Building Real Investment Knowledge That Sticks
Look, we've seen plenty of people jump into investment analysis expecting magic formulas. But that's not how any of this actually works.
What does work? Starting with fundamental concepts and building outward. Understanding why market movements happen before trying to predict them. And yeah, making mistakes along the way—because that's how you learn what the textbooks never quite explain properly.
We've spent years figuring out what actually helps people grasp investment strategies. Not the flashy stuff that sounds impressive at parties, but the practical knowledge that keeps your portfolio stable when markets get weird.
How Learning Actually Progresses
This isn't a rigid schedule. Some people move faster through early concepts, others need more time with valuation models. What matters is building each layer properly before moving on.
Foundation Work (Months 1-3)
Start with financial statements—not the exciting part, but absolutely necessary. You'll read balance sheets until the patterns become obvious. Cash flow statements until you can spot red flags. Income statements until you understand what revenue growth actually means versus what companies want you to think it means.
Market Mechanics (Months 4-6)
Now you're getting into how markets move and why. Economic indicators, sector rotation, interest rate impacts. This is where theory meets reality and you start understanding why your earlier assumptions were probably too simple. Which is fine—everyone's early assumptions are too simple.
Portfolio Strategy (Months 7-9)
Asset allocation isn't just picking percentages that add up to 100. It's about understanding correlation, managing risk across different market conditions, and building positions that match your actual goals rather than what sounds clever. This takes real practice with different scenarios.
Advanced Analysis (Months 10-12)
Valuation models, options strategies, alternative investments. By this point you've got enough foundation to understand why these tools exist and when they're actually useful. You'll also recognize when someone's using complex methods just to sound smart, which happens more often than it should.
Different Approaches, Same Destination
Kieran Pembroke
Spends extra time on quantitative methods because numbers make more sense to him than market psychology. Takes detailed notes, builds spreadsheets, tests models repeatedly. Slower pace, but his foundation ends up rock solid.
Saoirse Brannigan
Prefers learning through real case studies and actual market events. Connects theory to what happened during the 2020 volatility or the 2022 rate hikes. Needs context for everything, which actually helps her remember concepts better than pure theory ever would.
Dashiell Finch
Jumps around topics based on what's happening in current markets. Not the traditional approach, but his curiosity drives deeper understanding. Eventually circles back to fill gaps in foundation knowledge once he sees why it matters.
What Actually Helps People Learn
- Working through real company financials, not sanitized textbook examples that conveniently have round numbers
- Analysing past market movements to understand what drove them—hindsight makes patterns clearer without the noise
- Building watch lists and tracking them over months to see how your analysis holds up against reality
- Reviewing investment theses that didn't work out, because failures teach more than successes ever will
- Regular practice with portfolio rebalancing scenarios across different market conditions and time horizons
- Connecting macroeconomic trends to individual sector performance instead of treating them as separate topics