Topic
Index Funds
The single boring decision that determines most of your investing outcome over a thirty-year horizon.
Index funds are the highest-leverage decision a long-term investor makes. The data is unambiguous: over rolling twenty-year windows, the global market beats roughly 90% of active funds, and the gap is roughly equal to the fee difference. A 0.13% global tracker against a 0.75% active fund over thirty years is a thirteen-percent compounded haircut you didn't need to take.
These articles cover the UK trackers worth holding. Your First Portfolio UK is the start-here piece - one global fund, regular contributions, no tinkering. How to Read an ETF Factsheet covers what to look for before you buy. The Bogleheads piece explains the philosophy behind the approach for readers who want the underlying intellectual framework before committing capital.
17 articles
Showing 1-10
Belt and Braces Investing: One Global Tracker
There are real reasons to overcomplicate your portfolio. Until you can name yours, one global tracker plus a monthly direct debit will beat almost everything else you can build.
Best S&P 500 ETF UK 2026: Six UCITS Trackers Compared
Six S&P 500 UCITS ETFs, OCFs from 0.03% to 0.09%. On £10k over 30 years the gap is ~£1,300. The real risk in an S&P 500-only position is not the fee.
What Is the S&P 500 and How to Buy It in the UK
You think you own 500 American companies. Look inside the S&P 500 in 2026 and the top ten holdings account for more than a third of the whole index. That's not diversification.
Your First Portfolio UK: One Global Fund, Trickle In
Three ETFs feels more serious than one. Five feels like a real portfolio. Both are wrong for your first year. The reason the boring answer wins is only ever learned once.
How to Tell If Your Investment Plan Is Working
Up 4% this year could be a disaster. Down 8% could be exactly right. The broker app's number is meaningless without a benchmark, and the benchmark almost no one is honest about.
Passive Investing in the UK: Why Active Funds Lose
Your active fund loses to the index 8 times out of 10 over a decade. The 0.85% fee gap quietly eats an entire retirement portfolio over a career. The sales floor never mentions it.
Best UCITS ETFs for UK Investors 2026: 10 Funds Compared
Five UCITS tickers cover almost everything a UK investor will ever need. Most portfolios hold three times that many funds doing the same job at five times the cost.
Is Investing Gambling? How to Tell, and What to Do If It Is
Your trading app has a number you check first thing in the morning. There is a line between investing and gambling, and five signs you crossed it months ago without noticing.
A Beginner's Guide to Investing in the UK
The financial industry wants you to think investing is complicated. Their salaries depend on you believing it. The 20-year proof that they're wrong is in their own data.
SpaceX IPO: How It Could Hit Your Pension
SpaceX is listing 3.3% of its shares at a $1.75 trillion valuation. Nasdaq and S&P are rewriting their rules so your pension fund has no choice but to buy the rest at that price.