Mother-of-four Anne-Marie got into investing just before the start of the pandemic after becoming very frustrated and angry at the paltry rates of interest she was receiving from her bank.

The civil servant had moved house which gave her some extra cash to invest. Scouring around for something better Anne-Marie came across an Eventbrite event which showcased investment books.

Being a self-confessed bookworm Anne-Marie signed up (all events at this stage were online due to widespread lockdowns) and became inspired by investing.

The two books discussed at the seminar were The Richest Man in Babylon by George Samuel Clason and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

The first is a 1926 book which dispenses financial wisdom through a collection of parables set over 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon.

The second distills methods used by over 500 of the wealthiest people to become rich. Anne-Marie also joined a stocks and shares club for £7 a month to get access to investment ideas and learn about how to invest. An advisor introduced her to a stockbroker, and she was off and running.

BUY WHAT YOU KNOW

A good description of Anne-Marie’s investment style is that she wants to own shares in companies which provide products or services with which she is familiar.

Electric vehicle maker Tesla (TSLA:NASDAQ) is a current portfolio holding. Anne-Marie says she has no interest in owning a Tesla, ‘they depreciate the minute you drive it away and all the electrics means they are difficult to get fixed if thing go wrong.’

However, she thinks electric cars will continue to see good growth and Anne-Marie is a fan of founder Elon Musk. So much in that she purchased shares of Twitter after Musk expressed an interest in buying the company.

Months later she found herself selling Twitter shares back to Musk after the world’s richest man took the company private for $43 billion.

The first share Anne-Marie wanted to buy was Amazon (AMZN:NASDAQ) but at the time the cost of buying one share seemed prohibitive so Anne-Marie passed on the opportunity. A while later she discovered fractional share ownership which allowed her to buy part of a share.

The first share Anne-Marie actually purchased was Apple (APPL:NASDAQ) and she remains a very happy owner of the shares. Soon after buying in 2020 the company split its shares on a four-for-one basis, so she ended up with four times as many shares.

Remaining on the familiarity theme Anne-Marie has been
using PayPal (PYPL:NASDAQ) for several years so after doing some research she decided to purchase some shares.

Unfortunately, they have not performed very well and so they were sold. Other shares which fit that category include video conferencing company Zoom Video Communications (ZM:NADAQ) and high-end exercise equipment company Peloton Interactive (PTON:NASDAQ).

The shares were all the rage during the pandemic induced lockdowns but they have since come crashing back down to earth.

BUCKET LIST

While some people make a bucket list of things they want to do before they die, Anne-Marie has created a bucket list of shares she would like to own in the future.

She keeps them on a watch list and monitors them while conducting research. Anne-Marie uses software services such as Finviz and Market Watch to create her list and access news and research.

As soon as Anne-Marie discovered that one of her very favourite treats Cornetto was made by fast moving consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR) she put the stock on her bucket list. US value retailer Target (TGT:NYSE) also makes the list.

Anne-Marie has tended to stay away from tracker funds because she is put off by the fees, although she has dabbled in some sector trackers including one that tracks the semiconductor index.

BALANCING THE RISKS

Anne-Marie says she is conscious of the importance of maintaining ‘balance’ across her portfolio of holdings. One of the three investment platforms she uses provides a portfolio overview tool which helps identify possible risks.

She says she would like to reduce her ‘top heavy’ weighting
in technology shares to rebalance the risks.

After investing for herself for almost three years now Anne-Marie says she really enjoys reading and learning about the stock market
and investing.

Although she wishes she had started investing earlier it was not practical while the children were growing up because there was not much spare cash around.

But on reflection, Anne-Marie adds that had she known what she knows today she would have realised you do not need much to start investing. Even small amounts have the potential to compound over time.

Luckily, her children have a better chance to start early because Anne-Marie had the foresight to take advantage of the state-backed Child Trust Fund scheme – a savings and investment vehicle for kids which has now been supplanted by the Junior ISA. 

DISCLAIMER: Please note, we do not provide financial advice in case study articles, and we are unable to comment on the suitability of the subject’s investments. Individuals who are unsure about the suitability of investments should consult a suitably qualified financial adviser. Past performance is not a guide to future performance and some investments need to be held for the long term. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and rules may change. ISA and pension rules apply.

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