Accessibility helpSkip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer

Cookies on FT Sites

We use cookies for a number of reasons, such as keeping FT Sites reliable and secure, personalising content and ads, providing social media features and to analyse how our Sites are used.

Accept & continue
Manage cookies
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
Open side navigation menuOpen search bar
Financial Times
SubscribeSign InmyFT
  • Home
  • World
    Sections
    • World Home
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • War in Ukraine
    • Americas
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • Australia & NZ
    Most Read
    • Chinese and Russian nuclear bombers fly over Sea of Japan as Biden visits Tokyo
    • Joe Biden pleads for gun control after 19 children killed in Texas shooting
    • Sunak orders plan for windfall tax on electricity generators
    • Erdoğan says he no longer recognises existence of Greece’s leader
    • Viktor Orbán refuses to discuss Russia oil embargo at EU summit
  • US
    Sections
    • US Home
    • US Economy
    • US Companies
    • US Politics & Policy
    Most Read
    • Chinese and Russian nuclear bombers fly over Sea of Japan as Biden visits Tokyo
    • Trump is losing his stranglehold on Republicans
    • Snap spooks investors with macroeconomic warning
    • SEC prepares to crack down on misleading ESG investment claims
    • JPMorgan warns overseas digital bank losses could top $1bn after UK push
  • Companies
    Sections
    • Companies Home
    • Energy
    • Financials
    • Health
    • Industrials
    • Media
    • Professional Services
    • Retail & Consumer
    • Tech Sector
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
    Most Read
    • $40bn crypto collapse turns South Korea against the ‘Lunatic’ leader
    • Glencore to plead guilty to bribery charges and pay $1.5bn penalty
    • JPMorgan warns overseas digital bank losses could top $1bn after UK push
    • UK professional services firms seek exemptions to ban on Russia work
    • Chelsea Football Club sale set for UK approval after Abramovich meets ‘red lines’
  • Tech
  • Markets
    Sections
    • Markets Home
    • Alphaville
    • Markets Data
    • Capital Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
    • Equities
    • Fund Management
    • Trading
    • Moral Money
    • ETF Hub
    • Cryptocurrencies
    Most Read
    • Live news updates from May 24: Glencore to plead guilty to bribery charges, UK regulator warns of 40% rise in energy price cap
    • SEC prepares to crack down on misleading ESG investment claims
    • US stocks fall on fears of slowing growth
    • Crypto links with banks pose threat to financial stability, says ECB
    • Banks and funds stash record $2tn overnight at Fed facility
  • Climate
  • Opinion
    Sections
    • Opinion Home
    • Columnists
    • The FT View
    • The Big Read
    • Lex
    • Obituaries
    • Letters
    Most Read
    • Trump is losing his stranglehold on Republicans
    • How the great generational wealth transfer will shape our political future
    • I tried remote working from this subtropical island. Don’t get too jealous
    • The Fed must act now to ward off the threat of stagflation
    • The west is divided over how the war in Ukraine must end
  • Work & Careers
    Sections
    • Work & Careers Home
    • Business School Rankings
    • Business Education
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Recruitment
    • Business Books
    • Business Travel
    Most Read
    • ‘A bonfire of the decencies’: Peter Hennessy on Boris Johnson’s government
    • Vive la différence between work and play
    • Why presenteeism is an enduring corporate narcotic
    • The cold call is back and worse than ever
    • Welcome to your office in the metaverse
  • Life & Arts
    Sections
    • Life & Arts Home
    • Arts
    • Books
    • Food & Drink
    • FT Magazine
    • House & Home
    • Style
    • Travel
    • FT Globetrotter
    Most Read
    • I tried remote working from this subtropical island. Don’t get too jealous
    • Russia: Revolution and Civil War by Antony Beevor — monsters of the past
    • Five of Singapore’s best places for brunch with a difference
    • The Norfolk Lourdes: England’s lost Holy Land
    • How to pitch it this summer
  • How to Spend It
MenuSearch
  • Home
  • World
  • US
  • Companies
  • Tech
  • Markets
  • Climate
  • Opinion
  • Work & Careers
  • Life & Arts
  • How to Spend It
Financial Times
SubscribeSign In

Your guide to a disrupted world

Start a 4-week trial

John Lee

Private investor columnist
Lord Lee of Trafford is an active private investor, and became the UK's first Isa millionaire in 2003. He is the author of How to Make a Million... Slowly, and the children’s book “Yummi Yoghurt — A First Taste of Stock Market Investment”.

Add to myFT Digest

Add this topic to your myFT Digest for news straight to your inbox

  • Thursday, 3 March, 2022
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Takeover boost lifts the investment gloom

    Keep calm and hold on to high-quality shares

  • Wednesday, 1 December, 2021
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    How patience paid off in 2021

    Key stocks in my portfolio have risen by an average 35 per cent this year

  • Thursday, 2 September, 2021
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Stock market investment needs more television promotion

    Onerous rules limit broadcasters and hamper financial education

  • Thursday, 3 June, 2021
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    A dark year has been kind to my portfolio

    Sticking with some old favourites has paid off

  • Thursday, 4 March, 2021
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Private investors lose out in corporate bids

    Takeover Panel must change rules to compel companies to disclose acquisition approaches sooner

  • Wednesday, 2 December, 2020
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Treatt is a standout in a tough year for my portfolio

    It’s time to take stock, withdrawing future dividend income

  • Thursday, 1 October, 2020
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Scottish Mortgage makes a strong case for investment trusts

    Solid performance for those who want others to do the stock picking

  • Tuesday, 28 July, 2020
    Private investing
    Rise to the challenge of building a stronger portfolio

    I’m putting my investment strategy to the test with a friendly competition

  • Wednesday, 10 June, 2020
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Investors should keep faith with good businesses in rough times

    Dividend cuts aside, there are bright spots amid the gloom

  • Thursday, 23 April, 2020
    Private investing
    Private investors hit by dividend drought

    A payout passed leaves a scar on a company’s record that can never be erased 

  • Wednesday, 1 April, 2020
    Private investing
    Reflections on the stock market downturn

    My portfolio is down about 35 per cent, but I’m sticking with my small-cap heroes 

  • Friday, 6 March, 2020
    Isas
    You too could become an Isa millionaire 

    John Lee and others reveal their stocks and shares Isa investment strategies 

  • Thursday, 30 January, 2020
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Patience is the best tonic for my portfolio 

    Fevertree is my latest purchase — but why didn’t I hold on to Avon Rubber?

  • Wednesday, 4 December, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    A tale of two takeovers

    Isa holdings have held up well in 2019 in spite of political uncertainty

  • Wednesday, 2 October, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Patience is a virtue in investing — and salmon fishing

    Be ready to cast your net for a takeover deal, whenever it occurs

  • Wednesday, 3 July, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Passing knowledge to the next generation of investors

    I’ve polished my strategy through my daughters’ portfolio

  • Wednesday, 29 May, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Takeover bid for Tarsus makes my long wait worthwhile

    The proceeds should be double a previous investment and arrive tax free in my Isa

  • Wednesday, 3 April, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Mystery of insurer’s dwindling share price

    It’s perplexing, but sometimes you just have to take the long view

  • Wednesday, 6 March, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Isas have triumphed across the generations

    I love tax-free saving so much, I suggested naming my first granddaughter ‘Isa’

  • Tuesday, 29 January, 2019
    Personal Finance Advice & Comment
    Opportunities for stock buyers in the slipstream of 2018’s correction

    A small-cap investor’s view on the year ahead

  • Thursday, 1 November, 2018
    Investments
    Time to change my ‘buy and hold’ mantra?

    My strategy remains intact — though I’ve been spurred into selling action

  • Thursday, 30 August, 2018
    Private investing
    Gone fishing, while casting an eye over investments

    The salmon — largely — got away, unlike most of the investments

  • Tuesday, 10 July, 2018
    European companies
    The value of patience for long-term investors

    It can be difficult to hold your nerve, but you need to look at the big picture

  • Tuesday, 27 February, 2018
    Investments
    Sixty years of investing, with plenty of ups and downs

    2018 looks very uncertain, I’ll be happy to maintain my 2017 values

  • Thursday, 1 February, 2018
    Personal Finance
    John Lee’s Small Cap Heroes: Mears Group

    Public services outsourcer has grown dramatically from small beginnings

Previous page You are on page 1 Next page

Useful links

Support

View Site TipsHelp CentreContact UsAbout UsAccessibilitymyFT TourCareers

Legal & Privacy

Terms & ConditionsPrivacy PolicyCookiesCopyrightSlavery Statement & Policies

Services

Share News Tips SecurelyIndividual SubscriptionsGroup SubscriptionsRepublishingExecutive Job SearchAdvertise with the FTFollow the FT on TwitterFT TransactSecondary Schools

Tools

PortfolioToday's Newspaper (ePaper)Alerts HubBusiness School RankingsEnterprise ToolsNews feedNewslettersCurrency Converter

Community & Events

FT CommunityFT LiveFT ForumsFT Board DirectorBoard Director Programme

More from the FT Group

Markets data delayed by at least 15 minutes. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2022. FT and ‘Financial Times’ are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice.
Financial Times

International Edition

Subscribe for full access
  • Switch to UK Edition
  • Top sections
  • Home
  • World
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • War in Ukraine
    • Americas
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • Australia & NZ
  • US
    • US Economy
    • US Companies
    • US Politics & Policy
  • Companies
    • Energy
    • Financials
    • Health
    • Industrials
    • Media
    • Professional Services
    • Retail & Consumer
    • Tech Sector
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
  • Tech
  • Markets
    • Alphaville
    • Markets Data
    • Capital Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
    • Equities
    • Fund Management
    • Trading
    • Moral Money
    • ETF Hub
    • Cryptocurrencies
  • Climate
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • The FT View
    • The Big Read
    • Lex
    • Obituaries
    • Letters
  • Work & Careers
    • Business School Rankings
    • Business Education
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Recruitment
    • Business Books
    • Business Travel
  • Life & Arts
    • Arts
    • Books
    • Food & Drink
    • FT Magazine
    • House & Home
    • Style
    • Travel
    • FT Globetrotter
  • Personal Finance
    • Property & Mortgages
    • Investments
    • Pensions
    • Tax
    • Banking & Savings
    • Advice & Comment
    • Next Act
  • How to Spend It
  • Special Reports
  • FT recommends
  • Lex
  • Alphaville
  • Lunch with the FT
  • FT Globetrotter
  • #techAsia
  • Moral Money
  • FTfm
  • Newsletters
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • News feed
  • FT Community
    • FT Live
    • FT Forums
    • Board Director Programme
  • myFT
  • Portfolio
  • Today's Newspaper (ePaper)
  • Crossword
  • Our Apps
  • Help Centre
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In