Beyond the Market

Premium Bonds are one of the UK’s most popular places to hold cash. They feel safe, they are backed by the government, the prizes are tax-free, and every month two people win £1 million. So what’s not to like? In this episode of Beyond the Market, I break down what Premium Bonds actually are, how they work, and why I don’t believe they should be treated as investing. Premium Bonds are effectively...

In this episode of Beyond the Market, I talk about why I’ve stopped reading finance books. For years, almost everything I read was non-fiction, investing books, business books, self-help books and autobiographies. All of which are books types of books that I enjoy and some of those books have shaped the way I think about money, investing, compounding and long-term wealth building. But after readin...

In this episode of Beyond The Market, I’m sharing exactly how I built my first £100,000 invested and why it took far longer than people might expect. This is not a story about finding the next Nvidia, making one brilliant stock pick, or becoming an overnight investing genius. It is a personal look at my real investing journey,, saving money, moving to London, using ready-made portfolios, sitting i...

When people hear “I work in finance”, they often assume that means one thing. It doesn’t. Finance is huge. Professional investing, investmnet banking, public markets, pensions, real estate, financial advice and accounting all sit under the same broad umbrella, but they are very different worlds. In this episode of Beyond The Market, I talk about the difference between professional finance and indi...

Investing can be simple, but that does not mean it is easy. In this episode of Beyond the Market, I talk about why investing feels so difficult for normal people, not because buying an investment is necessarily complicated, but because the psychology behind it is hard. Most people want certainty before they invest. They want to know they are making the right decision, that they will not lose money...

Not every investing journey starts with some dramatic transformational story. In this episode of Beyond the Market , I talk about why the most relatable investing stories are often the least dramatic. I have been investing for over 15 years, worked in finance for over 10, and built a multiple six-figure investment portfolio, but I have never had a huge financial transformation moment. No bankruptc...

In this episode, I’m talking about why most people probably don’t have the time to properly invest in individual stocks. Stock picking sounds exciting. You imagine finding the next Nvidia, buying Bitcoin early, or becoming the next Warren Buffett. But doing it properly takes serious time, research and discipline. You need to understand the company, its accounts, competitors, valuation, risks and w...

You’ve probably seen the example: invest £500 per month into a diversified fund for 30 years at 7% and you could end up with over £600,000. The maths is technically right. But the way most people interpret it is wrong. In this episode, I break down the problem with online investment calculators, why inflation changes the way you should think about future portfolio values, and why £600,000 in 30 ye...

I recently became the victim of financial fraud. I would say that I’m sensible with money. I know where my money is going, and how much I should have in my bank accounts. So when I spotted an unknown £900 transaction on my credit card, I was shocked and did all I could to get it back. In this episode, I talk through exactly what happened, from the moment I realised the money was taken which lead t...

The UK has a problem, millions of people are sitting on large amounts of cash, but still feel too nervous, confused or overwhelmed to invest. In this episode of Beyond the Market , I break down the new Invest for the Future campaign (link: https://takethenextstepinvest.co.uk/ ), launched by the Investment Association and backed by the FCA, which aims to encourage UK savers to take the next step fr...

A couple of years ago, I seriously considered becoming a financial advisor. I attended industry events, spoke to advisors, and explored some of the biggest firms in the UK. On the surface, it looked like a compelling career, a structured training programme, support through the process and beyond, plus the opportunity to build your own business. But the deeper I looked, the more uncomfortable I bec...

You don't have a money knowledge problem. You have an action problem. In this episode, I break down the real reason so many intelligent, capable, high earners have money sitting in cash instead of invested in the stock market. This is not about a lack of information. It is about psychology. I cover the key behavioural reasons people delay investing: status quo bias, decision fatigue, regret av...

In this weeks episode, I talk about the shame that stops so many UK professionals from taking their first real step into investing. If you earn good money, consider yourself intelligent, but feel lost when investing comes up in conversation, this episode is specifically for you. We cover: Why 13 million UK adults are holding £430 billion in cash they should be investing How the British school syst...

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...