We have some exciting news to share! The Motley Fool UK has now become The Twelfth Magpie -- an independent, UK-owned company, led by our long-serving UK management team — Mark Rogers, Chris Nials and Heather Adlington. In practical terms, it’s the same team you know, now fully focused on serving our UK readers and members.

Just as importantly, our approach remains unchanged: long-term, jargon-free, and on your side. This site is our new home, and there will be extra tweaks made across the coming few days as we settle in. So if anything looks a little off, please bear with us!

The content of this article was relevant at the time of publishing. Circumstances change continuously and caution should therefore be exercised when relying upon any content contained within this article.

Real-Life Investing: Introduction

Read about this Fool’s real-life investing experiences.

You’re reading a free article with opinions that may differ from The Motley Fool’s Premium Investing Services. Become a Motley Fool member today to get instant access to our top analyst recommendations, in-depth research, investing resources, and more. Learn More.

The question is asked of us at the Fool time and time again: “It’s all very well writing about shares and investments, but what are you yourself investing in? You may say that this company is a buy or a sell, but where are putting your own money?” After all, if I am not investing in the companies I am writing about, why should you trust my recommendations at all?

My personal investing strategy

These are very valid questions. So I thought I would write about my own personal portfolio. I will write about which shares I have been buying and selling, and why have I made these trades. I will write about my investing philosophy. I have often written about contrarian, value and growth investing — in this series I will write about what my personal investing strategy is.

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 Of course, there is absolutely nothing wrong in writing about shares you don’t own, but writing about your own portfolio perhaps could add a more authentic and insightful touch to my articles — at least, that’s what I hope!

The thinking behind the trades 

And this would not just be about “I bought this company at this price, and sold at this price, making a profit of….” It will be about what I was actually thinking when I made these decisions. It will be the story behind the raw numbers.

I will write about my investing successes and also, perhaps more interestingly, my investing failures. I will write about blue chips, small caps, growth companies, value companies, dividend investing, retirement planning, international investing, investing psychology, and anything else under the investing sun which has affected my portfolio.

And, just perhaps, you may learn something about reaching your own investment goals, too.

Sound interesting? Worth a read? Well, the series proper begins next week. Welcome to ‘Real Life Investing’…

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