I am a chartered accountant: during my training I audited a number of stockbrokers, investment banks, and insurance companies, getting a good understanding of how they worked. After I qualified, I worked for a year as an investment analyst, covering insurance companies, and I completed the first year of the Chartered Financial Analyst qualification. So I have a broad understanding of the world of finance and investments, both theoretical and practical.
I am not a stereotypical accountant, though. I do not love numbers for their own sake. The aspects of my work that mean the most to me, are the interactions with people, and the satisfaction of creating something, be it a new system, or a set of financial statements. I have a very strong creative and aesthetic drive. I am a photographer, I love to draw, to read and to write, and I am passionate about architecture, particularly Art Deco.
So even though I have the knowledge and experience of the world of finance, I am the opposite of the practical, numerate, analytical person that some people find so hard to understand. And I'm hoping to act as a bridge between the worlds!
Regarding my present situation: although I have had well-paying jobs for most of my working life, I have not managed to invest anything beyond the automatic pension fund investments deducted from my salary by my employers. In fact, for a number of reasons that seemed like good ideas at the time, I am currently quite heavily in debt. And we are not talking about mortgage debt: I live in rented accommodation.
So I am not writing this blog from the point of view of someone who claims to know it all and to have achieved all my goals: far from it. But the idea is that, by documenting the process by which I get out of debt, buy a property, and start to achieve my investment goals and build real wealth, there will be opportunities for my readers to learn, and also to share their experiences, and together we can achieve more than we could on our own.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Post the first
Zenvestor is about creating wealth in a new and different way. Much investment advice is very technical and obsessed with quantitative measures like returns. Much wealth creation advice is close to a scam: buy this information pack, and make a fortune. Usually the fortune is made by the person selling the information pack only.
In my view, any investment strategy which ignores the psychological factors that influence behaviour is doomed to failure. It doesn't matter whether the math shows that a particular strategy will produce a fantastic return: if it requires a lot of regular effort, or needs willpower to execute, it won't work for most people.
And if the people who flit from one get-rich scheme to the next actually took a moment to clarify their goals, and then put their energy into something with meaning for them, they would achieve real wealth, even if it took a bit longer than the unrealistic "overnight success" sold by the dream merchants.
And finally, if you're one of those people who is postponing their investment strategy until they get their debt paid off... paying down debt works best when it's part of your investment strategy. It needs to be a positive goal, not a negative drain on your energy.
So here we go. Join me on a voyage of discovery, as we travel the highways and byways of the world of money. If you've ever felt that it's not a world you feel comfortable in, don't worry: I'll show you that it's not really that hard to understand, and that most of those who pretend it is, either don't understand it themselves, or are trying to rip you off. Together, we'll make it- and have fun doing it too!
In my view, any investment strategy which ignores the psychological factors that influence behaviour is doomed to failure. It doesn't matter whether the math shows that a particular strategy will produce a fantastic return: if it requires a lot of regular effort, or needs willpower to execute, it won't work for most people.
And if the people who flit from one get-rich scheme to the next actually took a moment to clarify their goals, and then put their energy into something with meaning for them, they would achieve real wealth, even if it took a bit longer than the unrealistic "overnight success" sold by the dream merchants.
And finally, if you're one of those people who is postponing their investment strategy until they get their debt paid off... paying down debt works best when it's part of your investment strategy. It needs to be a positive goal, not a negative drain on your energy.
So here we go. Join me on a voyage of discovery, as we travel the highways and byways of the world of money. If you've ever felt that it's not a world you feel comfortable in, don't worry: I'll show you that it's not really that hard to understand, and that most of those who pretend it is, either don't understand it themselves, or are trying to rip you off. Together, we'll make it- and have fun doing it too!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
