Richard de Lisle , manager of the
VT De Lisle America fund , can pinpoint the moment he learned his most important lesson about investing . Unfortunately , it wasn ’ t one that had him jumping up in celebration . “ In the spring of 1974 , I became convinced a turn was coming ,” he says . “ The FT30 had exceeded all downside targets and fallen to 264 , less than half its high of 543 in May 1972 . Things seemed bad , but not impossible . The new Labour government had sorted the three-day week , and its Budget , while badly received , was behind us . “ It was time to make my first direct investment . I plonked my newspaperround savings of £ 80 into the package tour company Court Line , mesmerised by the glamour . It even had its own airline ! With a 17 % yield and an ultra-low P / E of below 4 , it was bound to be a winner .” In August 1974 , Court Line went bust and de Lisle lost it all . In January 1975 , the FT30 bottomed out at 146 . The manager recalls his friend ’ s father , a fish-and-chip shop owner , putting everything he had into five blue-chip stocks and more than doubling his money in six weeks . By May , the FT30 had risen to 421 . “ Lesson learned : at the bottom of a bear market , you just have to get round the U-bend ,” he adds . “ You don ’ t have to outsmart the market . Just keep it strong financially , so you don ’ t get caught in a recessionary or liquidity event .”