33: 33rd CONKERS’ CORNER : 14th November 2016: “Conkers’ Corner” speaking with Mark Rogers

Welcome to the 33rd CONKERS’ CORNER recorded 14th October 2016. In this interview I have the pleasure of speaking with @Mark_Rogers88 Mark Rogers the current Managing Director of Motley Fool. Mark is also an Analyst and the Chief Investment Advisor of ‘Motley Fool Hidden Winners’ where he and his team write select one high-conviction small-cap share recommendation every month, plus up-to-date coverage for every single active Hidden Winners recommendation.

Mark grew up in Lancashire, and went to school in Merseyside. A self taught Private Investor, Mark’s introduction to stocks and shares came from his Dad, who was a stock market enthusiast. When Mark was around ten years of age, his parents purchased a Windows 95 Computer and he became the designated computer person to input prices onto a spreadsheet from those his Dad called out from the Financial Times. He became hooked after that.

Mark eventually began investing when he was 13 years old, after he had saved up enough pocket money to enable him to make his first stock purchase, under the supervision of his Dad. This continued and Mark’s love of numbers led to him attending Birmingham University where he studied Economics. Having studied the stock market from all sorts of angles and growing up around a family firm, he has been around businesses all of his life. He has tried and experienced all sorts strategies, including day trading, Ichimoku cloud analysis and top down macro investing, indicators. However the more he experienced, the more he learned the value of simplicity. Nowadays you won’t find any charts, or flashing indicators or complex algorithms on Mark’s screens. To quote Mark “sometimes you’ve got to be a fool before you become a Fool…!”

Like many investors, reading Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letters was a revelation to Mark. For many years now, his focus has been on investing for the long-term in high-calibre businesses listed on the stock market. Mark joined the Motley Fool investing team in 2013, and in January 2016 took over as Managing Director. His Team at Motley Fool offer a range of premium investing services to match the needs of a broad range of temperaments and timelines, interests and investing attitudes http://www.fool.co.uk/help/which-motley-fool-service-is-right-for-me/ . Mark’s portfolio has “personal skin in the game” with regards to a large percentage of his holdings being those stocks selected for Motley Fool premium client services. Mark looks to hold shares for years and years when we finds the right ones.

Mark’s and Motley Fool’s mission is to “Help The World Invest Better, and to avoid being bamboozled by the jargon and nonsense which is so prevalent in the investing world”. Mark states “I love what we set out to do at The Fool, and I love the challenges of both running a business and running a stock-picking service (as well as my own portfolio). We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do — and like all good investors, I hope to never stop learning!”

Listen now to gain insights into how Mark invests and learn from the lessons in his successful, insightful investing journey.