🗣️ Investor Talk #3: Luke Hallard

Lead Advisor - 7Investing.com

Welcome to Investor Talk — where we interview successful investors to uncover their journeys, strategies, and the lessons they've learned. Get inspired by real stories and gain valuable insights to sharpen your own investment approach.

Every interview follows the same set of sharp, insightful questions — such as “What is your investment strategy?”, “What are your highest conviction stocks?”, and “What’s the biggest investment mistake you’ve made?”

In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:

Name: Luke Hallard @7LukeHallard
Age: 51
Residence: London, United Kingdom
Invests since: 2004

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
I've been an investor since 2004, and retired from a 25-year career in banking to become a professional investor in 2021. In 2022 I joined the lead advisor team at 7investing.com, a subscription-based financial advisory service that aims to demystify the stock market and make investing accessible to all, regardless of financial background or experiece.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴?
The day I truly understood that I could directly support the companies creating positive change in the world was a key turning point in my life. Using my investing dollars to 'vote' for the organisations that I most believed in, I suddenly realised that being an investor made me an active participant in shaping the future, rather than simply a passenger on the journey of life. My personal investing philosophy has been strongly shaped by this realisation, and I spend a lot of time thinking about how technology can positively impact business and society.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆?
The large majority of my portfolio is in US equities, and I also have a handful of VC positions. I think of myself as a growth investor with a focus on technology and innovation. My specific process has been to make forecasts about the needs and demands of society a year or ten years from now, and then to find the companies that are best positioned to serve those needs.

When a company is operating within one of these `mega-trends', market forces push them towards growth, their products and services are in demand and increasingly, they have tailwinds behind them. Conversely, companies that work against a mega-trend experience resistance and headwinds.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗼?
I currently own 45 companies, but consider six of these to be core investments.

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻?
I orient my investments around thirteen high level investing theses. I would say my biggest current conviction areas are Al, fintech, and medtech, although I have a range of investments across sectors.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟯 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸𝘀?
Although these do not directly represent my personal highest allocation investments, I would say my three highest conviction ideas today are:
$CRWD - Crowdstrike
$MELI - MercadoLibre
$RKLB - Rocket Lab

𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻?
$NFLX - 210x on my first purchase
$SHOP - 50x
$AMZN - 40x
$TSLA - 33x
And a handful of stocks with 5x plus return. After suffering a fairly brutal 2021/22, I have a CAGR of 20.7% over the full 19 year period.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲?
My biggest investing mistake is perhaps simply not starting soon enough, but perhaps the worst investment decisions I've made have been to double-down on losing positions rather than backing my winners ("cutting the flowers and watering the weeds", to quote Peter Lynch). I was particularly guilty of this with a series of failed investments in 3D-printing stocks in the 2010s.

𝗠𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀
Favorite book: The Count of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas.

Favorite podcast: I have to say the 7investing podcast @7investing, especially the episodes where we're able to interview industry experts and insiders, it's just a wealth of knowledge

Favorite quote: "Keep the company of those who seek the truth, run from those who've found it" - Vaclav Havel

Favorite FinTwit account: Apart from my incredible 7investing colleagues, I am a fan of the research from Brad Freeman: @StockMarketNerd

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂?
http://7investing.com

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