- Random stockpicking has an appeal
- ... but isn’t working with UK shares
- Lots of idea generating content
Just because an investment idea initially sounds smart doesn’t mean it is sound. As Investors’ Chronicle’s de facto Ideas editor, I can say this with a degree of authority. Often, what first appears to be a lightbulb shatters under further scrutiny or real-world conditions.
A cursory scan of my own notes and unfinished to-do lists reveals lots of clever duds. One such idea I am repeatedly drawn to, for example, is randomness. As I will unpack below, taking a blindfolded dart-throwing approach to the stock market hasn’t worked very well of late, especially for UK shares. But there are a few reasons why randomised stockpicking has a certain appeal.