying into his employer Sky’s share save scheme at just the right time to see a major windfall when the company was taken over by Comcast in 2018.
The London-based music analyst managed to squirrel away £900 while working for the TV and media company, buying shares in Sky at a discount using some of his income before tax.
Not only he did benefit from not having to pay income tax or national insurance on the money he saved, he saw that £900 turn into £3,000 when the company sold.
‘I was just incredibly lucky with the timing,’ the 38-year old says.
‘I was only in a position to be able to save a small amount each month but I know some of my colleagues ended up with enough money to pay off their mortgages. I’d definitely do that again – even if it’s only £20 a month, it would have made a difference.’
And the biggest flop?
‘Kanabo Group,’ says Andrew, with a laugh.
‘It was a company developing cannabis based CBD products. I took a gamble on the UK following the US and introducing more CBD into mainstream medical use. It never materialised and now the shares are worth nothing.’
Long-term investing choices
Despite the low, Andrew is of the view that investing is about taking the ups and downs in your stride and sticking with his choices long-term.
‘I started getting interested in my 20s,’ he says. ‘My mum has always been an investor and she probably planted the seed in my mind.’
Andrew began reading the markets column in various newspapers on a daily basis, eventually deciding to book an appointment with an adviser at his bank Santander.
‘That conversation was super helpful – she took me through understanding my attitude to risk and what sort of investments I was interested in.
‘In the end, I wanted to invest in companies directly rather than through a fund. She was brilliant – and directed me towards opening a stocks and shares Isa with a platform that could offer that.’
After taking a look at a few of the big platforms, Andrew opted for AJ Bell.
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‘I’d just got my first ever bonus from work after finishing uni,” he says. ‘It was £3,000 and I split it between paying for travelling, putting some into a cash savings account and with the rest, I bought £500 of shares in Lloyds Banking Group and another £500 in Boohoo.’
His reasoning for backing Lloyds was that, following the banking crash in the late 2000s, bank shares were looking relatively cheap.
‘Boohoo looked like a really good option at the time as well – it was doing so well,’ says Andrew.
‘The Lloyds investment was good longer term though – I think I did lose a bit on Boohoo and maybe bought in too late.’
What’s Andrew’s current approach like?
Now, Andrew’s approach is more conservative.
‘I like legacy stocks and have holdings in Rolls Royce, BP and Shell as they’re good solid companies in my view. I’ve also got some money in smaller outliers – I like Card Factory for example.
‘I go in there to get cards myself and they’ve got really good quality products across more than just cards and they’re a lot cheaper than their competitors,’ he says.
‘I’ve bought into them based on my understanding of the company more as a customer.’
After his successful foray with Sky, Andrew says his best decision so far has been to buy into Rolls Royce regularly since the pandemic.
‘That’s gone up by 1,000% amazingly, but they’ve not all been like that.’
Any advice for those thinking about becoming an investor?
‘There is no such thing as a stupid question,’ says Andrew. ‘Honestly, I’ve got a lot better at researching companies over the years but I still ask my brother, who’s an accountant, to help me go through company reports.
‘And YouTube is a really good source of information so long as you’re listening to well known people you know you can trust. I like Patricia Bright, who spent years working in the financial industry, first in banking and then at a Big Four consultancy firm.
‘I also read a lot of AJ Bell’s research and listen to their podcast and the This is Money podcast.’
Since Andrew started investing, he has put around £15,000 into his Isa, which is now worth £25,000.
‘I’m hoping to use that money as a deposit to buy my own home,’ he says. ‘If I’d just put my savings in cash, I’d be a lot further off that happening.’
