Ian Cowie is interactive investor’s newest star columnist

In his first weekly column for interactive investor, one of the country’s top financial journalists sets out the agenda for his new role. 

Most people work for money but investing in the stock market is a way to make money work for you. Here and now, the coronavirus crisis reminds us that risk is what investors must accept in the hope of being rewarded with more income and capital growth than bonds or deposits can provide.

Covid-19 has caused the worst stock market shock I have seen in more than 30 years since I began work as a cub reporter in the City office of a national daily newspaper. This viral threat to health and wealth will affect more Britons than ever before because millions of us - including your humble correspondent - aim to pay for retirement with investment returns.

So the need for the accurate reports and intelligent analysis that interactive investor provides has never been greater than it is now. It will be a pleasure and a privilege for this DIY investor to play a small part in that service because I believe the best reason to think about money is that it should mean you don’t need to worry about it.

First, though, some rules of engagement - or, in plain English, an explanation of who I am and what I will be doing here. Like most Brits, I knew next to nothing about the stock market when I began work on Fleet Street in 1986. Then, as now, financial journalism was all about knowing where to look, who to talk to and what to ask while aiming to answer readers’ fundamental question: how can I make money out of this?

It turned out to be a great time to have a ringside seat in the City for what is still the most valuable contest in town. Black Monday, 19 October 1987, wiped 10% off the FTSE 100 index of Britain’s biggest shares, with a similar fall the next day, leaving many market participants with a bloody nose and a lighter wallet.

But the aftermath proved favourable for a youngster beginning to buy investment trust shares because, when confidence is low, so are share prices. Sound familiar?

Now, as then, investment trusts automatically diminish the risk inherent in stock markets by diversification. They also give individual investors access to overseas markets that trade while we are asleep, without having to worry about foreign stockbrokers or different tax regimes.

Work as a financial reporter took me round the world. I visited Buenos Aires and Caracas; Cape Town and Johannesburg; Kuala Lumpur and Singapore; Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen; Moscow and Warsaw, as well as more obvious places like Frankfurt, New York, San Francisco and Tokyo. No wonder I have always invested internationally and remain wary of home bias.

Investment trusts also give us cost-effective access to specialist sectors about which we know little - other than that they offer financial opportunities. For example, Polar Capital Technology (LSE:PCT) and Worldwide Healthcare (LSE:WWH) are both long-term top 10 holdings by value in my ‘forever fund’, which you can see here (FULL DISCLOSURE LIST CAN BE FOUND AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE).

That’s what I call my life savings - or portfolio, if you prefer - because I am not a day trader and my ideal holding period is forever. For example, I first bought shares in what was then Fleming Indian Investment Trust in June 1996 and continue to hold what is now JPMorgan Indian (LSE:JII) today. Sad to say, this share is no longer a 10-bagger - as it was before recent setbacks - but we live in hope.

Now would be good time to emphasise I make no claim to have any crystal ball and nor do I make any recommendations about what you should buy or sell. Instead, I will write about what I have done - reporting the rough as well as the smooth of investment, Cowie’s clangers as well as my winners - plus any observations about what I see in the market.

There is no suggestion of any great expertise on my part, although - like any decent hack - I do have frequent access to some of the brightest and best-informed people in the country.

Whatever happens, you can be sure I have substantial ‘skin in the game’ with every reason to bring you financial news and views you can use, however you see fit.

This is a complete list of Ian Cowie’s stock market investments at 31 March 2020. It is not financial advice nor is any recommendation implied. Share prices can fall without warning and you might get back less than you invest.

Ian Cowie is a freelance contributor and not a direct employee of interactive investor.

Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.