Core QVM - the strategy for the rational investor

We now come to the last of eight articles in our series on “The Strategy Map”, to explore an approach that sits at the centre of it all. Before I get started, I want to say that I’m in awe of the private investor community. When everyone seems to know more than you about every stock out there, it’s easy to feel intimidated. There are brilliant minds on Twitter, brilliant minds in Stockopedia’s community, an industry of armchair and professional analysts poring over every company’s every move. How can you possibly find a stock picking edge?

You can, of course, outwork everyone, but it often seems like an exhausting endeavour. You could piggy-back on other’s ideas, but the shallowness of your own research can niggle and worry. The time-poor investor, with a desire to DIY, faces a conundrum. How can you run a successful portfolio without becoming a full-time analyst?

The answer lies in knowing the “base rates” of what pays off and why in the stock market. In this article we’ll be exploring how the stock market really works, why it rewards quality, value and momentum stocks (Q+V+M = QVM) and how you...