What this newsletter is about
Every week, we pull one company at random from the FTSE All-World equity index — a collection of over 4,200 companies representing 90% of the world's investable equity market. We focus on what these companies actually do: their products and services. Less on financial numbers or valuations.
It's all about the long term. Since its base date of December 31, 1986, the FTSE All-World has lived through the 1987 crash, the Tech Bubble, the Great Financial Crisis, and a Pandemic. Through it all, it has averaged ~8.5% per year. We aren't just looking at stocks — we are looking at 40 years of global resilience.
WE, who? That's you and us — people who regularly invest in a diversified world equity index.
Why this newsletter exists
The truth is, it's hard not to be tempted to make active bets in the markets. The investment industry is quite good at convincing us we're among the few who can really beat market averages over time. Or that we're the ones who know which active fund manager to back.
A passive fund can feel like a theoretical construct. It's hard to feel connected to it compared to owning an individual stock. By highlighting the companies we already own — one at a time — our goal is to keep all of us motivated to invest for the long term, with a few aha-moments along the way.
This newsletter is for the 90% of us who don't try to beat the market. We just invest regularly and let compounding do the work.
There'll probably be some surprises among the thousands of companies we co-own. Follow us on a journey to discover what's in there.
How we pick companies
We select one company at random from the FTSE All-World Index, rotating weekly through four regions:
North America: ~750 companies. Mostly US, some Canada.
Europe: ~650 companies. The "Old World" giants.
Developed Asia-Pacific: ~600 companies. Japan, Australia, Singapore, HK, South Korea…
Emerging Markets: ~2,200 companies. China, India, Taiwan, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia…
Emerging Markets account for ~2,200 of the 4,200+ companies but only around 10% of the index by weight. So we feature one every four weeks.
How we pick companies
We select one company at random from the FTSE All-World Index, rotating weekly through four regions:
Emerging Markets account for ~2,200 of the 4,200+ companies but only around 10% of the index by weight. So we feature one every four weeks.
Time in the market beats timing the market
The best strategy for most of us is to invest regularly and passively in a diversified equity index. Since we can't invest in the index directly, it's done through low-fee funds from providers like Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, Invesco, and Amundi.
We're not index maximalists — we do own shares in private companies and individual stocks. But we believe the foundation of everyone’s investment portfolio should be a passive, broadly diversified world equity index fund. We applaud those who take the single world fund approach.
Since 90%+ of professionals can't beat the index (after fees!) over time — and there's plenty of research to back that up — we don't try to. Instead, we explore the world we already own, one company at a time.
The main index options for global passive investors:
The big fund providers are BlackRock (iShares), State Street, Vanguard, Invesco, and Amundi (mainly in Europe). They are split between the two index providers: some use MSCI, others use FTSE.
For this newsletter, we chose the FTSE All-World. Its base date of December 31, 1986 gives us nearly 40 years of reliable data, built on its predecessor, the FT-Actuaries World Index.
The numbers, in context
$10,000 invested on December 31, 1986 at ~8.5% annualized would have grown to approximately $243,739 by March 2026 — roughly 39 years of compounding. Here are the approximate annualized returns:
Why approximate? Returns vary slightly depending on currency and taxes on distributions. Minor differences, but worth being honest about. We'll update these numbers quarterly.
Follow us on a journey
If you already invest — or plan to invest — in a broadly diversified world equity index, we invite you to follow along, one company at a time. At the top of every edition, we'll show the long-term annualized returns as a reminder of what we're here for: the long term, and the conviction to stay the course.