In this episode of In The Company of Mavericks, we tackle the most requested topic since the podcast launched: the fundamentals of money and investing, and how to introduce these vital concepts to children, grandchildren, and the next generation.

Host Jeremy McKeown is joined by Andy Craig, founder of Plain English Finance and author of the bestselling book How to Own the World, alongside Josh Sandford, investment director at Dowgate Wealth, with two decades of experience guiding clients through market cycles.

Whether you're a beginner investor, a parent wanting to teach your kids about money, or a seasoned investor revisiting first principles, this conversation delivers actionable insights on building long-term wealth, navigating volatility, and avoiding the most common investing mistakes.

Episode Sponsor: Finance Talking

Finance Talking provides specialist financial training around capital markets, business finance, and communications, with virtual, in-person, and low-cost e-learning courses. Their clients include Rio Tinto, HSBC, Unilever, and Shell. Mention Jeremy when you get in touch.

Visit Jeremy's Substack: HyperNormalTimes.

What You'll Learn in This Episode

Why UK financial literacy lags behind international peers, and the £20 trillion opportunity cost
The crucial difference between investing and trading (and why conflating them destroys wealth)
How compound interest truly works, and why 60% of UK adults don't understand it
The main asset classes every investor should know: cash, bonds, equities, property, commodities, and precious metals
Why asset allocation matters more than stock picking
The "100 minus your age" rule (and why it should now be 120 minus your age)
How to stay the course during market volatility and drawdowns
The truth about inflation, monetary debasement, and why nominal returns mislead
Gold, silver, and Bitcoin as inflation hedges
The rise of passive investing and its structural risks for capital markets
Whether AI infrastructure spending signals a bubble or a cycle
How to think about buying property versus renting and investing
Why time is the young investor's greatest asset

Key Takeaways

1. Financial literacy is a silver bullet. Understanding how money and investing work dramatically increases your chances of building wealth over a lifetime.

2. Investing is not trading. Investing harnesses real economic growth and human progress. Trading is largely a zero-sum game where 78–80% of retail participants lose money.

3. Time is your greatest asset. Get rich slowly. £5,000 invested in a Junior ISA at birth, compounded at 10%, becomes £945,000 by retirement.

4. Know the asset classes. Cash, bonds, equities, property, commodities, and precious metals each play a different role in a balanced portfolio.

5. Asset allocation beats stock picking. Use the "120 minus your age" heuristic to balance defensive and aggressive holdings.

6. Risk is not just volatility. The risk of doing nothing — sitting in cash and losing purchasing power to inflation — is often greater.

7. Think in real terms, not nominal. Monetary debasement is the real story behind asset price inflation.

8. Ignore the noise. The average equity investor underperforms the market by about 700 basis points because they react to news. Main Street is not Wall Street.

9. Property: think in decades. Don't fall for FOMO. Compare rental yields, salary multiples, and opportunity costs before buying.

10. Stay the course. Pound-cost average, diversify, and let compounding do the heavy lifting.

About the Guests

Andy Craig is the founder of Plain English Finance and author of How to Own the World, one of the UK's most popular personal finance books. After a 25-year career in the City, Andy now dedicates his work to improving financial literacy across the UK. Find him at plainenglishfinance.

Josh Sandford is investment director at Dowgate Wealth with over 20 years of experience managing discretionary portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and pension funds.

Books Mentioned in This Episode

How to Own the World — Andy Craig
The Psychology of Money — Morgan Housel
Rich Dad Poor Dad — Robert Kiyosaki
The Ascent of Money — Niall Ferguson
Money: A Story of Humanity — David McWilliams
Broken Money — Lyn Alden
The Secret History of Gold — Dominic Frisby
Simple but Not Easy — Richard Oldfield

Keywords: financial literacy UK, how to start investing, investing for beginners, compound interest, asset allocation, ISA vs pension, passive investing risks, gold as inflation hedge, Bitcoin investing, teaching kids about money, Andy Craig How to Own the World, Plain English Finance, Galgate Wealth, Josh Sandford, Jeremy McEwen, In The Company of Mavericks podcast, UK personal finance, monetary debasement, real returns, S&P 500 ETF, generational wealth, stocks and shares ISA, get rich slowly, investing vs trading

The Silent Crisis of Financial Literacy with Andrew Craig & Josh Sanford - A Younger Person's Guide to Money & Investing

Hypernormal Investing: Growing Capital & Protecting Wealth Amid Radical Uncertainty

The Silent Crisis of Financial Literacy with Andrew Craig & Josh Sanford - A Younger Person's Guide to Money & Investing