🗣️ Investor Talk #48: Vladimir Kiselev
Vladimir has his own scoring system to value stocks — get the inside story in this exclusive interview.
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 “If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?”
👉 Check out all previous Investor Talks here
Including interviews with Brian Feroldi (Founder - Long Term Mindset), Shay Baloor (Host of Stocktwits) and Gav Blaxberg (CEO - WOLF Financial).
In this edition, we have the pleasure of interviewing:
Name: Vladimir Kiselev @VladBastion
Age: 33
Residence/Country: United Kingdom
Invests since: 2009
Introduction
During my studies at university shortly after the 2008 financial crisis, I made my first stock purchases, initially focusing on trading. After reading The Intelligent Investor, I discovered that a fundamental, long‑term approach suited me far better.
Since 2013, I have concentrated on long‑term portfolio investing. I then spent eight years as a buy‑side analyst at an asset‑management firm. Just before the COVID‑19 pandemic began, I left that firm to launch my own project, Investment Bastion — a platform for dashboards and scoring systems for stock valuation.
What is your investment strategy?
I maintain a long-term core portfolio of ETFs, complemented by an active stock portfolio focused on efficiently growing companies trading at reasonable valuations.
Stock selection is based on my proprietary scoring systems. I'm currently transitioning to a fully automated workflow: I define my parameters in an Excel-based terminal I built, which then outputs the most suitable stocks for portfolio construction.
How many stocks are currently held in your portfolio?
I manage two portfolios, each holding 15 to 20 stocks. One focused on large caps and the other on mid/small caps. I'm also developing a new dividend strategy for a subscriber, which will likely result in a separate 15-stock portfolio dedicated to that approach.
Which sectors do you mainly focus on?
My primary sector focus is on Technology, Consumer, and Industrials. I build valuation frameworks using scoring systems, and I find that fundamental metrics in these sectors tend to be less volatile than in areas like Materials or Energy, making them more suitable for the kind of analysis I do.
What are your 3 highest conviction stocks?
The highest scores in my Growth + Efficiency + Reasonable Price system right now go to:
$MU - Micron
$RCL - Royal Caribbean
$NXT - Nextracker
What is the stock in your portfolio with the highest return?
$NVDA - Unsurprisingly, over the past couple of years Nvidia has delivered the best return.
What is the biggest investing mistake you have made?
I bought shares of the fintech company Semrush simply because I had friends working there, rather than basing the decision on fundamentals. It ended up being one of my biggest losses in recent years.
If you could give one piece of advice to investors, what would it be?
Read The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel.
My Favorites
Favorite book: “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand @AynRandOrg
Favorite podcast: The Athletic NBA Daily @AthleticNBAShow and Acquired @AcquiredFM
Favorite quote: “You never know where luck will land, or slip away like grains of sand.” from my Grandmother
Favorite FinX account: I enjoy following Mike Fritzell @MikeFritzell
Where can we find more info about you?
U can find me on X: @VladBastion. And I recently launched my Substack: Investment Bastion
That’s a wrap!
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That’s it for today.
We’ll see you again in the next edition of our newsletter!
Until then, invest wisely.
Vincent & Stefan
The Future Investors
Disclaimer:
The information and opinions provided in this article are for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product, security, or asset. The Future Investors does not provide personalized investment advice and is not a licensed financial advisor. Always do your own research before making any investment decisions and consult with a qualified financial professional before making any investment decisions. Please consult the general disclaimer for more details.