My Worst Investment Ever Podcast
Business:Investing
BIO: Neil Johnson is a renowned finance expert with over 30 years of experience in investment banking, merchant banking, and research analysis in Canadian and UK capital markets.
STORY: Neil invested in an internet company building website templates when the internet was just starting. The company filed to go public, but the financiers kept delaying the process and never went public. Six months later, the company went to zero. Neil lost his entire investment.
LEARNING: Take the profit when you can. Take some money out and play with the rest. Do your due diligence.
“Try not to be overly greedy. There’s something about leaving a little on the table for someone else.”Neil Johnson
Guest profile
Neil Johnson is a renowned finance expert with over 30 years of experience in investment banking, merchant banking, and research analysis in both Canadian and UK capital markets.
He currently serves as the Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Royalty. He is responsible for leading deal origination, due diligence, and structuring for Duke, a $300 million alternative finance investment company listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Neil’s expertise as CEO of Duke Royalty and in his prior role as European Head of Investment Banking at Canaccord Genuity is invaluable for business owners of private companies and investors in public companies.
He has played an instrumental role in the growth and success of companies, raising over $5 billion in funding for hundreds of companies during his 19-year tenure.
Worst investment everDuring the run-up to the.com one era, when the internet was starting, Neil was a young internet analyst with some exposure to some of the high-flying stocks of the day. He learned of a company that was creating website templates. The company was looking for investors, and Neil thought it was a good investment, so he invested his savings. Neil also charged the company an investment banking fee that he was taking in stock.
Though the business had a good product, it was too early into the market, so no one paid attention. Neil was getting in at 50 cents a share. A few years later, the internet bubble enveloped the company. The founders got a call from one of the biggest internet financiers in Silicon Valley and got signed up to go public.
They did a pre-public round, so they wanted to buy all the shares they could get. They tried to get Neil to sell his shares to them at $5 a share, which was ten times more than he paid for his shares. He, however, wasn’t interested in selling his shares as he believed the company would grow and the shares would be worth a lot more.
The company filed to go public in March 2000, and now the shares were selling at $15. They kept delaying the process and never went public. They had ballooned the management team and company costs. The company had about $25 million on the balance sheet, but management blew through all of it. Six months later, the company went to zero. Neil lost his entire investment.
Lessons learnedDon’t be overly greedy. There’s something about leaving a little on the table for someone else.
Neil’s recommendationsNeil recommends investing in Duke Royalty because cash flow is king.
No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsNeil’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to continue investing in good companies, get that cash flow out to his investors in dividends, and look for new opportunities.
Parting words“Stay safe out there. Investing is never 100%; you just have to win more than you lose.”Neil Johnson
[spp-transcript]
Connect with Neil Johnson
ISMS 17: Larry Swedroe – Do You Project Recent Trends Indefinitely Into the Future?
ISMS 16: Top 5 EM Country Interest Rates – Normal China Yield Curve
ISMS 15: Top 5 DM Country Interest Rates – Steep US Inversion
ISMS 14: Regional Interest Rates - Low in Asia, Egypt and Frontiers on Fire
ISMS 13: Global Interest Rates - Hikes Slow, Inversion Signals Recession
Peter Ricchiuti – Don’t Fall in Love With a Stock
Jason Hsu – The Market Can Be Crazy for Longer than You Have the Conviction
Shreekkanth Viswanathan – Qualitative Strengths of a Company Matter Too
Jeremy Kokemor – Tread Carefully When Investing in Metals and Mining
Paul Hodges – There’s No Substitute for Judgment
Amy Minkley – What Is Your Enough?
Benjamin Claremon – Know What Kind of Investor You Are
Edward McQuarrie – Never Ever Sell Naked Calls
ISMS 12: CPI Racing Across the Globe
ISMS 11: US Banking Crisis and Fed Rate Cut
ISMS 10: US CPI Could Decline to 4% By YE23; Unless QE Revs Up
Michelle Leder – Read the 10-K Before You Buy That Stock
ISMS 9: Saving Silicon Valley Bank Brings New Risks
Dave Collum – What Should the US Be Doing in Ukraine?
Bill Blain – Always Sell Fast in a Difficult Market
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Commercial Edge: Unleash the Power of People
The emPOWERed Half Hour
U.S Property Podcast
Aligned Money Show
Dubai Property Podcast
The Ramsey Show
The Clark Howard Podcast