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Its Not Harry

Comment and opinion for retail investors in the UK

Innovation

How To – Use Artificial Intelligence to Review a Portfolio of UK Investment Funds

17th November 2025 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

(although in the format of a ‘How To’ article that would usually form part of the website’s permanent content, this topic is fluid and I am still learning, so I am leaving the article as an, albeit very detailed, blog post)

Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer across various sectors, and the investment management industry is no exception. Reviewing and managing a portfolio of UK investment funds can be a complex and time-consuming task.  I have offered subscribers some Excel workbooks over the years, more recently with support from one of your fellow investors who is a spreadsheet programming ace. Both he and I have wondered about adding AI elements to data collection process (the most boring part of the task) or even creating an app that both improves the data presentation and semi-automates the review process.

The App is a work in progress and I may well be able to offer you access to it (at a cost) at some future date, but in the meantime I have explored the possibility of AI completing a portfolio review and quite quickly learned that there can be good outcomes, with genuine portfolio insights, time savings in data analysis and (with care) reliable and repeatable date collection.

A caveat that all experienced AI users will not need to hear is that AI is like an over eager Jeeves – it will always try to please you with some sort of result, making its best efforts credible, even when in fact they are pure fiction.  That means that the way it is tasked to provide data requires some thought and requests must always be qualified with conditions that include reporting the exact sourcing and likely reliability of specific data.

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Filed Under: Education, Innovation, Members Only, Monthly commentary

YAP – homely advice, AI rapper style

14th July 2025 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

With Nvidia becoming the world’s largest company on the back of enthusiasm for AI, I continue to test out the capabilities of the free AIs that are on offer to the public as apps for mobile devices (ie are usually cloud based). I have ChatGPT and Deepseek on my phone, for example. I also plan to see if CoPilot, which is inertia sold now with the Office 365 recent upgrade and reprice, will do some of my spreadsheet work.

It is clear to me, as I have already written, that people will soon find that AI ‘assistants’ (or ‘agents’ for more complex work – a new class of software tool in their own right), are easier to use and give more comprehensive and revisable results in a natural language format when compared to the old processes of ‘googling’.

It is also known that the main reason Apple’s share price is well down lately is that Apple have a lot of work to do in this area, being well behind even the previously lumbering Microsoft.

My latest test, inspired by thinking how much simple good sense, even simplified behavioral science, was in the now classic Kenny Rogers song ‘The Gambler’ that came up in a play list delivered to me by Google Music, was to ask my AI ‘helpers’ to write a song that would represent sound advice to UK retail investors. In other words, create the Not Harry anthem!

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Filed Under: Humour, Innovation, Members Only, Monthly commentary

Deep Dive – June 2025

2nd June 2025 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

A new investment opportunity, or snake oil salesmen?

This month I want to offer a primer on the topic of what are loosely called ‘private equity’ and ‘private credit’. 

These terms describe rather generally forms of investment that do not fit easily within the framework of existing UK legislation and regulation for retail investors but which forms of investment are currently available to retail investors indirectly, by being included in the assets of products we recognise like pension funds and investment trusts, and which may become more widely available in the near future..

A new opportunity, but is it any good?

There is definitely something building by way of a story or even a campaign, with vested interests acting a cheerleaders, which narrative might be summarised as suggesting that this form of asset is the new ‘next great opportunity’ and retail investors ought not to be locked out of such a great opportunity by the ‘nanny state’.

As an indication of how the subject is highly topical, especially in the USA, I would refer you to a very recent comment from a Goldman Sachs AM spokesman saying that he could “even see a world where we stop using the phrase public and private; we just say great companies or great credit”.

Now that sounds like a salesman pushing a new product line to the sceptic in me.   Such is the general tone of the trade media coverage I am seeing.

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Filed Under: Education, Innovation, Members Only, Monthly commentary, Portfolios

Deep Dive – September 2024

1st September 2024 by Mark Potter Leave a Comment

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Filed Under: Asset Allocation, Education, Innovation, Members Only, Monthly commentary

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