David Kuo

Concern is rising over the risks in investing in AI. But many companies today enjoy record levels of earnings and cash, unlike during the earlier dotcom debacle.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

Why I’m staying invested even at market highs

Instead of second-guessing where share prices will land, focus on the income that a portfolio can generate

Winners are companies that are increasing profits, improving their competitive position and rewarding shareholders with decent returns. It should not be about whether their share prices are rising.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

When to cut losers in your portfolio

We should not hang onto businesses that are losing ground to competitors, slipping into cash flow problems and generally showing signs of...

Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett said the game of investing overwhelmingly favours the investor, and it would be a terrible mistake to dance in and out of it at the turn of a tarot card.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

Why I’d rather be in than out of markets

Investing in the markets is one way to beat inflation, and the US tariffs will no doubt be inflationary

We should invest in the stock market as we would our current account, which means adding money to the portfolio when we have spare cash we can afford to invest for the long term.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

Learning from common investment mistakes

First, build a solid portfolio. Next, invest little and often, and stay in for the long game. Also, accept that you won’t...

With plenty to continue to worry the market, it is unlikely that the wall of worry will be conquered anytime soon. But for most income investors with a balanced portfolio, market gyrations should be almost an irrelevance.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

How to climb the wall of worry

Building a well-diversified portfolio could be a good place to start

A long-term investor doesn't care about the here and now. What matters is whether the investment will be worth more in the future.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

My top six reasons to buy shares today

A long-term investor does not care about the here and now; what matters is whether the investment will be worth more in...

A stock market drop can be a great opportunity to buy shares, but this makes sense if they are shares in good companies.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

Stay calm; think through your choices in a falling market

A stock-market drop can be a great opportunity to buy shares, but this makes sense only if they are shares in good...

To invest successfully in small caps, it is important to stick to some tried and tested rules: Look for companies with a good track record of growing revenues and profits, and with little debt.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

The discipline of investing in small caps

Smaller companies tend to have simple business models that have not been complicated by frequent acquisitions and disposals

It is important to be realistic about valuations. When a company's shares are valued at more than 50 times earnings, it is almost certainly priced for perfection.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

Investing lesson from DeepSeek: Be wary of perfection

It is important to be realistic, especially about valuations, when we invest

Let’s not forget that America is a population of 335 million people. There are still 7.6 billion people that producers and manufacturers can sell to if America should decide to go down the path of mercantilism and impose penal tariffs on imports.
DIARY OF A PRIVATE INVESTOR

Be prepared for a volatile four years

Stock-market volatility is only a problem if we do not know what we are invested in. Consequently, income investors should focus on...