London Stock Brokers in the 1980s

ASX Education: London Barrowboys at work

Having spent sixteen years in the UK and four years in Australia sitting on the institutional desks of some major brokers, particularly in the UK, one thing becomes apparent, that share prices don’t go up and down because of the fundamental reasons that commentators and the media obsess over in hindsight, they go up and…

Why Bother

I was studying the latest edition of Marcus Today whilst on holiday when my son asked what I was reading.  Then came the question, “why do you bother?”  Why not invest in some EFTs or in a managed fund and save yourself a lot of time and worry? I’ve been asked that question before and…

tax time - tax loss selling

It’s Tax Time – Tax Loss Selling

We are into June, and it’s time for financial advisers and accountants to start talking to clients about tax loss selling in stocks, something that we should probably all think about in May rather than June, but whatever. It works like this. Assuming you pay Capital Gains Tax, many of you don’t, on June 30th…

The One Stock Portfolio

The One Stock Portfolio

After I first wrote this article in 2009 and published it in The Age on Saturday, the stockbroker I worked  for at the time insisted that I include a disclaimer at the bottom of all my articles from then on saying “The opinions in this article are those of Marcus Padley and do not represent…

Retirement Today: Crystal Ball

Looking out of our hotel room window in a small town in Portugal I noticed an oversized parking meter with a car connected by cable.  It wasn’t a parking meter it was an electric car recharging point.  It made me reflect on the number of electric cars we see in Europe and on the dominance…

Marcus Padley working as a stock broker in London

ASX Education: Ten Investment Rules

I have been writing the Marcus Today newsletter for over twenty years and read something called “Farrell’s Rules” over thirty years ago. There is an article about ‘Farrell’s Ten Rules’ below which you might find interesting, but as I read them, I realise they are a bit old, and I’m sure we can do better.…