Mark Bentley has been a full-time stock market investor since 2004, having pursued investing as a rewarding hobby for 20 years previously.

Some of the stand-out talking points were:

Mark shares in detail some of his best investments and how he came across them.

Some of Mark’s worst investments and what he learnt from them.

Two stocks Mark has high hopes for today and the reasons why.

Why does 60% of Mark’s portfolio consist of investment companies?

Mark’s 18-month foray into trading and what he learnt from that experience.

Most of Mark’s early career was spent in the I.T. industry starting in 1980, where he worked for the European Space Agency before going on to start his own IT services business, Anvil Technology, which he ran successfully for 14 years.

Mark was later asked to join the board of ShareSoc in 2011, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the support of individual investors and shareholders’ rights. Mark now splits his time between managing his portfolio and his other passion educating and improving the rights of private investors through ShareSoc as a non-executive director.

This episode could have easily been two hours long. Mark was a fantastic guest sharing some great insights from his multi-decade experience as a private investor.

Timestamps:

2:00 How Mark got started investing.

3:00 How Mark’s investing has evolved over the years.

4:00 Becoming a full-time investor.

6:15 The type of investor Mark is today.

8:00 Some of Mark’s best investments with detailed reasons why.

25:30 Companies Mark currently hold’s a high conviction on

30:30 Why 60% of Mark’s portfolio consists of investment companies and Investments Trusts.

37:45 Some of Mark’s investments that didn’t work out so well, and why.

47:30 Marks other big passion, ShareSoc.

51:15 Closing thoughts and wrap up.