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01 · RESEARCH
Start with the Approved List.
A searchable starting point across UK, European, US and global shares.
10,000stocks · UK · Europe · US · Global
View full image ↗ (opens in a new tab)Today's mood is the noise. It swings with the headlines. The monthly climate is what matters for a long-term portfolio. See this week's climate.
Alpesh B Patel OBE® · Hedge fund manager
Get a hedge fund manager’s view of your portfolio. Free.
See what you hold, what it really costs you each year, and where it’s falling behind. An educational review of your ISA, SIPP or other investments.
Not ready yet? Explore the free tools and investing course
Want to manage it yourself? See the Great Investments Programme →
18 books · FT author & columnist · Bloomberg TV alumnus · Watch on BBC News (opens in a new tab)
Investing involves risk, including loss of capital. Education and historic performance do not guarantee investment results.
Market Regime · Updated every Monday
Markets this week · Updated every weekend
15 S&P 500 companies report this week. Biggest names by day:
Last week 10 companies reported and 90% beat analysts’ earnings forecasts.
Mag6 Watch · Updated weekly
Price data, not recommendations. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Histograms, drawdowns and odds by holding period
Seasonality Lab · this month
Average +1.7%, higher in 67% of 46 years. See which months have paid, and punished, 193 stocks, indices and ETFs.
Explore Seasonality LabUnderstand markets and your portfolio.
Check where you stand today.
Explore your future choices.
Educational tools, not personal advice. Illustrations depend on your inputs and assumptions and are not predictions or guarantees. Investments can fall in value. Check each app’s privacy information before entering personal data or uploading a photo.
Free simulator
Two pots, the same money going in and the same growth. The only difference is the yearly charge. Works in pounds or dollars, for UK and US accounts. Drag the sliders and watch compounding widen the gap.
Charges could cost you
£0
* The 14% default is close to the S&P 500's recent annualised growth: about 13.5% a year in price alone over the 10 years to October 2026, slightly more with dividends reinvested (in US dollars). That decade was unusually strong and is not a forecast; returns vary every year and can be negative. Try 7% or 10% to see how the charge gap behaves either way.
Educational illustration only, not personal advice or a recommendation. It assumes the same growth and charge every year, money added at the start of each month and no withdrawals, and ignores inflation and tax on withdrawals. Charges you enter should include fund, platform and any adviser fees. UK figures use basic-rate SIPP relief; US figures exclude employer matching and tax. Works for clients in any country: pick the currency you invest in. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you put in.
Free guides
Plain-English, step-by-step guides for people who already have a pension, portfolio or adviser.
Guide · 9 min
Work out your real return, add up every charge and see what you actually own, in about ten minutes.
Read the guide →Guide · 9 min
When advice is essential, what you may be paying for without needing it, and the questions to ask.
Read the guide →Guide · 22 min
Value, CROCI, profitable growth, momentum, Sortino, drawdowns and behaviour, from Tweedy, Browne to Nobel prize winners.
Read the guide →Insights and research
New insights twice a week on pensions, platforms, markets and retirement, plus evergreen research papers, pension fund reviews and broker and SIPP reviews.
Should I Combine My Pensions? 7 Checks Before You Consolidate Old Pots in 2026Should I combine my pensions? It is one of the most common questions I hear from investors in their forties, fifties and sixties. Most of them have…
Should I Sell My Shares? The Nobel-Backed Regret Test for Uncertain MarketsMissing just the 10 best days in the market over the past two decades would have cut a portfolio in half , according to J.P. Morgan Asset Management.…
Cheapest SIPP for Drawdown in 2026: HL vs AJ Bell vs Fidelity vs ii vs VanguardWhich SIPP is cheapest for drawdown? It is a question that matters more than most people realise. Once you stop working and start taking an income…
Sell or Hold? A Regret-Minimisation Decision TreeA three-question decision tree for deciding whether to sell or hold in an uncertain market, built on Nobel Prize-winning research by Kahneman, Thaler…
Exit or Hold? A Decision Framework for Market PullbacksA 13-step framework for market pullbacks: decide in advance whether you are a trader or a holder, treat a higher re-entry price as the cost of…
NVIDIA: Deciphering the Key DriversA quantitative look at which data actually leads NVIDIA’s share price: data-centre revenue, gross margin momentum, guidance and valuation, versus the…
Should I Combine My Pensions? 7 Checks Before You Consolidate Old Pots in 2026Should I combine my pensions? It is one of the most common questions I hear from investors in their forties, fifties and sixties. Most of them have…
Cautious, Balanced or Adventurous Pension? What the Labels Really MeanIs your pension cautious, balanced or adventurous? Most UK savers can answer that question in a second, because it is the label they ticked on a…
SJP Polaris 4 Fund Review 2026: What the Numbers Actually ShowSJP Polaris 4 is one of the most widely held funds in the UK. This review examines its real fees, performance against benchmark, and what investors…
Cheapest SIPP for Drawdown in 2026: HL vs AJ Bell vs Fidelity vs ii vs VanguardWhich SIPP is cheapest for drawdown? It is a question that matters more than most people realise. Once you stop working and start taking an income…
Trading 212 SIPP Review 2026: The Zero-Commission Platform Serious Investors Should Know AboutTrading 212 offers zero dealing commission, zero platform fee, and 0.15% FX conversion - the lowest all-in cost structure of any major UK SIPP…
Best Stocks and Shares ISA Platforms 2026: Which One Should You Use?For a £50,000 Stocks and Shares ISA, Hargreaves Lansdown charges £225 per year. Fidelity charges £90. Trading 212 charges zero. This review compares…Watch Alpesh
Clear, practical lessons on pensions, portfolios and markets, watched by hundreds of thousands of investors on YouTube and TikTok.
New this week
Alpesh’s weekly look at what is moving markets and what it could mean for long-term investors. A new update every week.
See all videos on YouTube (opens in a new tab)Start Here: How to Take Control of Your Own Pension
The Compounding Truth: $100K to $1M in Real Numbers
Pension Reality Check: Are You on Track?
Why Professional Fund Managers Often Fail You
Your Pension's Biggest Problem - Scottish Widows CS8 Breakdown
Why Most Investment Portfolios Fail the Reality Test
Videos are general education, not personal financial advice. Investments can fall as well as rise.
Our mission target
1,000,000
Our goal, not a count of people already reached. Approximate audience figures supplied September 2026; audiences may overlap across platforms.
Meet Alpesh
Investor. Author. Financial educator.
Alpesh created these free resources to make investing knowledge and practical tools easier to access.
His experience includes writing for the Financial Times, presenting on Bloomberg TV and a former Visiting Fellowship in Business at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.
He is the author of 18 books on investing and entrepreneurship, and brings that teaching experience to questions about portfolios, investing and retirement.
Professional experience provides context, not a guarantee of investment outcomes.
Experience
that counts
“Alpesh demystifies the world of investing…”
“…the structure and clarity I was missing before.”
“…you’ll learn an awful lot through the course.”
Individual experiences vary. Testimonials do not demonstrate typical investment returns or guarantee outcomes. View the published excerpts · Read full reviews
Press & partnerships
Alpesh Patel OBE provides free investing education and practical tools to help people understand portfolios, investing and retirement. His goal is to help one million people become better-informed investors.
Alpesh B Patel OBE is Founding Principal of Rootbridge Capital and the author of 18 books. His background includes the Financial Times, Bloomberg TV and a former Visiting Fellowship in Business at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. He teaches investing concepts through free tools, writing and broadcasts.
Could these resources help your employees, members or community? Contact the team about sharing the free tools, financial education sessions or a possible collaboration. Tell us who you support, what they would like to understand and the format you have in mind.
The Great Investments Programme
Optional, and separate from the free tools above.
From 10,000 companies to a model portfolio you understand, with rules for the hard years. You make the decisions.
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01 · RESEARCH
A searchable starting point across UK, European, US and global shares.
10,000stocks · UK · Europe · US · Global
View full image ↗ (opens in a new tab)
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02 · CONSTRUCTION
See how holdings work together, and why each one is there.
View full image ↗ (opens in a new tab)Historical model portfolio, for education only. Past performance is not a guide to future returns; the value of investments can fall as well as rise.
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03 · DISCIPLINE
Study drawdowns and recovery, then set rules for reviewing and rebalancing.
View full image ↗ (opens in a new tab)In members’ own words
Education, not personalised advice. Individual experiences vary. See the programme page for the full record and risk warnings.
Keep in touch
Practical investing education, new free tools and webinar invitations. No spam, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Optional paid support
Alpesh and the team offer the separate, paid Great Investments Programme for people who want ongoing research, software and personal educational mentoring. You can use all the free resources without joining.
Explore the Great Investments ProgrammeCommon questions
The tools linked from this site are free to explore. The Great Investments Programme is an optional, separate paid offer.
No. We provide education and information. Calculations are illustrations based on your inputs and assumptions, not recommendations or guaranteed outcomes. Seek qualified advice for decisions about your circumstances.
No. Start with a question you understand, use the relevant tool and explore the free lessons at your own pace.
No. You make your own investment decisions and keep your money with your chosen provider or broker.
Yes. Request a free portfolio review for educational information about your existing holdings. It is not personal financial advice. It is free and without obligation.
The Great Investments Programme is a separate, paid programme. If you are interested, you will be told the full price and terms before you decide, and there is no obligation to join. Everything else on this website, including the tools, guides, newsletter and portfolio review, is free.
Yes. Email your question to team@tradermind.com with the subject “Question for Alpesh”. Common questions may be answered in a video, guide or newsletter, without naming you. We cannot give personal financial advice.