About me
My name is Ivan Parushkin. I am a fixed-income and equities analyst.
Early business ventures
I studied BSc in Economics and Finance at the University of Exeter (UK) and MSc in Mathematical Finance at the University of York (UK). Like many students, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. But was interested in how different businesses work and was reading a bit about investing. Since my second year of uni, I sold luxury hampers, bespoke loft furniture and software development services, read the majority of books about investing and bought my first stock in 2018. However, I wasn’t investing much, as it was clear that it’s not an easy game.
Smell of the opportunity
When Covid hit the stocks significantly dropped and I immediately thought “This is great, this is exactly what I was reading about in the investing books. A short-term shock (pandemics always end, there were a million precedents) that doesn't significantly alter the long-term cash flow generating ability of the companies and provides a clear reason for mispricing”. I thought I could make more money buying and holding these companies for 3-5 years than I would make working at my IT consulting job in Moscow in a year, so I started researching the companies and left my consulting job. This was the moment when I tasted that a mere mortal can make money investing and that the market can be inefficient and my investing career began. Soon after a friend of mine asked me to invest some of his money into liquid Russian corporate bonds, then I got a job at a fixed-income fund (unrelated people), where after about 1.5 years I was promoted to a portfolio manager.
So how did I end up writing this nonsense that you are reading now?
I read Jack London's Martin Eden and decided that I want to become very good at investing in equities. Mr Andrew Walker, whose videos I always watch and enjoy, bequeathed that becoming a CFA and starting a blog can immensely help in that endeavour. So I promptly signed up for the exams and passed CFA level 1 and 2 in the 90th and 95th percentile last year. Now I am starting a blog hoping to achieve at least some of the following:
Get feedback on my ideas
Clarify ideas
Meet other investors to exchange ideas with
Attract investors
Find a job
And last, but not the least, make friends!
What will I write about?
Content
Phil Fisher and Mohnish Pabrai said that the best investment candidates are other people’s ideas. So I will be working by Fisher’s sketches, exploring ideas, initially discovered by other investors and then researching them and developing an independent perspective.
Objectivity
I will publish most of the research that I do to avoid the pressure of giving buy recommendations simply because I need to post something. This will help me stay more objective and clarify my thoughts on investment candidates.
What value will I bring?
More in-depth research than what is currently publicly available or an alternative perspective on the situation/stock.
Disclaimer
The blog expresses my opinions and shouldn’t be taken as investing advice. Please check the disclaimer.
Contacts
ivanparushkin1@gmail.com
