Beyond the Market

Should finance creators share their portfolio publicly? In this episode of Beyond the Market, I explain why I don't share my portfolio online and why I think most people should be cautious about doing the same. A lot of investing content on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube is built around portfolio reveals, income screenshots and public displays of wealth. It looks like transparency, but much of...

This week on Beyond the Market, I’m digging into one of the most shocking housing proposals I’ve read in a long time, the idea of writing off student loan debt in exchange for the government taking equity in your home. On the surface, it is being sold as a way to help first-time buyers get onto the property ladder. But when you look more closely, it feels like something very different. To me, this...

In this episode of Beyond the Market, I talk about how I got scammed, how it happened and the lessons that you can learn so that you do not make the same mistake as me. I talk about how it is quite easy to be drawn in, how incentives along the way can mean that everyone is getting paid and how you need to check before you put any money away. I reflect on the warning signs that I missed and why i c...

To mark episode 50 of Beyond the Market, I wanted to step back from the usual, to reintroduce myself properly and do a Q&A of the questions that I have received. In this episode, I share who I am beyond working in finance, how I first became interested in investing, how my investing philosophy has evolved, and why I started Beyond the Market podcast in the first place. I talk about what workin...

In this episode of Beyond the Market , I explores second-order thinking, a mental model used by great investors like Howard Marks to understand how markets really work. Most investors rely on first-order thinking: simple, obvious conclusions such as “earnings are up so the stock should rise.” But markets are driven by expectations, not just results. When expectations are already priced in, even go...

“The more certain someone sounds about a stock, the less you should trust them.” In this episode of Beyond the Market , I explain why I don’t give stock tips and why you should be cautious of anyone who does. Most of the finance internet treats investing like entertainment, bold predictions, “this will double,” and constant hot takes designed to attract attention. But behind every tip is an incent...

Most investors focus on maximising returns. The best investors focus on survival and keeping those options open. In this episode of Beyond the Market , we explore optionality the idea that your real edge isn’t predicting the future, it’s preserving your ability to act no matter what the world throws at you. Inspired by Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s thinking, this is a conversation about resilience, not...

We live in a world where everyone has an opinion on everything. AI, Crypto, Property, Rates, Gold. Social media rewards instant opinions. But markets reward something very different, being right. In this episode of Beyond the Market , we explore one of the most misunderstood ideas in investing, "the Circle of Competence", a concept popularised by Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. Most p...

Most people quit investing not because it doesn’t work but because it doesn’t work fast enough. In this episode of Beyond the Market , I explain why the first £100,000 is the most important milestone in your investment journey, and why everything changes once you get there. We break down: Why the early years of investing feel slow and demoralising The difference between contributions vs compoundin...

In this episode of Beyond the Market, I explore one of the most under-appreciated forces in investing and decision-making, incentives. Inspired by a famous line from Charlie Munger, “Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome”, this episode breaks down how incentives shape behaviour, messages, and narratives in markets and everyday life. We explore where and how incentives show us to chan...

Dividends or share buybacks — which is the better way for investors to get paid? In this episode of Beyond the Market , I break down the two main ways companies return capital to shareholders and why the difference matters far more than most investors realise. How can a pizza teach you about share buy backs? We explore how dividends and buybacks actually work, their pros and cons, and how they imp...

“Should I invest in gold?” It’s a question that always comes back when uncertainty rises, inflation goes us, market crashes, geopolitical risk, and central bank intervention. In this episode of Beyond the Market , I take a at gold as an asset, what it is, what it isn’t, and where (if anywhere) it fits in a long-term investment portfolio. Why gold has been used as money and a store of value for cen...

Preparing your investing for 2026 isn’t about predicting markets, picking stocks, or finding the next big opportunity. It’s about positioning yourself so that whatever happens next doesn’t force you into bad decisions. In this episode of Beyond the Market, I build on last week’s discussion about financial foundations and focus on the foundations of successful investing. This episode breaks down wh...

As we enter 2026, this episode is a pause, not to predict markets, but to prepare properly. Before you think about investing, returns, or strategy, you need strong financial foundations. Just like a crack in a bedroom wall isn’t a roof problem, most financial issue don't come from investing, they come from problems with teh foundations. In this weeks episode of Beyond the Market , I focus on t...

Going into the New Year, the same ritual repeats. Banks publish outlooks for the year ahead. Economists pick where the market is going to go. Social media fills with confident predictions about what will happen next year. In this episode of Beyond the Market, we explore why predictions are completely useless and it doesn't matter who says them or how smart they are, because the future is far l...

If investing feels exciting, that’s usually a warning sign. In this episode of Beyond the Market, we explore why the behaviours that actually build long-term wealth feel dull and unsatisfying, while the behaviours that feel exciting often lead to poor results. Humans are wired for novelty, action, and stories. Markets, on the other hand, reward patience, repetition, and long periods of doing nothi...

In this episode of Beyond the Market , we explore one of the most misunderstood ideas in finance and investing: the hidden trade-off between time and money. Many people go out of their way to avoid small fees or save a few pounds by driving further for cheaper petrol, spending hours researching purchases, or avoiding convenience costs, without ever accounting for the time they’re giving up in the...

Dividends feel good. They feel safe. They feel like passive income arriving in your account for simply holding a stock. But is building your entire investment strategy around dividends actually a good idea? In this episode of Beyond the Market , I break down why investing purely for dividends may be one of the worst ways to invest. From focussing on deteriating companies and unsustainable payouts,...

In this episode of Beyond the Market, I break down the key measures from the UK Budget, without the noise or speculation. After weeks of leaks, confusion and U-turns, we finally have the facts. The Chancellor has announced a Budget designed to raise £26 billion over this Parliament, and today I’m analysing the decisions that will shape your income, your savings, and the wider economy. I cover: The...

In this episode of Beyond the Market, I explore how small everyday choices, like where you buy a £3 coffee, quietly shape the UK economy, our tax system, and the future of our high streets. To understand this I dig into the real impact of shopping locally. Small businesses make up 99% of all UK companies, generate over half of business turnover, employ more than 60% of private-sector workers, and...

From 2028, the UK curriculum will officially include financial education, and honestly, it’s long overdue. In this week’s episode, I break down what this change means, why it matters, and what should be taught if we want young people to grow up confident with money in a country that is financially illiterate. As someone who spends their free time running a finance podcast and Instagram page, this...

Most people think “risk” means how much something moves up and down but that’s not true risk. In this episode of Beyond the Market, I unpack what risk really is, use examples from some of the best thinkers of risk including Nassim Taleb and why the taxi driver might actually live a safer life than the corporate employee. We’ll explore why the stock market isn’t as risky as you think, why stability...

We’ve always been told the same story, work hard, pay into your pension, and one day you’ll retire comfortably... if you do pay into a pension at all. But what if that safety net doesn’t exist anymore? In this episode of Beyond the Market , I break down a harsh truth, no one is coming to save you . The state pension, once designed to protect retirees, is becoming harder to qualify for, later to pa...

In this week’s episode of Beyond the Market, I look at the upcoming Autumn Budget, where Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce major ISA reforms, including a possible cut to the Cash ISA allowance from £20,000 to £10,000. I’ll break down what the Autumn Budget actually is, why the government says it wants to get Britain investing again, and if pushing people out of cash will really push...

AI is the hottest topic in the world right now and many people are fearing that the hype has gone too far and we are in an AI bubble. In this episode of Beyond the Market, I break down one of the biggest questions investors are asking right now: Is there an AI bubble, and what should you do with your money? I look at the whole industry to understand exactly where we are. On one side, we have the i...