Page 38 - DIY Investor Magazine - Issue 26

CONFIDENCE & THE IMPOSTER SYNDROME
Since starting WheelieDealer 6 years ago, I have been super- fortunate to have met loads of private investors, traders and professionals; it has been a wonderful bonus to meet so many people that I now consider good friends - I really did not see that coming.
I have also met lots of inexperienced people who are eager to learn, as well as those highly talented who I have been lucky enough to learn new techniques and approaches from.
THE LEGENDARY BASH
During the Summer I try to be in the pub as much as I can
- I try to sneak out and spend lunch and the afternoon with investing mates of all skill levels; each year since 2015, I have arranged ‘The WheelieBash’ just outside Windsor in a lovely country pub with a massive and very pleasant garden.
Sadly, this year’s Bash was a bit more restrained because of C-19, but the market gods took pity on us and the event went ahead in early September, albeit with a chilly breeze, and about 25 people attended. Here is a photo from the Virus Bash and you can find pictures from previous Bashes on the ‘Events’ page on my Website.
In keeping with tradition, the atmosphere was friendly, everyone enjoyed themselves and found it useful; some enduring friendships were initiated, others were cemented on the day.
I am really honoured that people travel to my neck of the woods to attend the Bash and appreciate the efforts they make - many travelled from ‘Up Norf’ and my good friend Aston Girl @Reb40 came down from the top of Scotland where she lives on Ben Nevis; if you are reading this then ‘thanks !!’ again.
In 2019 more than 50 people attended and I look forward to a Monster Bash in September 2021 to celebrate us all getting together in a more ‘normal’ situation. The Bash is always
free to attend and open to everyone; it is stress-free and people just need to rock up - whatever skill level you have you are welcome and people are always willing to share their
knowledge to help people starting out and wanting to learn more.
CONFIDENCE (OR NOT)
I meet people involved in the markets, some new to investing, others with years under their belt but looking to step up a gear - perhaps planning to retire or looking to change how they do things.
Having been retired for nearly 11 years – escaping ‘real work’ at the ripe old age of 44 - I have a pretty good understanding of how to extract money from the markets. I also have a good sense of the expenditure side of things and considerations such as making sure you are busy and have a purpose in
life – otherwise retirement can be very difficult and not all that pleasant.
This I know from experience; when I left work I was very motivated and focused on taking investing to a new level. I did lots of reading and spent time thinking about what I had learnt in my previous 11 years of investing and how I could improve my returns.
Sadly it wasn’t long before things started to derail and I got bored and unenthused about pretty much everything; only when during a visit to Cliveden House near Maidenhead was the concept of WheelieDealer dreamt up with a friend over tea and cake, was my enthusiasm for the markets regenerated, and I have maintained that ever since.
In previous blogs I described the challenges of investing as ‘lifelong learning’ but there have been several periods in my own journey where my knowledge and skills and enthusiasm have plateaued; I definitely got to this kind of stasis just before I started the WD silliness.
Getting WD going changed things immensely with hugely beneficial side-effects such as the discipline it forces upon me and the opportunity to meet more talented investors and hoover up their knowledge to push my own capabilities higher.
I have also learned ideas and techniques from more short-term traders which I have been able to adapt to my own more long- term methods; much of trading and investing is incompatible, but there are synergistic threads across both disciplines.
I constantly find that investors lack confidence in their own knowledge and abilities; I hope it does not sound arrogant for to me say that I can tell very quickly whether someone actually
DIY Investor Magazine | Dec 2020 38