Phil Town: the strategy of a famous investor
Phil Town is famous not only as a successful investor but also as an excellent motivational speaker. He enjoys sharing his experiences to inspire and educate those who want to improve their market strategy. Town also has time to write, with two New York Times bestselling investment books to his credit. Phil holds a degree in philosophy from the University of California. His undergraduate degree did not come easily – he only got into the university on his fourth try.
In 1972, Town returned from a four-year stint in the military. It was a very difficult time in the future investor’s life. He slept in a tent in Arizona and earned money by organising rafting trips on the Colorado River.
The beginning of his professional career
A turning point for Phil came in 1980 when he led a rafting trip for Outward Bound trustees. The scenic trip didn’t go as planned, and the boat almost capsized on one of the river’s steep drops. Fortunately, everything ended safely, and as they parted, one of the rafters told Towne that he could have had a much better life than having to survive on an out-of-season allowance. Phil decided to change things by enlisting the help of a new acquaintance. The latter turned out to be an experienced investor and became a mentor to the young man.
Gradually, Town learnt the ropes of the financial world, and within 5 years he had made his first million. Phil improved his skills and developed his own approach to playing the market.
Writing
In 2005, already a successful investor, Town started a blog to share his knowledge with others. It quickly became popular with professionals and beginners taking their first steps in the stock market. A year later, the blog became a book, Rule #1, with tips on developing your own investment strategy. It quickly became a New York Times bestseller. It also took a worthy place in the USA Today business book rankings.
Town’s second book, Payback Time, was published and also topped the New York Times list in 2010.
Several business principles underpin Phil Town’s philosophy:
– work with low-risk assets;
– focus on long-term returns;
– look at the payback time of investments, so make sure you have the funds in place until the investment starts to pay off.
Phil also runs seminars and masterclasses where he explains his approach to playing the market. He also has a YouTube channel where he hosts webinars and gives advice to subscribers.
