Teacher to millionaire: Everything you need to know about DIY investing

Andrew Hallam, the author of Millionaire Teacher and Millionaire Expat, is famous for building up a million-dollar portfolio of low-cost stock and bond index funds on a teacher’s salary. Since retiring from his profession in Singapore in 2014, the personal finance author now blogs about his experiences and delivers talks to investors across the globe.

What’s unique about Mr Hallam’s method is that he shows investors how to manage their own money or how to find a suitable financial adviser who won’t charge ridiculous fees. With many investors keen to enter the markets following the crash and partial recovery during the pandemic, Mr Hallam’s strategy is simple: first build a globally diversified portfolio of low-cost index exchange traded funds, second invest regularly without speculating and third increase the amount you invest over time as your salary increases.

So what do novice investors need to put in place to start their DIY investment journey? And how much attention should they pay to the current volatility in the markets amid Covid-19?

Here, Mr Hallam joins podcast host Alice Haine, the personal finance editor of The National, to share his investment journey and explain how others can follow his lead.