Personal Investing: from zero to your first portfolio
A practical course to understand markets, choose assets and build a portfolio aligned with your goals. No hype, no guaranteed-return promises.
Investment Fundamentals
The foundations
Understand why investing is necessary and the principles that govern any investment.
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Why invest (and why saving isn't enough)
Saving protects against emergencies, but without investing your money loses value every year to inflation.
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Compound interest: the eighth wonder
How time multiplies capital and why starting one year earlier is worth more than starting with more money.
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Risk and return: the inevitable relationship
There is no return without risk. Understanding this relationship is the first lesson that separates investors from speculators.
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Inflation and opportunity cost
Every euro sitting idle loses value. The cost of inaction is real even if it doesn't appear on any statement.
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Your time horizon changes everything
The same asset can be risky or safe depending on how many years you have ahead. Time is your greatest advantage.
Asset Classes
The investor's menu
Learn the main asset families, their characteristics and when each one makes sense.
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Equities: stocks and ETFs
Buying pieces of companies to share in their growth. The most profitable long-term asset class — and the most volatile.
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Fixed income: bonds and treasury bills
Lending money to governments and companies in exchange for an agreed interest. Less return, more predictability.
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Index funds: passive investing
Replicating an entire index with a single product. The strategy that beats 90% of professional fund managers.
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Real estate investing (direct and REITs)
Different ways to gain exposure to property: buy-to-let, listed REITs and real estate crowdfunding.
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Alternative assets: gold, crypto and others
Commodities, cryptocurrencies and other assets that don't fit classic categories. When they make sense and when they don't.
Strategy and Portfolio
Building the puzzle
Design a coherent portfolio for your profile and learn techniques that minimise mistakes.
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Diversification: don't put all your eggs in one basket
Spreading risk across assets that don't move together reduces volatility without sacrificing expected return.
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Asset allocation for your profile
How to decide what percentage to allocate to equities, bonds and other assets based on your age and risk tolerance.
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Dollar-Cost Averaging: investing on autopilot
Investing the same amount every month eliminates the stress of trying to pick the perfect moment to buy.
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Rebalancing: staying on course
Over time, top-performing assets grow too large in your portfolio. Rebalancing restores the original risk level.
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Basic taxation for investors
Capital gains, fund transfers and loss harvesting. The minimum you need to know to avoid giving money away to the taxman.
Psychology and Mistakes
The enemy within
Identify the cognitive biases and emotional traps that ruin well-designed portfolios.
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Cognitive biases that ruin portfolios
Overconfidence, loss aversion, anchoring: the catalogue of mental errors every investor makes.
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FOMO when it rises, panic when it falls
Buying high out of fear of missing out and selling low out of fear of losing everything. The emotional market cycle.
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The myth of market timing
Missing the 10 best days in a decade can halve your returns. Timing doesn't work.
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Separating noise from signal in markets
News, predictions and gurus: why most daily financial information is irrelevant to the long-term investor.
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A written plan against your emotions
The best antidote to biases is a written investment plan you consult when the market tempts you to improvise.
Getting Started
From theory to action
Move from theory to practice: open an account, build the portfolio and establish a sustainable routine.
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How much do I need to start?
Much less than you think. Today you can start investing with €50 a month in diversified products.
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How to choose a broker
Key criteria: regulation, fees, available products, ease of use and the broker's tax domicile.
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Your first portfolio in 30 minutes
A concrete proposal with 2-3 index funds covering global equities and bonds. Simple and effective.
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Automate and (almost) forget
Set up automatic periodic contributions so your investments work without requiring decisions every month.
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The annual portfolio review
Once a year: review asset allocation, rebalance if needed and adjust contributions. Nothing more.