My Worst Investment Ever Podcast
Business:Investing
BIO: Robin Wigglesworth is the editor of Alphaville, the FT’s financial blog. From Oslo, Norway, he leads a team of writers who dig into anything deeply nerdy or plain delightful that they spot in markets, business, or the global economy.
STORY: Robin invested in an ETF in Norway, a consumer durables company, and a fertilizer company after the 2008 financial crisis. These companies did incredibly well. Unfortunately, Robin reacted to short-term headlines when the European crisis started erupting and sold out.
LEARNING: You can’t outsmart the markets. Always let your winners ride.
“Always let your winners ride.”Robin Wigglesworth
Guest profile
Robin Wigglesworth is the editor of Alphaville, the FT’s financial blog. From Oslo, Norway, he leads a team of writers who dig into anything deeply nerdy or plain delightful that they spot in markets, business, or the global economy. He is also the author of Trillions, a book on the past, present, and future of passive investing and how it is reshaping financial markets.
Worst investment everRobin was a Middle East correspondent for The Financial Times after the financial crisis. The crisis hit later in the Middle East because of the oil price boom. Until the collapse of Lehman, the Gulf was partying. Robin was impressed with how quickly central banks reacted in the last quarter of 2008 after the Lehman collapse.
As a journalist, Robin couldn’t invest in any company he covered, even if it was a broad index fund. But because Robin was in the Middle East, there was a lot of this stuff that he didn’t cover.
In the Gulf, the dirham was pegged to the dollar, so it was suddenly worth a lot more. Robin didn’t have much money, but he had banked the odd few special payments he’d received for special reports on the FT. He put that money in an ETF in Norway, a consumer durables company called Orkla, and a fertilizer company called Yara.
Robin’s choice of investments was brilliant because these companies did incredibly well. Unfortunately, Robin reacted to short-term headlines when the European crisis started erupting and sold out. However, he kept Yara because he figured the world would always need fertilizers to grow food. But Yara got embroiled in a corruption scandal.
Had Robin kept that small pot of money running to date, he’d now have a far larger pot of money.
Lessons learnedRobin recommends reading his book Trillions and registering for free to read Alphaville and learn about passive investing.
No.1 goal for the next 12 monthsRobin’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to write another book on the history of the bond market.
Parting words“Buy my book, buy index funds, and most of all, stay boring. I think keeping it simple is the best thing.”Robin Wigglesworth
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Connect with Robin Wigglesworth
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ISMS 28: Stocks for the Long Run
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Dana Anspach – Loving a Product Is Different From Running a Business
ISMS 27: Larry Swedroe – Familiar Doesn’t Make It Safe and You’re Not Playing With the House’s Money
Manisha Thakor – Invest in Your Financial Health and Emotional Wealth
Richard Smith – Anything Valuable Is Hard
David Perry – Bet on the Person, Not the Idea
Tom Wall – If You Make Some Money, at Least Take Half off the Table
Rick Warner – Be Careful When Investing in Banks
Mohit Tater – You Don’t Know What You’re Getting Into Until You Are in It
Vorathep Srikuruwal – Walk That Property Before You Buy It
Phil Bak – Be Slow to Jump Onto Bandwagons
Jack Schwager – Never Stay in a Position That Violates What You Believe In
Sampark Sachdeva – Don’t Be Afraid to Take the Plunge
ISMS 26: Larry Swedroe – Are You Subject to the Endowment Effect or the Hot Streak Fallacy?
Vishal Bhardwaj – Do Not Let Emotions Run Your Business for You
Harjeet Khanduja – Work Smarter Not Harder
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