Based in Brussels, Belgium, Stuart Langridge successfully channels his passion for finance and politics into a slew of successful websites. We caught up with Stuart in early 2010 to find out more about his fascinating journey.
Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with us, Stuart. Please take a moment to tell us a little about yourself .... where you live, what you do, how long you’ve been investing, etc.
I'm from the South West of England but now spend most of my time in Brussels, Belgium. These days I work in the online world as Director of a blog platform dedicated to EU affairs.
It's a slightly bizarre story, of which, more later. But I have always had an interest in finance and politics — the two often move hand in hand — and so although running an online business in Belgium is an unusual occupation, it was linked to the political side of my interests.
I bought my first shares aged about 18. I used some savings — in other words, most of my net worth — to buy a tiny holding. It was in Wembley plc — owners of the football stadium in London — and some other property. The company was on its knees and I was buying a 'turnaround'. At least that's what I thought.
In reality, the company was already dead and I just didn't know it. I lost about 98% of my money
That seems like a disaster, but I learned 2 important lessons. Firstly, most turnarounds won't be turning. Instead they are heading down fast and won't be saved. Secondly, I purchased prudence. It taught me to be more careful about my investments and to consider the risks much more closely. I'd say it was a successful buy!
So what motivated you to get into the exciting world of investing? Was it something you discovered growing up, or did you stumble into it later?
Back in the UK, I qualified as a financial adviser about 10 years ago. I had been reading the financial pages since about the age of 14 and then found my first job doing admin. work for a bank.
After a few years, it was obvious that admin. and me were not a match, but finance was. So I sat the exams and worked my way into the mortgage world.
After a few years I made the step to work solely in investments. As a rule, it is a well-trodden path in the UK for financial advisors to find a first job in the industry in the mortgage market and then gradually move on to investments having proved themselves.
But my move into investments was in the expat market. I moved to Belgium and worked in the Benelux for several years. Typically, expats have very complex financial situations and you need to know your stuff to be able to work with them. I did and loved it.
However, you didn't need to be a genius to see the financial crisis coming. I didn't know exactly when and I would never have guessed that sub-prime mortgages would have been the catalyst for destruction.
But the financial system was unstable and very highly leveraged and it was clear to me that in very tough stock market conditions, investment advisers will have a hard time making a living.
So over the course of about 12 months, I gradually eased my clients portfolios out of US dollar assets and did my best to lower their exposure to the markets in their portfolios. This was in 2007. At the same time I was pondering my own future.
I had been writing an email newsletter and a personal finance column for a newspaper and a journalist friend had suggested I build a website to host my own articles. It seemed like a good idea and so in my evenings and weekends I was learning and building things online. This site became what is now TheStuartLangridgeLetter.com.That made it much easier to transition into the online position that I hold today.
You are own several successful investment sites and are also an active blogger. How did you get into the “infopreneur” mode?
It was this writing that pushed me towards the 'infopreneur' that you mention. The combination of not just trying to study businesses - as an investor must - but also trying to run one was a compelling mix! I don't pretend to be a master of websites, but I have pretty decent knowledge and work hard. That is often enough in life...
Your website, StockExchangeSecrets.com, has some excellent resources for beginning investors. What are some of the typical questions beginning investors have for you?
Thank you.
Most of the readers that email me seem to want to know how to make money as quickly as possible. The thinking seems to be that it takes about 2 months to be wealthy.
Of course, this isn't true and I do my best to get that across. Stock market beginners really ought to take some time to read and learn, get a feel for finance, the markets and themselves before they commit any money to a purchase.
Investing is work, effort and takes time and skill. I like to say that if we could all trade like George Soros, he wouldn't be famous and rich. But we can't, which is why he is and is.
Are you actively investing in the stock market right now? How long do you devote to researching companies to invest in, keeping up with financial news, etc.?
Only buying units in a pension plan. I think that the markets are ridiculously high right now (Jan / Feb 2010) and the valuations seem very hard to justify in such bad economic conditions.
I keep up to date with economic and market news fairly well and so I like to think that I am relatively up-to-date - but I still don't understand why people are buying and markets are rising. I ought to add though that I am a perma-bear, so I am usually 'down' on current stock market conditions.
We at Independent-Stock-Investing are big fans of fundamental investing. We always advocate solid research before making stock picks. Your website and blogs make you out to be a fundamental investor, too. Investing is really very different from trading. What specific advice do you have for our readers on the dangers or trading?
I don't understand why people are so keen to trade. It is a brutal world and something like 90% of all stock market traders will lose all of their capital in the first year.
I have friends at investment banks and they are very bright, well educated, knowledgeable about the market, have access to the best research and advice, hard working and are very motivated. That is the competition!! I think most people overestimate their ability and underestimate the competition.
I wouldn't think I could compete with Federer or Nadal on the tennis court, so why should I be so confident against people from Goldman Sachs?
But with specialization in a couple of sectors and in the smaller firms in those sectors, I think long-term and value investors can compete.
Many smaller cap companies have minimal numbers of analysts following their stock. There are - and always will be - opportunities in those hidden corners of the markets. It takes work and patience, but the possibilities are there. I have found some, and I'm sure most committed investors have done the same.
I wish your readers good fortune in their investing.
Stuart makes some excellent points about the need to be educated before committing money toward stocks.
We hope you enjoyed reading about and getting to know him as much as we did. Be sure to check out his websites for more details.
Thanks Stuart for taking the time to answer our questions with such insightful detail. We wish you continued success in your investing endeavors and online businesses.
