How I think about investing.
The lessons I think matter most for any investor. Whether or not you copy me, these are worth knowing.
Everything worth understanding before you invest — pick a topic, or browse it all.
How to start investing
A walkthrough for someone with savings, no investments, and a quiet suspicion they should be doing something with the money.
ReadIndex funds or individual stocks?
Not stocks versus safety, but how you own equities — and why 92% of active funds still trailed the S&P 500 over 15 years.
ReadHow to choose your first ETF
Dozens of ETFs wrap the same index. What the names really mean (Acc/Dist, currency), and six broad starter funds from 0.07% a year.
ReadWhat is compounding, and why does it matter?
The idea underneath every other one in investing: returns earning returns. The Rule of 72, why time beats size, and how fees compound in reverse.
ReadHow a 1.5% fee costs 34% of your wealth
A yearly fee compounds against you: on $10k at 8% over 30 years, 1.5% quietly removes about a third of the final total — and why copying carries no such management fee.
ReadUnderstanding risk: volatility vs permanent loss
The single distinction that separates investors who last from investors who don't.
ReadWhy avoiding losses matters more than catching every gain
A 50% fall needs a 100% gain just to break even. Why protecting the downside beats chasing the last few percent of a hot market.
ReadWhat to do when the market falls
Crashes are normal — the S&P fell ~34% in early 2020 and still finished the year up. Why doing nothing beats panic, and how to prepare first.
ReadAsset allocation basics: stocks, bonds, cash, alternatives
What each asset class is for, and how the mix — not the stock picks — drives most of the outcome.
ReadWhat is Copy Trading?
How copying a portfolio on eToro actually works — the mechanics, the costs, and exactly what you'd be following, before you decide anything.
ReadWhat is CAGR, and why do I look at it so much
The honest per-year return — it counts compounding and punishes volatility. Why a +30%/−14% pair averages 8% but compounds at just 5.7%.
ReadWhy annualized returns matter
'Up 100%' means nothing without a time frame: stellar over 2 years, ordinary over 10. Why you must annualize before you judge a return.
ReadTotal return vs price return: where returns really come from
The S&P number on the news ignores dividends — yet since 1960 about 85% of the index's total return came from reinvesting them.
ReadWhy I benchmark against the S&P 500
A return means nothing without a yardstick. Why the S&P 500 is the fair one — the cheap default 92% of active funds failed to beat over 15 years.
ReadPrice vs value: what the market gets wrong
Price is what you pay; value is what you get. Why they drift apart, who Mr. Market is, and when a cheap stock is a trap.
ReadFree cash flow: the number that can't lie as easily
Earnings can be managed. Cash is harder. The single most important number in a business analysis.
ReadHow I read a cash flow statement
Line by line, plus the four questions I ask before I trust a single number.
ReadWhat is owner free cash flow?
The cash actually left for shareholders after capex and required debt — not accounting profit. PayPal's FY25 in numbers.
ReadWhat a 10% owner FCF yield really means
A sustained 10%+ owner FCF yield means a company throws off its whole value in cash within a decade. PayPal's ~11% worked through.
ReadWhy net cash raises your real FCF yield
Net cash means measuring free cash flow against enterprise value, not market cap — Criteo's ~$389M net cash (over 40% of its market cap) sharply lifts its real yield.
ReadHow share buybacks create value
A buyback builds value only below intrinsic value. PayPal retired ~9% of its shares in FY25 at roughly 10x earnings.
ReadWhen to sell — the most underwritten topic in investing
Everyone teaches buying. Almost no one teaches the harder half of the decision.
ReadThe common mistakes — and how to spot them in yourself
The recurring errors that cost real money, and the tells that give each one away.
ReadISK vs KF vs AF: Swedish investment accounts, explained
The three account types, what each taxes, and how to choose — with verified 2026 figures.
ReadInflation and your money
The slow tax on cash: at 3% a year it halves your purchasing power in about 23 years — and why 'playing it safe' is its own risk.
ReadDo active managers actually beat the index?
Over 15 years, 89.5% of active US large-cap funds trailed the S&P 500. Why beating the index is rare — and the harder problem of proving it when someone does.
ReadThe hedge fund's one good idea
Concentration and analysis are the half of the hedge fund worth keeping. The 2-and-20 fees, the secrecy and the leverage aren't — and none of them is required to run active money you can actually see.
ReadCopy trading vs index funds: an honest comparison
A low-cost index fund charges 0.03% and beat most active funds over 15 years. So when does following a public investor make sense instead?
ReadCopy trading vs a robo-advisor: which fits you?
Robo-advisors charge ~0.25% a year for diversification and rebalancing. Copying a public investor is free but concentrated — what each one really buys you.
ReadWhat to do with money you've no time to manage
Three realistic options for money you can't actively manage: an index fund, a robo-advisor, or following a verifiable public investor — with the honest trade-offs.
ReadHow to verify an investor's track record
Six checks before trusting anyone with your money: real capital, a full history, a benchmark, a fixed start date, 2022 included, and proof you can verify yourself.
ReadWhat does eToro copy trading actually cost?
Copying a portfolio on eToro has no management or copy fee. The $200 minimum, normal spreads, and FX/withdrawal costs — the honest 2026 breakdown.
ReadCopy-minimum calculator (interactive)
The exact amount to copy so every position opens — even the smallest. Worked out live from current market values (not the invested amount, eToro's common trap), with the under-0.5% holdings listed.
ReadCAGR calculator (interactive)
The simplest way to see how fast an investment grew per year. Put in your numbers, drag the sliders, read your compound annual growth rate — no maths needed.
ReadInflation calculator (interactive)
See how inflation quietly eats your savings. Enter what you've saved, a rate, and the years — watch what your cash is really worth in today's money.
ReadCompound interest calculator (interactive)
Compare two annual returns side by side — pre-loaded with ingruc's real CAGR versus the S&P 500 — and watch how a few points a year snowball into a large gap.
ReadISK vs AF calculator (interactive)
Investing in Sweden? See which account wins after tax — with the 300,000 kr tax-free floor and the exact expected return where an ISK and an AF break even. Honest 2026 figures.
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